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A199
ASSEMBLY, No. 199
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
222nd LEGISLATURE
�
PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 2026 SESSION
Sponsored by:
Assemblywoman DAWN FANTASIA
District 24 (Morris, Sussex and Warren)
Assemblyman WILLIAM B. SAMPSON, IV
District 31 (Hudson)
Assemblyman MICHAEL INGANAMORT
District 24 (Morris, Sussex and Warren)
Co-Sponsored by:
Assemblymen Azzariti Jr., Auth, McGuckin and Kanitra
SYNOPSIS
���� Establishes expedited ejectment proceeding to remove
certain unauthorized real property occupants.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
���� Introduced Pending Technical Review by Legislative
Counsel.
��
An Act
establishing expedited proceeding to remove
certain unauthorized real property occupants and supplementing chapter 39 of
Title 2A of the New Jersey Statutes.
����
Be It
Enacted
by the Senate and General Assembly of
the State of New Jersey:
���� 1.� a.� In an action pursuant
to N.J.S.2A:39-6 by a property owner in the Superior Court to obtain a writ of
possession to recover real property from a person occupying the property in
violation of N.J.S.2A:39-5, or of N.J.S.2A:39-3, if the possession was without
the consent of the owner, without color of title, and without making any prior
remuneration therefore, the court shall, within three business days of
receiving a verified complaint described in this section, allow a hearing
related to the complaint.� The court shall notify the real property owner or
the owner�s agent of the court�s determination.� If the court allows a special
expedited ejectment proceeding pursuant to this section, the court shall, by
order, fix the date of the hearing on the complaint, to occur on or before the
fifth business day following the court�s determination.�
���� b.� In the complaint filed by
the real property owner or the owner�s agent, the real property owner or the
owner�s agent shall certify the following:
���� (1)� that, prior to the
submission of the complaint to the court, the occupant of the real property has
been provided with written notice of the complaint or written notice has been
posted prominently on the real property;
���� (2) �the person verifying the
complaint is the owner of the real property, or the lawful agent of the owner;
���� (3)� the occupant of the real
property has never been a lawful tenant of the property, and does not lawfully
own or possess the real property;
���� (4)� the occupant of the real
property has never paid rent to the owner, or a lawful agent of the owner; and
���� (5)� the occupant of the real
property has never had a written lease or other written permission from the
owner, or a lawful agent of the owner, to reside on the property.�
���� c.� In addition to any notice
that the Administrative Director of the Courts may determine to be appropriate,
a real property occupant, who is the subject of a complaint submitted pursuant
to subsection b. of this section, shall be provided with written notice of the
date, time, and location of the special expedited ejectment proceeding within
24 hours of scheduling.� If personal service cannot be effectuated, the written
notice provided pursuant to this subsection may be posted prominently on the
front or back door or otherwise prominently on the real property.
���� d.� If, in a special expedited
ejectment proceeding, the court determines that the information certified by
the owner or the owner�s agent, pursuant to subsection b. of this section, is
accurate, the court shall issue a writ of possession.� An officer of the court
shall remove the unauthorized occupant from the real property following the
issuance of the writ of possession.�
���� e.� The court shall be
authorized to extend the timeline requirements of this section, if necessary in
the interest of justice, in extraordinary circumstances.�
���� f.� A person commits a crime
of the third degree if the person knowingly forges a document for the purpose
of availing oneself of, or circumventing, the special ejectment proceeding
processes established in this section.�
���� g.� In addition to recovery of
possession of the property, and the damages available pursuant to
N.J.S.2A:39-8, a property owner who prevails in an action initiated pursuant to
this section shall be entitled to treble damages for all damages proximately caused
by the unlawful entry and detainer.�
���� 2.� This act shall take effect
on the first day of the third month next following enactment, and shall apply
to an action for a writ of possession initiated on or after that date.
STATEMENT
���� This bill establishes an
expedited ejectment proceeding to remove certain unauthorized occupants of real
property.�
���� In an action by a property
owner in the Superior Court to obtain possession of real property from a person
occupying the property without the consent of the owner, without color of title,
and without making any prior payment for the occupancy, the bill requires the
court to, within three business days of receiving a verified complaint, allow a
hearing on the complaint to proceed.� The court is required to notify the real
property owner or the owner�s agent of the court�s determination. �If the court
allows a special expedited ejectment proceeding, the court is required to fix
the date of the hearing, to occur on or before the fifth business day following
the court�s determination.
���� In the complaint filed by the
real property owner or the owner�s agent, the real property owner or the
owner�s agent is required to certify the following:
�
that prior to
the submission of the complaint to the court, the property occupant has been
provided with written notice of the complaint or written notice has been posted
prominently on the real property;
�
the person
verifying the complaint is the property owner or the owner�s agent;
�
the occupant of
the property has never been a lawful tenant of the property, and does not
lawfully own or possess the real property;
�
the occupant of
the property has never paid rent to the property owner or the owner�s agent;
and
�
the occupant of
the property has never had a written lease or other written permission from the
property owner or the owner�s agent, to reside on the property.�
���� In addition to any notice that
the Administrative Director of the Courts may determine to be appropriate, a
property occupant, who is the subject of a complaint submitted in accordance
with the bill, would be provided with written notice of the date, time, and
location of the special expedited ejectment proceeding within 24 hours of
scheduling.�
���� If, in a special expedited
ejectment proceeding, the court determines that the information certified by
the owner or the owner�s agent is accurate, the bill requires the court to
issue a writ of possession.� An officer of the court is required by the bill to
remove the unauthorized occupant following the issuance of the writ of
possession.�
���� The bill provides that the
court would be authorized to extend the timeline requirements, if necessary in
the interest of justice, in extraordinary circumstances.
���� The bill provides that a
person commits a crime of the third degree if the person knowingly forges a
document for the purpose of availing oneself of, or circumventing, the special
ejectment proceeding processes established in the bill.� A crime of the third
degree is punishable by imprisonment for three to five years, and a fine of up
to $15,000.
���� As a result of existing
provisions of chapter 39 of Title 2A of the New Jersey Statutes, which this
bill supplements, a property owner who prevails in an action initiated pursuant
to the bill, would recover all damages proximately caused by the unlawful occupancy,
including court costs and reasonable attorney's fees.� Additionally, the bill
provides that a prevailing property owner would be entitled to treble damages
for all damages proximately caused by the unlawful entry and detainer.
���� The bill would take effect on
the first day of the third month following enactment, and would apply to an
action for a writ of possession initiated on or after that date.