What every New Jersey landlord should know about tenant rights

I don’t know why anyone would want to be a landlord. To own a property and have so little say over how it’s being cared for seems daunting.

Many years ago, I had to go to court to testify as a witness on behalf of my landlord who was trying to evict another tenant for unpaid rent. They hadn’t paid in many months, had people living there who shouldn’t be, threw constant parties, were slobs and troublemakers.

I recall my landlord’s lawyer talking to her during a break and saying how under New Jersey law a lease puts the power almost all on the tenant’s side, that there was very little a landlord could do to evict a bad tenant in any timely manner.

I’m guessing from the results of a study on the most to least landlord-friendly states that not much has changed.

Roofing Craftsmen conducted a study to see where it paid to be a landlord and where it didn’t by analyzing key factors. Among the things they looked at were notice to pay rent before eviction, rules on returning deposits, legal notice required before being allowed to enter property, and rental demand in the area.

New Jersey came in dead last.

One example of where we fall short is limits on how much a landlord can ask for a security deposit. In 23 states there is no limit Those states feel it’s your property, you decide what you’re comfortable with. If a prospective tenant feels it’s unreasonable they don’t need to rent from you. Treating both parties like adults. A novel concept, huh?

New Jersey law dictates a landlord cannot ask for any more than 1.5 months rent as a deposit. Of course our average property tax rate kills us as well. It’s 2.3% and the highest in the nation.

The best state to be a landlord was found to be Wyoming. Landlords in Wyoming benefit from the second-lowest average property tax rate in the top 10 (0.58%), no legal cap on security deposits, and a relatively generous window, up to 60 days if deductions are made, to return deposits.

So, if you’re going to be a landlord in the least landlord-friendly state of New Jersey, you really deserve a medal for bravery.

Opinions expressed in the post above are those of New Jersey 101.5 talk show host Jeff Deminski only.

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