Restricts landlord from imposing charge on applicant or tenant for keeping pets in residential rental units.

A1991

ASSEMBLY, No. 1991

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

222nd LEGISLATURE

�

PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 2026 SESSION

Sponsored by:

Assemblywoman ANNETTE QUIJANO

District 20 (Union)

Assemblywoman ROSAURA "ROSY" BAGOLIE

District 27 (Essex and Passaic)

SYNOPSIS

���� Restricts landlord from imposing charge on applicant
or tenant for keeping pets in residential rental units.

CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT

���� Introduced Pending Technical Review by Legislative
Counsel.

��

An Act

concerning certain restrictions 3on landlord
related to charges for keeping pets in rental units and supplementing chapter 8
of Title 46 of the Revised Statutes.

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

���� 1.� As used in P.L.��� , c.���
(C.������� ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill):

���� �Landlord� means
any person or entity, or their agent, who rents or leases or offers to
rent or lease, for a term of at least one month, dwelling units, except dwelling
units in hotels, motels, or other guest houses serving transient or seasonal
guests.� �Landlord� also means a third-party screening vendor used by an owner,
lessor, or property manager of a residential rental dwelling unit to screen
prospective tenants or facilitate a prospective tenant�s application for
renting the dwelling unit.

���� �Pet� means any domesticated
animal normally maintained in or near the
dwelling unit of that
animal�s owner
.

���� �Tenant� means any person who
rents or leases, for a term of at least one month, a dwelling unit, except
dwelling units in hotels, motels, or other guest houses serving transient or
seasonal guests.� �Tenant� shall also mean an applicant, prospective tenant, or
other person who applies to rent or lease, or seeks to rent or lease, for a
term of at least one month, a dwelling unit, except a dwelling unit in hotels,
motels, or other guest houses serving transient or seasonal guests.

���� �Third-party
screening vendor� means a company or vendor that engages in the business of
collecting, assembling, and evaluating residential tenant applications for the
purpose of facilitating a landlord�s approval or rejection of a prospective
tenant�s application.

���� 2.� a.� A landlord shall not
charge a tenant any additional rent, fees, or other increases to the monthly
rent or monthly fees, nonrefundable or otherwise, because a tenant keeps, or
intends to keep, a pet in the dwelling unit.

���� b.� A landlord shall not
require as a condition for any lease, lease addendum, or lease application that
a tenant pay any additional fees or charges, nonrefundable or otherwise,
because a tenant keeps, or intends to keep, a pet in the dwelling unit.

���� c.� A landlord shall not
include within any lease, lease addendum, or lease application a provision
requiring additional fees or charges, nonrefundable or otherwise, because a
tenant keeps, or intends to keep, a pet in the dwelling unit.

���� d.� A landlord shall not
charge a tenant or accept a sum greater than $500 for a one-time security
deposit related to the tenant keeping one or more pets in the dwelling unit,
which security deposit shall be refundable and subject to P.L.1967, c.265
(C.46:8-19 et seq.).� A pet security deposit shall be included as part of, and
shall not be required in addition to, the security deposit as limited in sum by
section 4 of P.L.1971, c.223 (C.46:8-21.2).

���� 3.� a.
� A tenant
shall have the right to petition a court of competent jurisdiction to terminate
a lease or agreement containing a provision in violation of P.L.��� , c.���
(C.������� ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill), and shall be
permitted to recover reasonable attorney�s fees or expenses.

���� b.� A
landlord
who violates section 2 of
P.L.��� , c.��� (C.������ ) (pending
before the Legislature as this bill)
shall also, at the discretion of
the tenant, be subject to a separate cause of action by the tenant in the
Superior Court, Law Division, Special Civil Part in the county in which the dwelling
unit is located.� A tenant may recover $1,000 from the landlord for each
offense, in addition to reasonable attorney�s fees or expenses.�

���� c.� A landlord shall be
subject to the penalties set forth in this section for each violation of
P.L.��� , c.��� (C.������ ) (pending before the Legislature as this
bill)
, which may be brought pursuant to subsection b. of this section at
the tenant�s discretion.�

���� d.� The remedies available to
a tenant pursuant to this section shall function in addition to, and shall not
be construed or interpreted to interfere with, the remedies available to a
tenant, licensee, executor, administrator or surviving spouse, or other person
acting on behalf of a tenant, licensee, executor, administrator or surviving
spouse, pursuant to section 3 of P.L.1971, c.223 (C.46:8-21.1).

���� 4.� This act shall take effect
on the first day of the fourth month next following the date of enactment and
shall apply to tenancies commencing on or after the effective date of P.L.��� ,
c.��� (C.������� ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill), and to oral
or written representations made by a landlord, applications offered by a
landlord, and submitted applications by a tenant beginning on or after the
effective date of P.L.��� , c.��� (C.������� ) (pending before the Legislature
as this bill).

STATEMENT

���� This bill prohibits a landlord
from charging a tenant, including an applicant or prospective tenant,
additional rent or fees because the tenant has a pet or intends to keep a pet
in the residential rental dwelling unit.�

���� The bill defines the term
�pet� to mean a domesticated animal normally maintained in or near the
dwelling unit of that animal�s owner
.� The bill defines the term
�tenant� to mean: (1) any person who rents or leases, for a term of at least
one month, a dwelling unit, except dwelling units in hotels, motels, or other
guest houses serving transient or seasonal guests; and (2) an applicant,
prospective tenant, or other person who applies to rent or lease, or seeks to
rent or lease, for a term of at least one month, dwelling units, except
dwelling units in hotels, motels, or other guest houses serving transient or
seasonal guests.

���� Specifically, the bill
prohibits a landlord from:

�

charging a tenant, as defined in the bill, additional rent, fees,
or other increases to the monthly rent, nonrefundable or otherwise, because the
tenant keeps, or intends to keep, a pet in the dwelling unit;

�

�requiring as a condition for a lease, lease addendum, or lease
application that a tenant pay any additional fees or charges, nonrefundable or
otherwise, because the tenant keeps, or intends to keep, a pet in the dwelling
unit; and

�

including within any lease, lease addendum, or lease application
a provision requiring additional fees or charges, nonrefundable or otherwise,
because the tenant keeps, or intends to keep, a pet in the dwelling unit.

���� The bill would permit a
landlord to charge a one-time, refundable pet security deposit of no more than
$500, which would be included within the total security deposit limit set forth
by present law.� The bill would also codify certain State case law by prohibiting
a landlord from requiring a security deposit in excess of one and a half times
the monthly rent because the tenant keeps or intends to keep one or more pets.

���� A violation of the bill would:

���� (1)�
permit a
tenant to petition the court to terminate a lease or agreement in violation of the
bill, and to recover reasonable attorney�s fees or expenses; and

���� (2)�
subject
a landlord to a private cause of action, brought at the discretion of the
tenant, who would be permitted to recover $1,000 from the landlord for each offense,
in addition to reasonable attorney�s fees or expenses
.

���� The remedies
provided to a tenant would function in addition to, and are not to interfere
with, existing remedies available pursuant to section 3 of P.L.1971, c.223
(C.46:8-21.1 et seq.).�

���� The bill would take effect on
the first day of the fourth month following enactment, and apply to tenancies
commencing on or after the effective date of the bill, and to oral or written
representations made by a landlord, applications offered by a landlord, and
submitted applications by a tenant beginning on or after the effective date of
the bill.