New Jersey Eviction: Anti-Eviction Act Requires Good Cause and Statutory Notice

The Anti-Eviction Act, N.J.S.A. 2A:18-61.1, lists the only good-cause grounds for removing a covered tenant, including non-payment (a), disorderly conduct (b), willful or grossly negligent damage (c), substantial breach of rules (d) or lease covenants (e), refusal of a non-unconscionable rent increase (f), and habitual late payment (j). For non-payment under subsection a., no notice to quit is required before filing. Behavior-based grounds such as disorderly conduct, rule breaches, and habitual nonpayment require a prior written "notice to cease." N.J.S.A. 2A:18-61.2 then sets the notice to quit: "three days' notice" for disorderly conduct or damage, and "one month's notice" for rule or lease breaches and habitual nonpayment, with longer periods for conversion and retirement grounds. Lease waivers are void under N.J.S.A. 2A:18-61.4.

No specific statutory penalty, but defective notice is fatal: an action filed without the required notice to cease or notice to quit deprives the Special Civil Part of jurisdiction and is dismissed. A landlord who evicts unlawfully or by self-help faces liability for wrongful eviction under N.J.S.A. 2A:18-61.6.