1. In certain circumstances, a tenant can terminate a lease due to the death of a spouse,
pursuant to N.J.S.A. 46:8-9.1.
2. In certain circumstances, a tenant can break a lease due to disabling illness or
accident, if the tenant has a loss of income, or the dwelling place is not handicapped
accessible, N.J.S.A. 46:8-9.2(a) and (d).
3. A person age 62 or older may break his or her lease if he or she is moving into an
assisted living facility, nursing home, continuing care retirement community or low or
moderate income housing, N.J.S.A. 46:8-9.2(b) and (c).
4. Under the Sailor and Soldiers Civil Relief Act, a person leasing an apartment before
entering the military has the legal right to give a 30-day notice to the landlord and break
the lease with no further monetary responsibility. He is also entitled to the return of his
security deposit.
5. A tenant may break a lease by means of constructive eviction, if the landlord has done
any wrongful act or is guilty of neglect or default, which makes the premises unsafe,
unfit or unsuitable for occupancy. The tenant has to notify the landlord of the deficient
condition and allow the landlord reasonable time to fix the problem before breaking the
lease. In the case of constructive eviction, the tenant is entitled to the return of the
security deposit and is not responsible for the rent for the balance of the lease or the
cost of re-renting the property.
6. If by continuing to live at the rental unit, a tenant, or a tenant’s child faces an imminent
threat of serious physical harm from another named person. The tenant must give a 30
day notice in order to terminate the lease. The rent must be pro-rated up until the date
of the lease termination. (New Jersey Safe Housing Act, N.J.S.A. 46:8-9.4 et seq.)
A tenant who breaks a lease