I am a landlord in NJ. My tenant is on a month to month lease. He gave 30 days notice that he will be leaving on March 31st. The house is a ...

Question

I am a landlord in NJ. My tenant is on a month to month lease. He gave 30 days notice that he will be leaving on March 31st. The house is a filthy dirty, yet I was able to find a new tenant who needs to move in by March 23rd. My current tenant is almost 3 months behind in the rent. Do I have any legal grounds to force him to remove his possessions by March 23rd? My tenant is also almost 2 months behind in his electric/gas bill which we agreed would be left in my name. I send him the bill and normally he pays me for it, but that's stopped also. Thank you, Ilene Leese

Answer

The only lawful way to have a residential tenant removed in New Jersey is through the eviction process. You don't have much leverage because of the rent deficiency but you might try to find some way that the current tenant would agree to move by the 23rd. I may be able to help you collect the back rent. My recommendation to the landlords that I represent is to begin suit as soon as a tenant has gone beyond the grace period in the lease. That way, if they want to stay, they will generally have to pay not only the rent that is due but my fee also. If they don't intend to stay, the damage is kept to a minimum. I teach a course in landlord/tenant law at Camden County College and also one on collecting in Small Claims court (starts next Tuesday). You might want to sign up for it.

See also: http://info.corbettlaw.net/lawguru.htm

Answer

You don't have a lot of options. Self help is illegal in New Jersey and the eviction process with take into April. Your best bet is to negotiate a deal with the current tenant. otherwise be prepared to wait until March 31. You may have other options after that.

Answer

The attorneys above have provided very sound legal advice. I agree.