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 ↗

Related Parts of This Source

Full Text

1,799 chars 
Termination of a Lease Agreement
The only reason a landlord can terminate a lease is if they offer a new lease to the tenant
with different terms, i.e. higher rent or new rules and regulations, and the tenant does not agree. A
landlord cannot evict a tenant just because the lease term has ended. It is important to note that
termination is distinguishable from eviction. For more detailed information, see the eviction
section of this publication.
If a tenant moves out before the end of the lease, the landlord may be able to hold the tenant
responsible for the rent that becomes due until the premises is rented again, or until the lease ends,
whichever occurs first. If the tenant moves out before the lease term has expired, the landlord must
attempt to re-rent the apartment for the remaining months on the lease and prove that there was an
attempt to re-rent the unit, i.e. advertising the premises for rent and interviewing tenants (Sommer
v. Kridel, 74 N.J. 446 (1977); McGuire v. City of Jersey City, 125 N.J. 310 (1991); Fanarjian
v. Moskowitz, 237 N.J. Super. 395 (App. Div. 1989)).
A tenant may terminate a lease for the following reasons:
1. Moving out because of bad conditions - if the landlord fails to make needed repairs the
tenant must have proof of the bad conditions. If this is the case, the law holds the landlord
responsible for breaking the lease by failing to fulfill their contractual obligation to provide
safe and decent housing. This is called constructive eviction (Reste Realty Corp v.
Cooper, 53 N.J. 444 (1969); Harel Assoc. v. Cooper Healthcare Prof. Serv., Inc., 271
N.J. Super. 405 (App. Div. 1994)).
2. Housing that is not handicapped accessible - if a landlord cannot or will not make a
dwelling unit handicapped-accessible, at the landlord’s own expense, for