The responsibilities of a tenant in New Jersey are not much different from those in other states. In general, New Jersey`s landlord-tenant law requires them to comply with the following guidelines: Many local health departments have the power to repair heating systems so you can get heat. Your local government must have issued an ordinance giving this power to the health department. Even with regulations, the health authority can only take action if the outside temperature is below 55 degrees. To act, you need to call the health service and tell them that you tried to ask the owner to fix the heater. The board then waits 24 hours before someone makes the repairs. Quote: N.J.S.A. 26:3-31(p) and Jones v. Buford, 71 N.J. 433 (1976).
Tenants often complain that their landlord won`t fix things like windows, locks, toilets, faucets, and heating systems if they break due to normal wear and tear. Tenants also complain that their landlords do not perform routine maintenance such as pest control. As a tenant, you have the right to live in safe, clean and decent housing. This section explains this right and the laws that require your landlord to keep your rental unit in good condition. This section also explains the different steps you can take to have your landlord make the necessary repairs and perform routine maintenance. As explained in the previous section, rental units must comply with city and state housing and health regulations. The codes list the requirements that the landlord`s property must meet in order for it to be approved as a safe or « standard » building. The codes address heat, plumbing, safety, roofs, pests and other serious deficiencies such as weak walls. Newark has a « municipal rent control ordinance » that limits the amount a landlord can increase rental rates after a certain date. This rate is determined by the Consumer Price Index (CPI). It may also limit the amount charged to the tenant in fees.
More information can be found here. The judge hearing your case has the power to reduce the rent for the months you withheld your rent. The judge may then allow you to keep the difference between your regular rent and the lower rent for the months you withheld the rent. The judge may also allow you to pay the lower rent in the future until the landlord makes all the repairs. The judge will list the repairs that must be made before the rent can be repaid at its regular amount. This is called a rent reduction order. If the health department determines that a child under the age of 6 has high blood lead levels, the health department will test the interior of the home for lead. If there is no risk of lead in the house, the exterior of the building is tested. If no lead hazard is found on interior or exterior walls, the local health department checks the surrounding dirt. If a lead hazard is detected, the health department must ask the building owner to eliminate the lead hazard. To solve the problem, the homeowner can cover the surface with hard material or remove the lead paint and repaint it with lead-free paint.
In certain circumstances, tenants will be relocated at the landlord`s expense while the landlord corrects the risks associated with lead in the rental unit. The rent reduction hearing gives you the opportunity to show the judge how bad conditions are in your apartment or in the common areas of the building. Make a list and bring it to court to remember when you testify. You must bring with you a copy of the letter you sent to inform the landlord of your decision to withhold rent and poor conditions in the apartment or house. They should also include any reports from housing or health inspectors on conditions. If you can, take pictures of holes, stains, and other problems and show them to the judge. Under New Jersey`s landlord-tenant law, if the landlord doesn`t make the necessary repairs in a timely manner, the tenant can withhold rent, deduct repair costs from rent payments, or seek legal assistance in court. A rent strike is the withholding of rent by some or all of the tenants of the same landlord.