A lease is a contract (agreement) between a landlord and a tenant for the rental of an apartment or house. A lease can be an oral (spoken) agreement or it can be in writing.

In New Jersey, a tenant with an oral lease has all of the same rights and protections as a tenant with a written lease. On the other hand, if a case between a landlord and tenant ends up in court, lease terms that put restrictions on a tenant or try to limit the tenant’s rights will be very hard for the landlord to prove if they have not been put in writing, except for very basic things like the address of the property or the amount of the rent.

In New Jersey, every written lease must be written in “plain language.” This means that the lease must be written in a “simple, clear, understandable, and easily readable way.” Cite: N.J.S.A. 56:12-2.

Before signing a written lease, read it carefully. Do not sign a lease with blank spaces. Make sure that the terms in the items in the lease are the same as those you and the landlord agreed to when you discussed renting the unit. If you do not understand something in the lease, don’t sign it. Tell the landlord you first want to take it to a friend or lawyer who will help you to understand it. If you do sign a lease, be sure you get a copy. This will prevent the landlord from making changes afterward.

Most leases in New Jersey, whether oral or written, are not the result of bargaining between the landlord and the tenant. The landlord knows that there is more demand for rental housing than there are units to rent, so the landlord can set the lease terms. The person who wants to rent the apartment must then accept the lease as offered by the landlord.

Sometimes, landlords will try to include unreasonable, unfair, or even unlawful terms in the lease. For example, a landlord who does not know the law in New Jersey might put in a lease that the landlord can use the security deposit to make repairs while the tenant is still living there. In New Jersey, it is not lawful for the landlord to do this. Or a lease may require a tenant to get the landlord’s permission to have overnight guests or visitors. This rule is unreasonable. A tenant has the right to have friends or relatives visit for a few days without getting permission from the landlord.

If the landlord tries to use a lease term that is unreasonable or not lawful to evict a tenant, the court hearing the eviction should refuse to do so. This is true even if the tenant signed the lease with the unreasonable or unlawful term in it. The NJ Supreme Court has said in several cases that tenants have no real power to make landlords change the terms in the leases the tenants are offered, and that tenants can fight these lease terms in court. Cite: Green v. Morgan Properties, 215 NJ 431 (2013).

This information last reviewed: Sep 1, 2017