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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tenant breaks the lease and moves out of the dwelling
unit prior to the expiration of the lease, without legal cause, the lease is not considered to be
terminated. The lease is considered to be terminated once the unit is re-rented or the lease expires,
whichever occurs first, provided that the tenant notified the landlord as required by the lease
agreement. The date the rental unit is re-rented determines the date of the termination of the
breached lease, J.C. Mitchell v. First Real Estate, 287 N.J. Super 546 (1996). Therefore, in the
case of a broken lease agreement by the tenant, the 30 days that the landlord shall return the tenant’s
security deposit does not start until the landlord re-rents the rental unit, or until the lease expires,
whichever occurs first.
Within five (5) business days after a tenant is displaced by fire, flood, condemnation, or
evacuation, the landlord must return the security deposit. The law requires the return when either
an authorized public official has posted a notice prohibiting occupancy or has certified that the
displacement is expected to continue longer than seven (7) days. Within three (3) business days of
having received notice of the displacement, the landlord must let the tenant know where the
security deposit can be collected. The landlord may arrange to have the municipal clerk hold the
security deposit so that the tenant may collect it at the clerk’s office. If the tenant has not collected
the deposit within 30 days, the landlord can redeposit it with the banking institution or investment
company with which it was deposited before the displacement. If the tenant is later able to move
back into the dwelling unit but has already collected the deposit, the tenant must again pay the
landlord a security deposit (one-third will be