After giving a Notice to Quit, the landlord may file suit for an eviction. If a suit for eviction is filed
and the landlord wins his case, he may be granted a Judgment for Possession. A Judgment for
Possession ends the tenancy and allows the landlord to have the tenant evicted from the rental
premises. No residential landlord may evict or fail to renew a lease, whether it is a written or an
oral lease without good cause. The landlord must be able to prove in court that he has grounds for
an eviction. This bulletin outlines the good cause grounds for an eviction of a tenant from
residential rental properties in New Jersey, pursuant to the Anti-Eviction Act, as set forth in N.J.S.A.
2A:18-61.1. The Anti-Eviction Act was created to protect blameless tenants from eviction and was
adopted in recognition of the housing shortage in the State.
APPLICABILITY
This law applies to most residential rental properties including: single-family homes, mobile homes
and land in a mobile home park, and apartment buildings and complexes. This law also applies to
rooming and boarding homes.
EXCEPTIONS
This law may not apply to two or three unit owner-occupied premises with two (2) or fewer rental
units. It does not apply to hotel guests, motel guests or guest houses rented to a transient guest or
seasonal tenant. However, hotel and motel guests are covered under this law if, they have no other
home and live at the hotel or motel on a continual basis. Additionally, this law does not apply to a
unit held in trust on behalf of a member of the immediate family, if that family member is
developmentally disabled, and permanently occupies the dwelling unit.
GROUNDS FOR EVICTION