New Jersey tenant screening laws

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).

Keep the stages of a rental application distinct. New Jersey's Fair Chance rules control when covered criminal-history information may be requested and considered, while federal consumer-report duties can require a separate notice about an unfavorable report-based decision. A screening service or consent form does not replace those steps (New Jersey DCR: Fair Chance in Housing Act; FTC: landlord consumer-report guidance).

• For covered applications, document the criteria disclosure, conditional offer and required disclosure before the permitted criminal-history review. If withdrawal is being considered, record the individualized assessment and any corrective or mitigating evidence. DCR identifies factors including the offense's nature and severity, age at the time, time elapsed, favorable evidence and its connection to tenant or property safety. Use the required withdrawal notice with specific reasons and appeal information. Check the Act's coverage, exceptions and permitted records under application and screening fees; a general criminal-history flag is not the assessment (New Jersey DCR: Fair Chance in Housing Act).See Application and screening fees on the New Jersey page
• If a consumer report contributes to a denial, higher rent or deposit, a cosigner requirement or other unfavorable terms, give an adverse-action notice. Identify the reporting company by name, address and phone number; explain that it did not make the decision and cannot explain your reasons; and state the right to dispute inaccurate or incomplete information and request a free report from that company within sixty days of the notice. Review the FTC guide for additional credit-score or investigative-report duties (FTC: landlord consumer-report guidance).
• Match report records to the applicant and examine the final outcome of court entries rather than assuming a filing proves an eviction. Preserve any correction or dispute information, the report date, relevant communications and the notices used. Direct reporting errors to the company's dispute process and keep application records accessible only to authorized people. These records support review; they do not determine eligibility by themselves (FTC: tenant background checks and rights).

New Jersey's Law Against Discrimination makes it unlawful to refuse to rent, or to set different terms, because of race, creed, color, national origin, ancestry, marital, civil union or domestic partnership status, pregnancy or breastfeeding, sex, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, familial status, disability, military service, nationality, or source of lawful income used for rent (N.J.S.A. 10:5-12(g)).

• You may not refuse a rental assistance payment or apply a minimum income or financial standard that is not based only on the tenant's share of the rent (N.J.S.A. 10:5-12(g)(4)).
• You may not refuse to rent to a family because it includes children under 18, except in qualifying housing for older persons (N.J.S.A. 10:5-12(g)(5)).
• Ads, applications and inquiries may not express a discriminatory limitation (N.J.S.A. 10:5-12(g)(3)).
• Except in publicly assisted housing, the Act does not apply to renting the other unit of a two-family home the owner lives in, or rooms in a one-family home the owner or occupant lives in (N.J.S.A. 10:5-5(n)).
• New Jersey's Division on Civil Rights explains that a necessary emotional-support animal can require an exception to a no-pets policy. For covered housing, review whether the animal is needed for the resident's equal use and enjoyment of the home and whether the provider can demonstrate undue burden. Evaluate the particular disability-related request (NJ Division on Civil Rights: disability accommodations).