N.J. DCA Landlord/Tenant Information Series — (English)

Citation
N.J. DCA Landlord/Tenant Information Series — (English)
Jurisdiction
New Jersey (state)
Source
Official source
Original Source
https://www.nj.gov/dca/codes/publications/pdf_lti/t_i_r.pdf ↗

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Generally, landlords have a right to include a “no pets,” provision in the lease agreement.
There is no state law that prohibits landlords from requiring lease agreements that exclude pets in
rental property, except in certain senior citizen housing projects and for handicapped, blind, or
deaf tenants. George Young v. Victor Savinon, et al., 201 N.J. Super. 1, established the
precedent that allows tenants in certain circumstances to keep their existing pets at their rental

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units. In this case, the court found that tenants that were allowed to have pets and actually had pets
living in their rental units at the beginning of their tenancy and continued to have those pets
throughout their tenancies could not have their leases changed (upon renewal) by the new (or
existing) landlord to prohibit the tenants from keeping the pets that they currently had. However,
the landlord could prohibit the housing of any additional pets that those tenants may acquire in the
future. A landlord may also prohibit existing and future tenants who do not own or maintain pets
from caring for or maintaining pets on the premises.

The Pets in Housing Projects law, N.J.S.A. 2A:42-103, et seq., defines “senior citizen
housing project,” as any building or structure having three or more rental dwelling units. It does
not apply to owner-occupied premises that do not have more than three rental dwelling units, or
any health care facility. Any senior citizen residing in a senior citizen housing project and
providing written notice to the landlord is allowed to own or care for a pet.

A landlord may refuse to renew a tenant’s lease because of a pet, under the following
circumstances: