New Jersey Leases and Rental Agreements Laws

Created by FindLaw's team of legal writers and editors | Last reviewed June 20, 2016

Most of us have had to deal with an apartment lease or home rental agreement at some point in our lives. All states regulate the relationship between landlords and tenants to some extent, including limits on security deposits and anti-discrimination laws.

According to New Jersey lease and rental agreement laws, landlords are limited to asking for one-and-a-half-month's rent for a security deposit, which must be returned within 30 days of lease termination. Any damages subtracted from the original deposit amount must be itemized and clearly indicated when the deposit is returned.

When it comes to discrimination, the state prohibits discrimination against tenants on the basis of:

Affectionate or sexual orientation;
Race;
Creed;
Color;
National origin;
Ancestry;
Age;
Disability;
Marital status;
Familial status; and
Sex.

It should be noted that retirement communities (by their very definition as housing designated for those 65 and older), are exempted from discriminating according to age.

The details of New Jersey lease and rental agreement laws are listed in the box below. See FindLaw's Landlord Tenant Law section for additional articles and state-specific resources.

Code Section	46:8-10; 46:8-21.1, 2
Terms of Leases	Holdover converts to month-to-month tenancy absent agreement to the contrary
Deposits	Limit 1.5 months rent; interest on deposit required; any damages subtracted from deposit must be itemized and balance of deposit must be returned within 30 days of termination
Discrimination	No discrimination on basis of race, creed, color, national origin, ancestry, age, disability, marital status, affectionate or sexual orientation, familial status, or sex; retirement communities exempted
Uniform Residential Landlord & Tenant Act Adopted?	No

Note: State laws are constantly changing -- contact a New Jersey landlord-tenant law attorney or conduct your own legal research to verify the state law(s) you are researching.

More Information

For more general information, check out FindLaw’s section on landlord-tenant law which discusses a variety of issues including: the basics of rental agreements, landlord rights, tenant rights, landlord-tenant disputes, eviction, and issues with repairs and maintenance. If you’d like to learn more about New Jersey’s laws relating to leases and agreements, feel free to click on the links provided below. Finally, if you need more specific or individualized assistance, consider hiring an attorney experienced in landlord-tenant law.

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