Bill Text: NJ A5427 | 2026-2027 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Permits senior citizens to designate third party to be notified of delinquency in payment of mortgage or property taxes.
Sponsorship: Partisan Bill (Republican 2)
Status: (Introduced) 2026-09-10 - Introduced, Referred to Assembly Aging and Human Services Committee [A5427 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2026-A5427-Introduced.html
Sponsored by:
Assemblyman ALEX SAUICKIE
District 12 (Burlington, Middlesex, Monmouth and Ocean)
Co-Sponsored by:
Assemblyman Clifton
SYNOPSIS
Permits senior citizens to designate third party to be notified of delinquency in payment of mortgage or property taxes.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Act permitting senior citizens to designate third parties to receive certain financial notices and supplementing Title 17 of the Revised Statutes and Title 40A of the New Jersey Statutes.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. a. As used in this section:
"Financial institution" means a State chartered or federally chartered bank, savings bank, savings and loan association, mortgage company, or credit union; and
"Senior citizen" means a resident of this State who 65 years of age or older.
b. (1) A financial institution that holds a mortgage for a senior citizen shall permit the senior citizen to designate a third party to receive notice when the senior citizen is late on a mortgage payment. The notice may be provided by the financial institution to the designated third party by electronic mail or regular mail.
(2) The designation shall be made in writing in the presence of a notary, with signatures from both parties agreeing to the designation. The designation shall be submitted to the financial institution to maintain on file with the senior citizen's accounts.
(3) Unless provided otherwise in the written designation, the third party shall have no authority over the senior citizen's financial accounts or transactions.
(4) Communications between the financial institution and the designated third party shall not constitute a breach of privacy requirements applicable to a customer who is a senior citizen when conducted in accordance with the provisions of this section.
c. A financial institution shall issue a notice of delinquent mortgage payment to the third party if a senior citizen's mortgage payment has not been received by the date the payment is due to the financial institution. A second notice of delinquency shall be issued to the third party the day after the mortgage payment grace period lapses in accordance with the relevant requirements as provided in the mortgage. Financial information relevant to the senior citizen's delinquent mortgage may be included in the notice to the third party, which may include the number of days the mortgage is delinquent, interest accrued, any penalties due to the late payment, and procedures to correct the delinquent payment. A copy of the notice sent by the financial institution to the third party shall also be sent to the senior citizen.
d. A financial institution that acts in good faith, and exercises reasonable care, in complying with the provisions of this section shall be immune from any administrative or civil liability that might otherwise arise from releasing financial information pursuant to the third-party notice. This subsection shall not immunize a person for any act of gross negligence, willful or wanton misconduct, or bad faith. There shall be a rebuttable presumption that a financial institution, or an individual, officer, director, agent, or other employee of the financial institution, acted in good faith and exercised reasonable care if the financial institution, or a qualified individual, officer, director, agent, or other employee of the financial institution acted in accordance with the provisions of this section.
2. a. (1) The tax collector of every municipality shall permit a property owner who is 65 years of age or older, to designate a third party to receive a notice when the property owner is late on a property tax payment. The notice may be provided by the tax collector to the designated third party by electronic mail or regular mail. The municipality may charge a one-time fee not to exceed $10.00 to cover the cost of the notifications.
(2) The designation shall be made in writing in the presence of the tax collector, with signatures from both parties agreeing to the designation. The designation shall be filed with and maintained by the tax collector.
(3) Any communication between the tax collector and the designated third party shall not constitute a breach of the property owner's privacy when conducted in accordance with the provisions of this section.
b. The tax collector shall issue a notice of property tax delinquency to the third party if the property owner's quarterly property tax payment has not been received by the tax collector by the date on which the property tax quarterly payment is due and payable. A second notice of delinquency shall be issued to the third party if the quarterly property tax payment remains delinquent 10 days after the date on which the payment was due and payable. Financial information relevant to the property owner's delinquent quarterly property tax payment may be included in the notice issued to the third party, which information may include the number of days the payment is delinquent, the amount of interest accrued to date on the late payment, and the process to correct the delinquent payment. A copy of each notice issued by the municipality to the third party shall also be sent to the property owner, by electronic mail or regular mail.
3. This act shall take effect on the first day of the third month next following enactment.
STATEMENT
This bill permits senior citizens to designate third parties who would be notified of any delinquencies in their mortgage and property tax payments.
Under the bill, a person aged 65 years or older may designate a third party with the financial institution that holds the person's mortgage and with the municipality in which the property is located, respectively, to receive notice when the senior citizen is late in making a mortgage payment or a property tax payment. The bill requires the mortgage payment designation to be made in writing in the presence of a notary, with signatures from the senior citizen and the third party agreeing to the designation. The bill requires the property tax payment designation to be made in writing to thin the presence of the tax collector, with signatures from the property owner and the third party agreeing to the designation.
With respect to a mortgage, when a senior citizen designates a third party to receive notices of delinquencies, the bill requires the financial institution that holds a mortgage for a senior citizen to issue notice of a mortgage payment delinquency to the third party when a senior citizen's mortgage payment has not been received by the date the payment is due to the financial institution. The bill permits the notice to be provided to the designated third party by electronic mail or regular mail. The bill also requires a second notice of delinquency to be issued to the third party the day after the mortgage payment grace period lapses.
With respect to a property tax payment, when a senior citizen designates a third party to receive notices of delinquencies, the bill requires the tax collector of the municipality to issue a notice of property tax delinquency to the third party when the property owner's quarterly property tax payment has not been received by the tax collector by the date on which the property tax quarterly payment is due and payable. The bill also requires a second notice to be issued to the third party if the payment remains delinquent 10 days after the date on which the payment was due and payable. The bill permits a municipality to charge a one-time fee not to exceed $10 to cover the cost of the notifications.
The bill is intended to help prevent the possibility of a senior citizen property owner experiencing a mortgage foreclosure or the sale of a tax lien by allowing that person to designate a trusted person who would be notified if a mortgage payment or property tax payment is not made. That knowledge would allow the trusted person to contact the senior citizen to determine if there is a problem, or if assistance, financial or otherwise, is needed to prevent the possibility of a mortgage foreclosure or a tax lien.
