A tenant can be evicted for several reasons, including failure to pay rent or consistently paying late, damage to the apartment, or violation of lease rules. You can only be evicted through a court process.
Your landlord must file an eviction complaint in Landlord Tenant Court to lawfully evict you. It is illegal in New Jersey for your Landlord to change the locks without taking you to court.
The eviction complaint must provide a reason why the Landlord is trying to evict you. You will get a copy of what your Landlord has filed from the Court. You will also get a Proceeding Notice that tells you the date, time, and place of your court date. If you cannot appear on your court date for medical reasons or travel out of state, you must request an adjournment from the court, with proof, 5 days before your Court date. It is important to follow up on your request. If it is denied, then you must appear on your original date. If you miss your court date, you will be evicted by default. The Judge will enter a Judgment of Possession against you, which starts the removal process. You can ask the court for a new hearing date, but only if you have a good reason why you missed your court date and have a solid defense to the eviction.
On your court date, bring all materials you need to defend your case. If you are being evicted for nonpayment of rent and are receiving rental assistance, you should have all documentation from the agencies providing the assistance showing how much they are paying. If you are being evicted for a lease violation, it is important to have evidence that you have not broken your lease, such as pictures of your unit or witnesses.
When you are inside the courtroom, the Judge will explain what to expect that day, then the Court staff will start the call. Have your docket number with you, listen closely, and respond with your name when your case is called. If you and your Landlord are present on your court date, you will be sent to mediation to try and settle the case. There are two main settlement agreements: a Pay and Stay and a Vacate Agreement.
A Pay and Stay is a settlement in which the Landlord and Tenant agree to a payment plan to pay the back rent. In a Vacate Agreement, the Tenant agrees to leave by a specific date. If both parties agree and enter into a settlement agreement, it becomes binding. If you break the agreement, the Landlord can request a lockout without a new hearing. When the terms of a settlement are met, the eviction case is dismissed.
If no settlement agreement is reached, your case goes to trial before the Judge on the same day. During the trial, you and your landlord will present the Judge with evidence. If the Landlord is not able to prove their case, or you can disprove or provide a defense, then the case will be dismissed and you keep your apartment. If the Judge finds in favor of the Landlord, they will grant a Judgment of Possession. From that point, you will have about two weeks to move before you can be locked out. Here’s the timeline:
Once a Landlord has a Judgement of Possession, they can request a Warrant of Removal, which is the lockout notice. Your Landlord has to wait three days from the court date before they can request the Warrant of Removal.
Once the Warrant of Removal is requested, the Court Officers will place it on your door. This usually takes about a week from the Landlord’s request. The Warrant of Removal will show a date when the lockout can take place. This is always three days after it’s placed on your door, not including weekends. Lockouts can take place Monday through Friday between 8:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. A Court Officer must do the lockout.
If you have not entered into a vacate agreement, you can request an Order for Orderly Removal once you get the Warrant of Removal on your door. The Court will give you a 7-day extension on the lockout to allow you more time to move. If you are evicted for nonpayment of rent, the law says that if you can come up with all the rent due through the current month, the Landlord must accept to the rent up to three days after a lockout, dismiss the case, and reinstate your tenancy.
