New Jersey rent increase law

There is no single statewide percentage cap for ordinary residential rent increases; check special property and housing-program rules as well as local ordinances. For a tenant protected by the Anti-Eviction Act, an increase is enforceable through eviction only after a valid notice to quit and a notice of the increase, and only if the increase is not unconscionable and complies with any law or local ordinance on rent increases. The statutes read for this page do not set a number of days for that notice for a protected tenant.

N.J.S.A. 2A:18-61.1(f)

• Where the Anti-Eviction Act does not apply, a month-to-month tenancy ends on one month's notice to quit, a year-to-year tenancy or tenancy at will on three months' notice, and a tenancy for any other term on one term's notice. N.J.S.A. 2A:18-53 N.J.S.A. 2A:18-56 See Ending a month-to-month tenancy on the New Jersey page
• A substantial change in the terms of a tenancy made without cause after the tenant exercised a protected right is presumed to be reprisal. N.J.S.A. 2A:42-10.12 See Retaliation on the New Jersey page
• Many municipalities have rent control ordinances; new multiple dwellings are exempt from their limits on periodic increases for up to 30 years. N.J.S.A. 2A:42-84.2 See Rent control and local rules on the New Jersey page

For ordinary residential units, New Jersey generally leaves rent control to municipalities; many municipalities have their own rent control or rent leveling ordinances, which were not read for this page. State law exempts newly built multiple dwellings from an ordinance's limits on periodic increases for the period of the initial mortgage amortization or 30 years after construction, whichever is less, if the owner files a claim of exemption with the municipal construction official at least 30 days before the certificate of occupancy issues.

N.J.S.A. 2A:42-84.2 N.J.S.A. 2A:42-84.4

• Before leasing a unit in an exempt building, give the prospective tenant a written statement of the exemption, and put a notice of it in each lease. N.J.S.A. 2A:42-84.3
• Start with the municipal clerk or rent control office for the property address. Ask whether the particular unit is covered, which rent and adjustment period to use, whether an exemption has been recorded, and what registration, calculation and notice steps apply. Keep the response, rent history, calculation and notice together. A percentage quoted for another town, a market listing or a general statewide guide does not establish the lawful increase for this unit. Special rules may also apply to manufactured-home sites and regulated housing programs. New Jersey DCA: landlord-tenant information and rent-control resources New Jersey DCA: Rent Increase Bulletin

You may not serve a notice to quit, file for possession or substantially change the tenancy as a reprisal for a tenant's effort to enforce rights under the lease or the law, a good faith complaint to a government agency about a health or safety violation, or involvement in a lawful tenant organization. A notice to quit or a substantial change without cause after such activity is presumed to be reprisal, and you must rebut it.

N.J.S.A. 2A:42-10.10 N.J.S.A. 2A:42-10.12

• Before complaining to an agency, the tenant must first raise the problem with you and give you a reasonable time to fix it. N.J.S.A. 2A:42-10.10
• Refusing to renew a lease or continue a tenancy without cause counts as a substantial change. No reprisal is presumed if the tenant asked to renew more than 90 days before the lease ends or its renewal date, whichever is later. N.J.S.A. 2A:42-10.10(d) N.J.S.A. 2A:42-10.12
• The tenant wins the eviction case if reprisal is proved, and can sue for damages and other relief. N.J.S.A. 2A:42-10.10 N.J.S.A. 2A:42-10.11
• The reprisal law does not cover owner-occupied premises with no more than two rental units. N.J.S.A. 2A:42-10.13