• You may not always have a right to a grievance hearing before the housing authority, such as in cases involving criminal activity. In those cases, the notice of lease termination must also state:
• that you are not entitled to a grievance hearing,
• that the housing authority must go to court to try to evict you,
• that the government (HUD) has approved this court procedure,
• the reasons for the eviction, and
• that you have the right to examine documents related to the termination or eviction before trial. Cite: 24 C.F.R. § 966.4(l)(3)(v); 24 C.F.R. § 966.4(m).

It is important that you contact a Legal Services attorney to make sure that your rights are protected and that you have received the proper notice. 

Subsidized housing notice requirements

If your building receives a subsidy, but you have a private landlord (not a housing authority, and not a Section 8 voucher), you may have the following rights.

• Tenants who live in most subsidized buildings are entitled to a notice that:
• specifies the date the tenancy will be terminated;
• states in detail the reasons for termination;
• advises the tenant that he or she has 10 days to discuss the proposed termination with the landlord; and
• advises the tenant that if the tenant does not leave, the landlord may file suit to evict, at which time the tenant may present a defense. Cite: HUD Handbook 4350.3 REV-1, Section 8-13, B2, p. 8-14; Family Model Lease, Section 23e, Appendix 4-A, p. 12.
  
  
• In certain cases, tenants may be entitled to a 30-day notice of termination of tenancy. Cite: HUD Handbook 4350.3 REV-1, Section 8-16, B2, 3, p. 8-20; Family Model Lease, Section 23e, Appendix 4-A, p. 12. In other cases, the notice of termination is the time period required by state law.

The above rights to notice should be written in your lease. Unless the housing authority or other subsidized landlord gives you the proper notice, you cannot be evicted, and the case must be dismissed. Cite: Housing Authority of Newark v. Raindrop, 287 N.J. Super. 222 (App. Div. 1996); Riverview Towers Associates v. Jones, 358 N.J. Super. 85 (App. Div. 2003). 

If you are not sure what type of housing you live in, you may check the Guide to Affordable Housing in New Jersey (from the New Jersey Department of Community Affairs ). 

Section 8 voucher notice requirements

If you are a Section 8 voucher holder, you are entitled to the notices that you would receive under state law. For state law notices, see Grounds for Eviction (N.J.S.A. 2A:18-61.1). You are not entitled to any notices over and above what you would receive under state law. 

If you are a Section 8 voucher holder, and you receive an eviction notice from your landlord, you must promptly give the public housing authority a copy of the eviction notice. Cite: 24 C.F.R. § 982.551(g). Your landlord must give the public housing authority a copy of any eviction notice that the landlord gives you. Cite: 24 C.F.R. § 982.310(e)(2)(ii). 

Improper eviction complaint

An eviction suit can be dismissed by the judge if the eviction complaint was not prepared in the correct way. This happens often, so you should read the complaint you received to make sure it is correct. Here are some examples of an improper eviction complaint.

• The complaint does not say why the landlord wants you out or does not describe the cause for eviction under the Anti-Eviction Act.
• In a nonpayment of rent eviction, the complaint must include only the amount of rent legally due. The landlord cannot add charges that are not legally part of the “rent.” See pages Late Charges, Attorney's Fees, and Grounds for eviction (N.J.S.A. 2A:18-61.1) part a. for more information about charges that cannot be included in the rent.
• The reason stated in the complaint for your eviction is not one of the causes for eviction in the Anti-Eviction Act. (See Causes for Eviction in the section, The Tenant's Right to Court Process)
• The reason stated in the complaint why the landlord wants you out is not the same as the one in the landlord’s notice to cease and/or notice to quit. The cause for eviction in the complaint must match the cause given in the notice to cease and/or notice to quit.

The judge should dismiss an improper eviction complaint because eviction cases are set up to be quick, and the landlord can always start the eviction process over again. Some judges will incorrectly allow a landlord to amend or change the complaint in court, so that the complaint is proper and the case can proceed to hearing. You should object if the judge allows an on-the-spot change to the complaint. If the judge allows the amendment anyway, ask to postpone the hearing so that you have time to prepare a defense to the amended or changed complaint. 

You already paid the rent or can pay it on the court date

A common defense to an eviction for nonpayment of rent is to show that the rent has already been paid. This is why it is very important to get a rent receipt (signed by the landlord) for each rent payment, even if you pay by check or money order. You can prove that the rent has been paid by bringing receipts to court to show the judge. What if you agree that you owe the rent or you have a hearing and the judge finds that you owe rent? You can still have the eviction dismissed by paying the rent and court costs to the court before the court closes on the day of the hearing. Cite: N.J.S.A. 2A:18-55.  

For example, at the end of your hearing, the judge finds that you owe $500 and enters a judgment for possession for nonpayment of rent. You immediately leave the court and call a relative or friend who agrees to lend you the money. The case against you can still be dismissed, and you will not be evicted if you can get the money (including court costs) to the courthouse and pay it to the court clerk before the court closes for the day, usually at 3:30 or 4:00 p.m.  

The rent money and court costs are paid to the clerk of the Special Civil Part of the Superior Court. The clerk does not take personal checks. Cashier's checks or money orders are best and should be made out to Treasurer, State of New Jersey. The court clerk will give you a receipt and send the money to your landlord. The court clerk also will dismiss the eviction complaint against you. If you pay all of the rent to the court clerk before the hearing on your complaint, you should go to the hearing anyway to make sure that the judge knows you have paid the rent and dismisses the complaint.

Note: If you do not have the rent money, you may be able to get help paying your rent from a state agency or local charety. See Programs to Prevent Eviction for information about some of these homelessness prevention programs.

Paying utility bills that your landlord is supposed to be paying

If your landlord is supposed to pay for utilities and does not pay the bill, you may be in danger of having your utilities shut off. If you receive a notice from an electric, gas, water, or sewer public utility that your service is in danger of being shut off, you may pay the utility to keep the service going. You may then deduct this amount from your rent, and the landlord cannot evict you because you have not paid that amount as rent. Cite: N.J.S.A. 2A:18-61.1(a). 

If you pay for utility bills, keep the notices and your receipts from the utilities because the landlord may still try to evict you for nonpayment of rent. 

Failure to obtain a certificate of occupancy

A municipality may have an ordinance that requires a landlord to obtain a certificate of occupancy (also known as a “C.O.”) before the landlord can rent a unit. The certificate of occupancy, issued by the municipality, ensures that apartments meet code standards before they are rented. Failure by a landlord to obtain a certificate of occupancy can be used to show that the conditions in the apartment are poor and that this violates the landlord’s duty to provide habitable housing. The conditions of the apartment determine how much rent is due. Cite: McQueen v. Brown and Cook, 342 N.J. Super. 120, aff’d 175 N.J. 2000 (2002). The court in this case said that if a landlord does not have a C.O., he or she must apply for one before trying to evict a tenant. 

Failure to provide safe and decent housing

The Section Repairs and Habitability explains the landlord’s duty to provide safe and decent housing. It also explains the various ways you can use your rent to force your landlord to make repairs in your apartment or house. These ways include repair and deduct—using rent to make repairs yourself and then deducting the cost of the repair from the rent. Another way is rent withholding—keeping your rent payments from the landlord until he or she makes needed repairs. 

Both repair and deduct and rent withholding involve not paying the landlord the rent when it is due. This means that if you take these steps, your landlord could take you to court for nonpayment of rent. In court, your defense to the landlord’s claim for rent will be that he or she failed to provide you with safe and decent housing. You should review Your Right to Safe and Decent Housing, especially the sections that explain repair and deduct, rent withholding, and rent abatement. It is important to remember that if you use repair and deduct and rent withholding as a defense to nonpayment of rent, you will have to show the court how serious the problems are in your apartment. For rent withholding, you may also be required to deposit with the court the full amount of rent you have withheld before you can get a hearing on your defense that your housing is unsafe and in need of repair. The judge does not have to do this, however, and can simply adjourn the case without requiring you to deposit the rent. To be safe, when you go to court after not paying the rent, you should take with you the full amount of rent you have withheld in cash, a certified check, or a money order. The court will not accept personal checks. 

The landlord is wrong, did not prove one of the good causes for eviction, or is lying

If what the landlord says in the complaint is not true, you have the right to deny it. The landlord then has to prove that what he or she says is true. The law requires the landlord to prove that the complaint is based on facts. The facts that the landlord does show must also prove one of the legal grounds for eviction described in The Tenant's Right to Court Process. If the facts shown by the landlord do not prove one of the limited grounds for eviction, the case must be dismissed, even if they prove something the landlord thinks should be enough to evict you. But be careful: sometimes a judge will believe the landlord over a tenant, so you should be ready to prove that you are right and that the landlord is wrong. You can do this by taking with you to court witnesses, photos, letters to or from the landlord, receipts, and anything else that might help prove your case. 

Waiver—the landlord knew about it but continued the tenancy

The landlord waives, or gives up, his or her right to evict you if he or she knows that you have been breaking the lease or any rules of the tenancy but still accepts your rent payment during this period. Cite: N.J.S.A. 46:8-10. Here are some examples of a waiver:

• The landlord sends you a notice to cease playing loud music and then sends you a notice to quit, telling you to leave by March 31. If the landlord accepts your April rent payment, the court can find that the landlord has waived the notice to quit. Cite: Carteret Properties v. Variety Donuts, 49 N.J. 116 (1967). However, while the acceptance of rent is a very important factor in determining whether the landlord has waived the notice to quit, it may not be sufficient, depending upon the facts of a particular case. Cite: Jasontown Apts. v Lynch, 155 N.J. Super 254 (App. Div. 1978).
• Your lease says that no pets are allowed, but the landlord has allowed you to have a pet since you moved in, and other tenants have also been allowed to have pets. Cite: Royal Associates v. Concannon, 200 N.J. Super. 84 (App. Div. 1985)
• The landlord sends a notice to cease but then later sends you other notices that contradict the notice to cease or that do not threaten the tenant with eviction. Cite: A.P. Development Corp. v. Band, 113 N.J. 485 (1988).

Retaliation—the landlord wants to get even

The law does not allow a landlord to evict you to get even for asserting your rights under the law or for enforcing your rights under the lease. The landlord also cannot evict you to get even for your complaining about conditions in your house or apartment to the board of health, building inspector, housing authority, or any other government agency. Finally, the landlord cannot evict you to get even for your involvement with a tenants association or any lawful organization. Each of these types of getting even (retaliation) are defenses to the eviction action. If you can prove that your landlord is trying to evict you in retaliation, the case will be dismissed. Cite: N.J.S.A. 2A:42-10.10 and 10.11. Be prepared to prove retaliation before you go to court. 

Even if only one of the reasons the landlord wants to evict you is retaliation, you are protected from eviction by law and the landlord's complaint should be dismissed by the court. Cite: Les Gertrude Associates v. Walko, 262 N.J. Super. 544 (App. Div. 1993); Housing Authority of Bayonne v. Mims, 396 N.J. Super 195 (App. Div. 2007); Silberg v. Lipscomb, 117 N.J. Super 491 (Dist. Ct. 1971).

For information about citations, and how to get more information about a particular law, see Finding the Law in the Landlord-Tenant section.​​