Requires distribution of certain eviction prevention information.

A1078

ASSEMBLY, No. 1078

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

222nd LEGISLATURE

�

PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 2026 SESSION

Sponsored by:

Assemblyman� BALVIR SINGH

District 7 (Burlington)

Assemblywoman� KATIE BRENNAN

District 32 (Hudson)

SYNOPSIS

���� Requires distribution of certain eviction prevention
information.

�

CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT

���� As introduced.

��

An Act

concerning the provision of eviction prevention
information and amending P.L.1975, c.310.

����
Be It
Enacted
by the Senate and General Assembly of
the State of New Jersey:

���� 1.��� Section 2 of P.L.1975,
c.310 (C.46:8-44) is amended to read as follows:

���� 2.��� As used in this act:

���� a.���� "Landlord"
means any person who rents or leases or offers to rent or lease, for a term of
at least one month, dwelling units, except dwelling units in
[
rental
premises containing not more than two such units, or in
]

owner-occupied premises of not more than three dwelling units, or in hotels,
motels or other guest houses serving transient or seasonal guests.

���� b.��� "Department"
means the Department of Community Affairs.

���� c.���� "Commissioner"
means the Commissioner of Community Affairs.

���� d.��� "Electronic funds
transfer" means a transfer of funds, other than a transaction originated
by check, draft, or similar paper instrument, that is initiated through an
electronic terminal, telephone, computer, or magnetic tape for the purpose of ordering,
instructing, or authorizing a financial institution to debit or credit a
consumer's account, including, but not limited to, through the use of an
automated clearinghouse (ACH) system.

(cf: P.L.2019, c.300, s.1)

���� 2.��� Section 3 of P.L.1975,
c.310 (C.46:8-45) is amended to read as follows:

���� 3.��� a.�
(1)
� The
department shall, as soon as practicable and annually thereafter, after public
hearing, prepare and make available at no cost to the public, to the extent
that funding has been made available to the department for free distribution,
[
a statement,
]
in a form and
size suitable for posting and distributing pursuant to the provisions of
[
this act,
]

P.L.1975,
c.310 (C.46:8-43 et seq.), a statement
of the primary clearly established
legal rights and responsibilities of tenants and landlords of rental dwelling
units
including, but not limited to, information and resources to assist
tenants and landlords in avoiding eviction, which eviction avoidance
information shall be made available both in the statement, and separately as a
pamphlet, flyer, electronic document, or in any other form determined
appropriate by the commissioner
.

����
[
This
]

(2)� The
statement
and
separate eviction avoidance information, distributed pursuant to this section,

shall be printed in both the English and Spanish languages and shall be posted
on the department's Internet website, in an easily printable format, and
updated annually.� The statement
and separate eviction avoidance information

shall serve as
[
an
]
informational

[
document
]

documents
,
and nothing therein shall be construed as binding on or affecting a judicial
determination under section 6 of P.L.1975, c.310 (C.46:8-48) of what
constitutes a lease provision which violates clearly established legal rights
of tenants or responsibilities of landlords.

���� b.��� Where practical
considerations make it necessary for the department to limit the extent of the
statement
or separate eviction avoidance information
, items to be
included shall be selected on the basis of the importance of their inclusion in
protecting the rights of the public.�
The department shall, upon a good
faith request by a tenant or landlord, provide the statement, the separate
eviction avoidance information, or both, to the tenant or landlord, by mail or
electronic mail.�

����
c.���� The eviction
avoidance information distributed pursuant to paragraph (1) of subsection a. of
this section shall list resources that may be beneficial for the purpose of
preventing eviction, and information on how to access each resource, which
shall include, but shall not be limited to:

����
(1)�� the New Jersey
Eviction Guide, produced by the department, for the purpose of providing
interactive guidance on avoiding eviction;

����
(2)�� pertinent information
made available by, and contact information for, the Office of Eviction
Prevention established pursuant to section 5 of P.L.2021, c.188
(C.52:27D-287.11);

����
(3)�� pertinent information
concerning the "Eviction Prevention Program," established pursuant to
section 4 of P.L.2021, c.188 (C.52:27D-287.10); and

����
(4)�� local court vicinage
information for the Comprehensive Court Eviction Defense and Diversion
program.�

(cf: P.L.2007, c.177, s.1)

���� 3.��� Section 4 of P.L.1975,
c.310 (C.46:8-46) is amended to read as follows:

���� 4.���
a.
� Every
landlord shall distribute one copy of the statement
and separate eviction
avoidance information
prepared and made available pursuant to the
provisions of
[
this
act
]

P.L.1975,
c.310 (C.46:8-43 et seq.)
to each of their tenants within 30 days after
[
it
]

each

has been made available by the department and shall thereafter provide a copy
of the current statement
and separate eviction avoidance information
to
each new tenant at or prior to the time
[
he
]

the tenant

assumes occupancy of the dwelling
, and at or prior to the time of each lease
renewal
.� In addition, every landlord shall keep a copy of the current
statement
and separate eviction avoidance information
posted in one or
more locations
, in accordance with the rules and regulations of the
commissioner,
so that the statement
[
is
]

and
separate eviction avoidance information are
prominent and accessible to all

[
his
]

of the
landlord�s
tenants.

����
b.��� Upon receipt of the
statement and separate eviction avoidance information, the tenant shall sign an
acknowledgement of receipt for the landlord to maintain as a record to
demonstrate compliance with this section.�

(cf: P.L.1975, c.310, s.4)

���� 4.��� Section 5 of P.L.1975,
c.310 (C.46:8-47) is amended to read as follows:

���� 5.��� Any landlord who
violates any provision of
[
this
act
]

P.L.1975,
c.310 (C.46:8-43 et seq.)
, contrary to the legal rights of tenants, shall
be liable to a penalty of
[
not
more than $100.00
]

$1,000
for each offense.� Such penalty shall be collected and enforced
by summary proceedings pursuant to
[
"the
penalty enforcement law" (N.J.S.2A:58-1 et seq.)
]

the "Penalty Enforcement
Law of 1999," P.L.1999, c.274 (C.2A:58-10 et seq.).� The tenant shall be
permitted to recover the penalty, reasonable attorney�s fees, court costs,
expenses for expert witnesses, and other related fees and expenses incurred in
proving a violation of P.L.1975, c.310 (C.46:8-43 et seq.)
.� The Superior
Court, Law Division, Special Civil Part in the county in which the rental
premises are located shall have jurisdiction over such proceedings.� Process
shall be in the nature of a summons or warrant, and shall issue upon the
complaint of the commissioner, the Attorney General, or any other person.

(cf: P.L.1991, c.91, s.460)

���� 5.��� Section 7 of P.L.1975,
c.310 (C.46:8-49) is amended to read as follows:

���� 7.��� No waiver or refusal by
a tenant of
[
his
]

the
tenant�s
right to receive a copy of the statement
or separate eviction
avoidance information
as provided herein shall alter the responsibilities
of the landlord under any provision of
[
this
act
]

P.L.1975,
c.310 (C.46:8-43 et seq.)
.

(cf: P.L.1975, c.310, s.7)

���� 6.��� On or before the first
day of the third month next following enactment of P.L.��� , c.��� (C.������� )
(pending before the Legislature as this bill), the Commissioner of Community
Affairs shall adopt, pursuant to the "Administrative Procedure Act,"
P.L.1968, c.410 (C.52:14B-1 et seq.), rules and regulations to effectuate the
provisions of P.L.��� , c.��� (C.������� ) (pending before the Legislature as
this bill).�

���� 7.��� This act shall take
effect on the first day of the third month next following enactment.�

STATEMENT

���� This bill requires landlords
to distribute certain eviction prevention information and resources to their
tenants.�

���� Pursuant to "The
Truth-in-Renting Act" (Truth-in-Renting Act) P.L.1975, c.310 (C.46:8-43 et
seq.) a landlord is currently required to distribute to a residential tenant,
at or prior to the time when the tenant assumes occupancy of a rental unit, a
statement of the legal rights and responsibilities of landlords and tenants.�
In addition to providing this statement, the bill requires the landlord to
provide to the tenant certain information and resources, as produced by the
Department of Community Affairs (DCA), to assist tenants and landlords in
avoiding eviction.� In addition to the documents being provided at the
beginning of an occupancy, the bill also requires the statement and separate
eviction avoidance information to be provided at or prior to the time of each
lease renewal.� Upon receipt of the statement and separate eviction avoidance
information, the bill requires the tenant to sign an acknowledgement of receipt
for the landlord to maintain as a record to demonstrate compliance with the
provisions of the bill.�

���� The bill changes the
definition of a "landlord" for the purposes of the Truth-in-Renting
Act to mean any person who rents or leases or offers to rent or lease, for a
term of at least one month, dwelling units, except dwelling units in owner-occupied
premises of not more than three dwelling units, or in hotels, motels or other
guest houses serving transient or seasonal guests.� This change would require
landlords of non-owner occupied rental premises containing one or two dwelling
units, who are currently excluded from the responsibilities of the
Truth-in-Renting Act, to begin complying with the statute.�

���� In producing the eviction
avoidance information required by the bill, DCA is to list resources that may
be beneficial for the purpose of preventing eviction, and information on how to
access each resource, including but not limited to:

�

the New Jersey Eviction Guide, produced by the DCA, to provide
interactive guidance on avoiding eviction;

�

information made available by, and contact information for, the
State�s Office of Eviction Prevention;

�

information concerning the State�s "Eviction Prevention
Program;" and

�

local court vicinage information for the Comprehensive Court
Eviction Defense and Diversion program.

���� This bill also increases the
penalty against a landlord who violates the Truth-in-Renting Act from $100 to
$1,000 for each offense, and permits a tenant to recover reasonable attorney�s
fees, court costs, expenses for expert witnesses, and other related fees and
expenses incurred in proving the violation.� This is reflective of the increase
in median rent price in the State from 1975, when the penalty was established,
to 2024 data.

���� The bill requires the
Commissioner of Community Affairs, to adopt rules and regulations to effectuate
the provisions of the bill on or before the effective date of the bill on the
first day of the third month following enactment.