Bill Text: NJ S108 | 2012-2013 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Requires residential leases to specify when rent payments are due and allows residential leases to require weekly, monthly, or annual payments or a single payment for the entire lease term.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2012-01-10 - Introduced in the Senate, Referred to Senate Community and Urban Affairs Committee [S108 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2012-S108-Introduced.html
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
215th LEGISLATURE
PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 2012 SESSION
Sponsored by:
Senator GERALD CARDINALE
District 39 (Bergen and Passaic)
SYNOPSIS
Requires residential leases to specify when rent payments are due and allows residential leases to require weekly, monthly, or annual payments or a single payment for the entire lease term.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
Introduced Pending Technical Review by Legislative Counsel
An Act concerning rent payments for dwelling units and supplementing chapter 8 of Title 46 of the Revised Statutes.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. Notwithstanding any provision of law, rule, or regulation to the contrary, a lease for residential property shall specify when rent payments are due and payable, and may specify weekly, monthly, or annual payments or a single payment, as agreed to by the landlord and the tenant, for the entire lease term. A rent payment authorized pursuant to this section is not a security deposit or part thereof and shall not be subject to the limitation on the amount that may be required as a security deposit in section 4 of P.L.1971, c.223 (C.46:8-21.2).
2. This act shall take effect immediately.
STATEMENT
This bill would require a lease for residential property to specify when rent must be paid, and specifically allows a lease to require weekly, monthly, or annual payments or a single payment for the entire lease term. While not clearly prohibited by New Jersey statutes, a 1972 decision of the Bergen County District Court has deterred landlords and tenants from agreeing to make and accept rent payments that exceed one and one-half times the amount of one month's rent.
The decision held that prepayments of rent are security deposits subject to the statutory limitations that prohibit landlords from requiring more than one and one-half times the monthly rental payment as security. Brownstone Arms v. Asher 121 N.J.Super. 401 (Cty. Ct. 1972). The "Truth-in-Renting" statement, prepared by the Department of Community Affairs pursuant to P.L.1975, c.310 (C.46:8-43 et seq.), cites to Brownstone Arms, informing landlords and tenants that:
advanced rents in excess of one and one-half times the monthly rental payment violates the security deposit law. Therefore, any prepaid funds held to secure future rents are considered to be a part of the security deposit. This includes the last month's rent. It does not matter what the prepaid funds are labeled. The landlord may only require one and one-half times the tenant's monthly rent as security and the first month's rent at the inception of the lease. That means the landlord may not require more that two and one-half times the monthly rent at the inception of the lease, this includes the security deposit and the first month's rent.
While "The Truth-in-Renting Act" provides that the "Truth-in-Renting" statement is an informational document, not to be construed as binding on or affecting a judicial determination, the act requires every landlord to post the statement so it is prominent and accessible to all tenants and to provide a copy of the statement to each new tenant at or prior to the time the tenant moves in to the dwelling. This notoriety has resulted in a wide-spread misinterpretation of the statute, to the detriment of landlords and tenants alike.
The bill provides that residential leases may specify that rent payments are due and payable weekly, monthly, or annually or may provide for a single rent payment for the entire lease term. The bill also clarifies that rent payments made pursuant to the bill are not security deposits and therefore not subject to the limitation on the amount that may be required as a security deposit under current law.
This bill clarifies that any term in which the payment of rent is due and owing must be agreed to by the landlord and the tenant.
