Bill Text: NJ A4922 | 2026-2027 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Establishes affirmative defense of Social Security hardship in certain eviction actions.
Sponsorship: Partisan Bill (Democrat 2)
Status: (Introduced) 2026-05-07 - Introduced, Referred to Assembly Housing Committee [A4922 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2026-A4922-Introduced.html
ASSEMBLY, No. 4922
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
222nd LEGISLATURE
INTRODUCED MAY 7, 2026
Sponsored by:
Assemblyman KENYATTA STEWART
District 35 (Bergen and Passaic)
Assemblywoman SHANIQUE SPEIGHT
District 29 (Essex and Hudson)
SYNOPSIS
Establishes affirmative defense of Social Security hardship in certain eviction actions.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Act establishing an affirmative defense of Social Security hardship in eviction actions and supplementing Title 2A of the New Jersey Statutes.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. a. For the purpose of this section, "Social Security hardship" means a loss of income due to an interruption in a person's receipt of Social Security benefits due to the action or inaction of the federal government. "Social Security hardship" shall not include the termination of Social Security benefits due to a person's ineligibility for such benefits.
b. A tenant of a residential dwelling unit may assert Social Security hardship as a defense to a notice to quit for non-payment of any rent withheld. A tenant that asserts Social Security hardship as a defense shall provide evidence that:
(1) Social Security benefits typically received by the tenant's household have been terminated, delayed, or reduced due to the action or inaction of the federal government; and
(2) the Social Security hardship negatively impacted the tenant's ability to afford to pay all or a portion of rental payments due to the landlord and thereby prevented the tenant from paying the unpaid rent alleged in an eviction action.
c. If a tenant provides evidence required by subsection b. of this section, then a court shall stay the eviction action until the earlier of either of the following:
(1) fourteen days after the tenant's Social Security benefits are restored; or
(2) six months after the stay is issued.
d. Within 14 days of Social Security benefits being restored by the federal Social Security Administration, a tenant shall either pay all past due rent to the landlord or enter into a mutually agreed upon payment plan with a landlord.
e. If a tenant that has complied with the provisions of this section, a court shall dismiss the notice to quit. Nothing in this section shall be construed to prohibit a court from finding that a tenant failed to pay rent prior to Social Security hardship.
2. This act shall take effect immediately.
STATEMENT
This bill establishes an affirmative defense of Social Security hardship in an eviction action.
This bill provides that a tenant of a residential dwelling unit may assert Social Security hardship, as defined in the bill, in an eviction action for non-payment of any rent withheld. The bill provides that a tenant that asserts Social Security hardship as a defense to non-payment of rent is required to provide evidence that Social Security benefits typically received by the tenant's household have been terminated, delayed, or reduced due to the action or inaction of the federal government and that the Social Security hardship negatively impacted the tenant's ability to afford to pay all or a portion of rental payments due to the landlord and thereby prevented the tenant from paying rent. If a tenant is able to provide evidence of Social Security hardship, a court is to issue a stay of the eviction action until the earlier of either 14 days after the tenant's Social Security benefits are restored or six months after the stay was issued have elapsed.
The bill requires a tenant to make payment of all past due rent within 14 days of Social Security benefits being restored or enter into a mutually agreed upon payment plan with a landlord.
The bill provides that if a qualifying tenant has asserted the Social Security hardship and complied with the bill's provisions, then a court is to dismiss the notice to quit. The bill does not prohibit a court from finding that a tenant failed to pay rent prior to Social Security hardship.
