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A2081 • 2026

Prohibits landlords from requiring rent to be paid by certain means of payment or at any off-site location.

Prohibits landlords from requiring rent to be paid by certain means of payment or at any off-site location.

Housing
Passed Legislature

This bill passed both chambers and reached final enrollment, even if later executive action is not shown here.

Sponsor
Carter, Linda S.
Last action
2026-01-13
Official status
Introduced, Referred to Assembly Housing Committee
Effective date
Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

Using official source text because the generated explanation was unavailable or could not be confirmed against the official bill text.

Prohibits landlords from requiring rent to be paid by certain means of payment or at any off-site location.

Prohibits landlords from requiring rent to be paid by certain means of payment or at any off-site location.

What This Bill Does

  • Prohibits landlords from requiring rent to be paid by certain means of payment or at any off-site location.
  • Topic: Housing Fiscal note: This bill has not been certified by OLS for a fiscal note.

Limits and Unknowns

  • This entry is temporarily using official source text because the generated explanation could not be confirmed against the official bill text during the last sync.

Bill History

  1. 2026-01-13 New Jersey Legislature

    Introduced, Referred to Assembly Housing Committee

Official Summary Text

Prohibits landlords from requiring rent to be paid by certain means of payment or at any off-site location.
Topic:
Housing
Fiscal note:
This bill has not been certified by OLS for a fiscal note.

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text 
A2081

ASSEMBLY, No. 2081

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

222nd LEGISLATURE

�

PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 2026 SESSION

Sponsored by:

Assemblywoman LINDA S. CARTER

District 22 (Somerset and Union)

SYNOPSIS

���� Prohibits landlords from requiring rent to be paid by
certain means of payment or at any off-site location.

CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT

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

��

An Act
concerning rent payments by tenants and supplementing
chapter 8 of the Title 46 of the Revised Statutes.

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

���� 1.��� a.� A landlord shall not
enter into a residential lease, renewal, or extension agreement that limits the
acceptable method of rent payment to cash, personal check, credit or debit
card, or any other specific forms of payment made by, or on behalf of, a tenant.�
A landlord shall accept any cash, personal check, or credit or debit card
payment made by, or on behalf of, a tenant pursuant to a residential lease, renewal,
or extension agreement.

���� b.��� A landlord shall not
enter into a residential lease, renewal, or extension agreement that requires a
tenant to pay rent at any location outside of the premises of the building in
which the tenant resides.

���� c.���� A landlord shall not
enter into a residential lease, renewal, or extension agreement that imposes
any fee on a tenant for the payment of rent:

���� (1)�� by means of cash,
personal check, or credit or debit card payment made by, or on behalf of, the
tenant; or

���� (2)�� at any location inside
or outside of the premises of the building in which the tenant resides.

���� d.��� A landlord who violates
any provision of this section shall be a disorderly person.

���� 2.��� This act shall take
effect immediately and shall be applicable to any residential lease, renewal,
or extension agreement executed on or after the date of enactment.

STATEMENT

���� This bill prohibits a landlord
from requiring a tenant�s rent to be paid by certain means of payment or at any
off-site location.�

���� Specifically, the bill
prohibits a landlord from entering into a residential lease, renewal, or
extension agreement that: (1) limits the acceptable methods of rent payment to
cash, personal check, credit or debit card, or any other specific forms of
payment; or (2) requires the tenant to pay rent at any location outside of the
premises of the building in which the tenant resides.� Additionally, the bill
requires the landlord to accept any cash, personal check, or credit or debit
card payment made by, or on behalf of, a tenant pursuant to residential lease,
renewal, or extension agreement.

���� The bill also prohibits a
landlord from imposing any fee on a residential tenant for the payment of rent:
(1) by means of cash, personal check, or credit or debit card payment made by,
or on behalf of, the tenant; or (2) at any location inside or outside of the
premises of the building in which the tenant resides.

���� Any landlord who violates the
provisions of this bill would be guilty of a disorderly persons offense, which
is punishable by a term of imprisonment of not more than six months, a fine of
not more than $1,000, or both.