New Jersey rules for property managers

Anyone who, for a fee, rents or offers to rent real estate, collects or attempts to collect rent, or helps procure tenants for others is a real estate broker and needs a New Jersey license; salespersons work under a licensed broker. Real Estate Commission guidance says unlicensed staff may handle clerical tasks and record deposits but may not show property, negotiate leases or fees, or make calls to collect late rent.

Bona fide owners or lessors acting for their own property; attorneys; receivers, trustees in bankruptcy, executors, administrators, and people acting under a court order or deed of trust; banks and in-state insurance companies.

Each broker must keep a trust or escrow account at a commission-approved depository located in New Jersey, separate from other accounts, for all money held for others, and may not use interest earned on escrow funds. Tenant security deposits must also follow the Security Deposit Act (interest-bearing New Jersey account, tenant notices).

You may not require more than 1.5 times one month's rent as security. Any later increase in the deposit is limited to 10% of the current deposit per year. Owner-occupied buildings with no more than two rental units are exempt unless the tenant gives 30 days' written notice invoking the law.

Return the deposit with the tenant's interest, less lawful charges, with an itemized list. No deductions while the tenant remains in possession. Return within 5 business days if the tenant is displaced by fire, flood, condemnation, or evacuation, and within 15 business days after a domestic violence lease termination. A court awards double the amount owed, plus costs and possible attorney fees, for wrongful withholding.

Deposit in an insured New Jersey bank, savings bank, or savings and loan in an interest-bearing account (landlords with 10 or more units must use a variable-rate money market type account or fund). Give written notice of the institution's name and address, account type, rate, and amount within 30 days of receipt, when moving the deposit, after a sale, and with each annual interest payment. Pay or credit interest yearly. If you skip these steps, the tenant may, after written notice, apply the deposit plus 7% interest to rent. Knowingly diverting deposit money is a disorderly persons offense.

If rent is due on the first, seniors on Social Security or similar government pensions and people on SSDI, SSI, or Work First New Jersey get 5 business days before any late charge. In a nonpayment eviction, a tenant who pays all rent within 3 business days after the warrant is posted or the lockout cannot be charged a late fee above the amount stated in the warrant application. Local rent control ordinances may also limit fees.

The cap covers application fees and other similar fees and adjusts with CPI each January from 2027. It does not apply to units in one- or two-family homes, or to Real Estate Commission licensees who are not the landlord. Penalties are up to $500, $750, and $1,000 for repeat offenses, enforced by the Division of Consumer Affairs, and the overcharge is returned to the applicant. Under the Fair Chance in Housing Act, disclose your criminal history screening policy before taking a fee.

A tenant who refuses to pay an increase can be evicted only after a valid notice to quit and notice of increase, and only if the increase is not unconscionable and complies with any local rent ordinance. The notice to quit must give one month for a month-to-month tenancy or one full term for other periodic tenancies.

Many towns have rent control or rent leveling ordinances. New multiple dwellings are exempt from local rent control for the term of the initial mortgage or 30 years after completion, whichever is less (30 years if there is no mortgage). Separately, P.L.2025, c.85 caps rent increases on manufactured home park sites at 3.5% per 12 months unless the state approves more.

The notice requirements of the Anti-Eviction Act do not apply to nonpayment of rent, so you may file once rent is unpaid. Rent a tenant used to keep utilities on after a shutoff notice for the landlord's nonpayment is not unpaid rent. Federally subsidized housing may have separate federal notice rules.

For substantial violations of reasonable lease terms or written rules, serve a written notice to cease, then a notice to quit at least one month before filing. Disorderly conduct (after a notice to cease) and willful or grossly negligent damage use a 3-day notice to quit. The notice must state the cause in detail and be served in person, at the home with a family member over 14, or by certified mail (regular mail if unclaimed).

The Anti-Eviction Act covers most rentals, so the end of a term alone is not a reason to remove a tenant. Exempt owner-occupied premises with 2 or fewer rental units can end a month-to-month tenancy with one month's notice to quit.

Only a court officer can remove a tenant, between 8 a.m. and 6 p.m. In a nonpayment case, the tenant can pay all rent due within 3 business days after the warrant is posted or the lockout and the case must be dismissed. Courts can stay a warrant for hardship for up to 6 months if the tenant pays all rent due, and up to one year for a certified terminally ill tenant of at least two years.

Send the notice by certified mail or receipted first class mail to the last known address and any other known address, marked Please Forward. Store property with reasonable care and charge only reasonable storage costs. A residential tenant who claims property in time does not have to pay unpaid rent to get it back. Unclaimed property may be sold under the UCC or, if worth less than the cost of storage and sale, disposed of. Manufactured homes need 75 days (78 if mailed).

In buildings of 3 or more units, tenants must allow access for inspections and repairs needed to comply with the housing code on reasonable notice, which ordinarily is one day, and immediately in a safety or structural emergency. Other entry, such as showings, should be set in the lease.

Defects must affect a vital facility such as heat, water, toilets, or electricity, and the tenant must give notice and reasonable time. Buildings of 3 or more units must meet the Hotel and Multiple Dwelling regulations, including heat of at least 68 degrees from 6 a.m. to 11 p.m. and 65 degrees overnight from October 1 to May 15.

Landlords of buildings with more than 2 units (more than 3 if owner-occupied) must give the DCA Truth in Renting statement to new tenants and post it. Register the property and give tenants a copy of the registration; an unregistered landlord's eviction case is held up to 90 days and then dismissed. Before signing or renewal, give the flood risk notice as a signed separate rider and include the flood insurance notice in every residential lease. Before a lease or renewal in buildings built before 1986 that are not confirmed lead-free, give the Lead In Drinking Water Disclosure using DCA's model form. Leases in multiple dwellings must include the window guard notice. Under the Fair Chance in Housing Act, disclose your criminal history screening policy in writing before taking an application fee. Federal lead paint rules apply to pre-1978 housing.

The Law Against Discrimination covers race, creed, color, national origin, ancestry, nationality, marital, civil union, or domestic partnership status, pregnancy or breastfeeding, sex, gender identity or expression, affectional or sexual orientation, familial status, disability, service or liability for service in the U.S. Armed Forces, and source of lawful income used for rent (including vouchers). The Fair Chance in Housing Act bars criminal history questions before a conditional offer.

Application and similar fees cannot exceed $50, adjusted for inflation each January from 2027. Penalties up to $500, $750, and $1,000 for repeat violations. Enacted January 2026.

Signed September 19, 2025. Landlords of buildings built before 1986 that are not confirmed free of lead service lines must give a disclosure before each new lease or renewal, starting 90 days after the state's health notice and DCA's model statement are published. DCA has posted the model form. Tenants may also end a lease without penalty if the landlord blocks lead line replacement.

• New Jersey Division on Civil Rights
• Fair Housing Council of Northern New Jersey