How to become a landlord in New Jersey

Most New Jersey landlords owe several written notices. Give each new tenant the Department of Community Affairs' current Truth in Renting statement at or before the time the tenant moves in, and keep it posted where all tenants can see it. Give each tenant a copy of your landlord registration certificate when the tenancy starts. Before signing or renewal, give the flood risk notice. For a unit built before 1978 that is not exempt, have a valid lead-safe certification at tenant turnover, give the new tenant evidence of it and attach a copy to the lease as an exhibit (N.J.S.A. 46:8-46; N.J.S.A. 46:8-29; N.J.S.A. 46:8-50; N.J.S.A. 52:27D-437.16(e)(2)).

• The Truth in Renting duty does not apply to buildings with two or fewer units, owner-occupied buildings with three or fewer units, or hotels and guest houses serving transient or seasonal guests (N.J.S.A. 46:8-44(a)).
• If your lease lets you recover attorney's fees, the clause must also carry the statute's sentence giving a successful tenant the same right, in bold type at least one point larger than the rest of the clause or 11 point, whichever is larger (N.J.S.A. 2A:18-61.66; N.J.S.A. 2A:18-61.67).
• Leases in multiple dwellings must carry the window guard notice in prominent boldface type (N.J.S.A. 55:13A-7.14(a)).See Window guards on the New Jersey page
• Before taking an application fee, disclose in writing whether you consider criminal history (N.J.S.A. 46:8-55(b)).See Application and screening fees on the New Jersey page
• Within 90 days after the state publishes its notice and model form, landlords must give each prospective or current tenant a Lead In Drinking Water Disclosure before a lease or renewal, with limited exceptions (N.J.S.A. 58:12A-12.3c).
• A lease may not include a term that violates tenants' clearly established legal rights; the tenant can ask a court to end such a lease (N.J.S.A. 46:8-48).
• The lead-safe certification duty does not apply to a unit certified free of lead-based paint, a unit built in 1978 or later, a unit in a multiple dwelling registered with the Department for at least 10 years with no outstanding lead violations from its last two cyclical inspections, or a one- or two-family seasonal rental rented for less than six months a year (N.J.S.A. 52:27D-437.16(c)).
• If the unit has uncovered steam radiators, give the tenant a lease rider and a yearly written notice of the right to request radiator covers, post it in the common area, and install covers within 90 days of a written request; the fine is up to $500 (N.J.S.A. 52:27D-198.20).
• Once the municipal clerk has notified you, tell each new tenant when the tenancy begins that the clerk keeps a list of residents who need special help in an emergency, and give them the notice explaining how to be added (N.J.S.A. 46:8-29.1).

Every landlord must file a certificate of registration: with the municipal clerk for a one-unit rental or a two-unit building you do not live in, or with the Department of Community Affairs' Bureau of Housing Inspection for a multiple dwelling. It lists the owners, any managing agent, a 24-hour emergency contact, mortgage holders and, if an owner lives outside the county, an in-county agent for notices and service. Give each tenant a copy when the tenancy begins (N.J.S.A. 46:8-28; N.J.S.A. 46:8-29).

• Owner-occupied two-unit premises are not covered (N.J.S.A. 46:8-27).
• Give tenants a copy of any amended certificate within seven days after it is filed (N.J.S.A. 46:8-29).
• A court will not enter a judgment for possession until you comply (N.J.S.A. 46:8-33).See Eviction process on the New Jersey page

Before a lease is signed or renewed, tell each tenant in writing whether the property is in FEMA's Special Flood Hazard Area (100-year floodplain) or Moderate Risk Flood Hazard Area (500-year floodplain), and whether you know of flood damage, water seepage or pooled water from a natural flood on the premises or its parking areas. In a written residential lease the notice must be a separate rider, signed or otherwise acknowledged by the tenant, in at least 12-point type (N.J.S.A. 46:8-50(a), (b)).

• The FEMA questions on the state's model notice offer yes or no only, with no "unknown" (N.J.S.A. 46:8-50(b)).
• Every residential lease must also contain the statute's flood insurance notice word for word (N.J.S.A. 46:8-50(c)).
• If you fail to disclose a flood hazard area, the tenant may end the lease by written notice once they learn of it, and you must refund rent paid in advance within 30 days; if a flood damages the tenant's property, they may seek damages (N.J.S.A. 46:8-50(e), (f)).
• The duty does not apply to buildings with two or fewer units, owner-occupied buildings with three or fewer, or seasonal rentals under 120 days (N.J.S.A. 46:8-50(a), (g)).

A one- or two-family home must have a listed smoke alarm on each level and outside each sleeping area, and before a new occupant moves in you need a certificate showing the alarms comply, from the municipal official who issues certificates of occupancy or, where there is none, from the local fire safety enforcement agency. Multiple dwellings must have smoke detectors or alarms under the Department of Community Affairs' rules. Since P.L.2025, c.19, a one- or two-family home with a secondary power source, such as solar panels or a battery, must also have a warning label within 18 inches of the main electrical panel and the electric meter (N.J.S.A. 52:27D-198.1; N.J.S.A. 52:27D-198.2; N.J.S.A. 55:13A-7.1).

• Existing structures not covered by the state's separate carbon monoxide certificate law must have carbon monoxide alarms under the Department's rules unless there is no potential carbon monoxide hazard (N.J.S.A. 52:27D-198.18).
• The detailed placement and testing rules are in regulations, which were not read for this page (N.J.S.A. 55:13A-7.1).

The statutes read for this page set no general lock or rekeying rule for rentals; the state's housing regulations, which may, were not read. One statute applies: if a court order in a domestic violence case requires it, you must change the locks within 48 hours of the victim's written request, or the victim may change them and must give you a key within 48 hours (N.J.S.A. 46:8-9.14).

• The victim pays for a lock change they make themselves (N.J.S.A. 46:8-9.14(d)).

You may not require more than one and one-half times one month's rent as security for a home used as a dwelling. If you later collect additional security, the yearly increase may not be more than 10 percent of the current deposit (N.J.S.A. 46:8-21.2).

• Money held as security stays the tenant's property: you hold it in trust, and it may not be mixed with your own money (N.J.S.A. 46:8-19).
• The Security Deposit Act covers every rental used as a dwelling except an owner-occupied building with no more than two rental units, and even there the tenant can bring it into play by giving you 30 days' written notice (N.J.S.A. 46:8-26).
• A lease term in which the tenant waives any part of the Act is void (N.J.S.A. 46:8-24).

If you hold deposits for fewer than 10 units, put them in an interest-bearing account at a federally insured bank, savings bank or savings and loan in New Jersey. With 10 or more units, use an insured money market fund of a New Jersey-based investment company or a New Jersey bank account paying a variable money market rate. The interest belongs to the tenant (N.J.S.A. 46:8-19(a), (b)).

• Give the statutory bank/fund, address, account-type, rate and amount notice within 30 days of receiving the deposit and after property transfer, and with each annual interest payment. Section 46:8-19(c)(2) separately addresses institution mergers and account/institution changes more than 60 days before the annual payment; apply those timing conditions to a move of the funds (N.J.S.A. 46:8-19(c)).
• Pay the interest each year in cash or as a credit toward rent on the lease anniversary or renewal, or on January 31 if you told the tenant in writing that you would (N.J.S.A. 46:8-19(c)).
• If you do not deposit the money, give the notice or pay the interest as required, the tenant may tell you in writing to apply the deposit plus 7 percent yearly interest to rent, and you then lose the right to demand a deposit. For a missed annual payment or notice, the tenant must first give you 30 days to fix it (N.J.S.A. 46:8-19(c)).
• Deposits for a seasonal rental are exempt from the account rules. A seasonal rental is a term of no more than 125 consecutive days to a tenant with a permanent home elsewhere, and you must prove the rental is seasonal (N.J.S.A. 46:8-19(d)).
• When you sell or assign the property, within five days turn the deposit and the tenant's interest over to the new owner and tell the tenant by registered or certified mail who now holds it; the new owner must collect it from you (N.J.S.A. 46:8-20).

The Security Deposit Act, read in full, does not require a move-in inspection or condition checklist. A written record still helps you support any deduction you itemize at move-out (N.J.S.A. 46:8-19 to 46:8-26).

• Every deduction you take must be itemized and sent with the deposit refund (N.J.S.A. 46:8-21.1).See Returning the deposit on the New Jersey page

Since May 1, 2026, a landlord or agent may not charge more than $50 as an application or similar fee to apply to rent a home. The cap does not apply to a unit in a one-family or two-family dwelling, or to a real estate licensee who is not the landlord, and it is adjusted each January for inflation starting in 2027, with the current figure posted by the Division of Consumer Affairs (N.J.S.A. 46:8-18.1; P.L.2025, c.405, s.3 (effective date)).

• A violation carries a penalty of up to $500 for a first offense, $750 for a second and $1,000 for each later one, and the overcharge goes back to the applicant (N.J.S.A. 46:8-18.1(b)).
• Under the Fair Chance in Housing Act you may not ask about criminal history, on the application or orally, until you have made a conditional offer, with narrow exceptions for certain methamphetamine production convictions in federally assisted housing and lifetime sex offender registration (N.J.S.A. 46:8-55(a)).
• Before you accept any application fee, tell the applicant in writing whether your criteria include criminal history and that they may offer evidence of inaccuracies, rehabilitation or other mitigating factors (N.J.S.A. 46:8-55(b)).
• The Fair Chance in Housing Act does not cover a unit in an owner-occupied building with four or fewer units (N.J.S.A. 46:8-54).
• When you evaluate an applicant, you may not consider a court record of a case for nonpayment or habitually late rent from the COVID-19 public health emergency and the 60 days after it, and screening companies may not knowingly report one (N.J.S.A. 2A:42-144; N.J.S.A. 2A:42-147).
• After a conditional offer you may consider only the listed convictions: murder, aggravated sexual assault, kidnapping, arson, human trafficking and the listed sex offenses at any time; first degree offenses within six years; second or third degree within four years; and fourth degree within one year, each counted from the conviction or the end of any prison sentence (N.J.S.A. 46:8-56(b)).
• Never consider arrests or charges without a conviction, or expunged, pardoned, vacated, juvenile or sealed records, and never require a drug or alcohol test (N.J.S.A. 46:8-56(a); N.J.S.A. 46:8-60).
• You may withdraw a conditional offer over a criminal record only after an individualized assessment shows it is necessary for a substantial, legitimate and nondiscriminatory interest, and you must give the applicant the specific reasons in writing and a chance to appeal with evidence (N.J.S.A. 46:8-56(c)).
• When you apply a minimum income requirement, count a military or veteran housing allowance backed by Veterans Affairs documentation as income (N.J.S.A. 46:8-51).