Limits amount of residential rental property application fee; establishes penalty.

A2106

ASSEMBLY, No. 2106

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)

Assemblywoman YVONNE LOPEZ

District 19 (Middlesex)

Co-Sponsored by:

Assemblywomen Speight, Park, Haider, Morales, Assemblyman
Miller, Assemblywomen Reynolds-Jackson, Donlon and Peterpaul

SYNOPSIS

���� Limits amount of residential rental property
application fee; establishes penalty.

CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT

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

��

An Act

limiting the amount of residential rental property application fees 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. a.� A landlord, or agent
thereof, shall not require an application or other similar fee to apply to

lease or
sublease a residential rental property for dwelling purposes, which exceeds
$50.

���� b.� A landlord, or agent
thereof, who violates subsection a. of this section shall be liable for a
penalty of $1,500 for each offense, which shall be collected and enforced by
summary proceedings pursuant to the "Penalty Enforcement Law of 1999,"
P.L.1999, c.274 (C.2A:58-10 et seq.).� The Superior Court, Law Division,
Special Civil Part in the county in which the residential rental property is
located shall have jurisdiction over the proceedings.� Process shall be in the
nature of a summons or warrant, and shall issue upon the complaint of the
Director of the Division of Consumer Affairs in the Department of Law and
Public Safety or the Attorney General.� Following the proceedings, $250 from
the collected penalty shall be remitted to the applicant or prospective tenant.

���� c.� The requirements of
subsection a. of this section shall not apply to a dwelling unit located in a
one-family or two-family dwelling that is offered for rent.

���� d.��� Beginning on January 1
of the year next following enactment of P.L.��� , c.��� (C.������� ) (pending
before the Legislature as this bill) and each year thereafter, the amount of
the fee limitation established pursuant to subsection a. of this section shall
be adjusted by the Director of the Division of Consumer Affairs in the
Department of Law and Public Safety in direct proportion to the percent change
in the Consumer Price Index over a 12-month period ending October 31 of the
previous year.� For the purpose of this section, "Consumer Price
Index" means the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers, New
York-Northern New Jersey-Long Island Metropolitan Area, All Items
(1982-84=100), as published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics in the United
States Department of Labor.� The State Treasurer shall determine the amount of
the adjustment by December 1 of each year and the adjustment to the limitation
shall become effective for fees charged during the calendar year following the
December 1 determination, beginning with fees made on or after January 1 of
each calendar year.� An adjustment in the fee limitation shall be made only if
the percent change in the Consumer Price Index for the period specified is
greater than zero.� The Director of the Division of Consumer Affairs shall
annually publish the fee limitation applicable pursuant to this section on the
division�s Internet website.

����� 2.�
The Director of the Division of Consumer Affairs in the Department of Law and
Public Safety shall, in accordance with the "Administrative Procedure
Act," P.L.1968, c.410 (C.52:14B-1 et seq.), adopt rules and regulations as
necessary to implement
P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending
before the Legislature as this bill), including rules setting forth a mechanism
for applicants or prospective tenants to report violations of P.L.��� , c.���
(C.������� ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill), which the director
shall make available on the Internet website of the Division of Consumer
Affairs.

����� 3.�
This act shall take effect on the first day of the fourth month next following
the date of enactment, except that the Director of the Division of Consumer
Affairs in the Department of Law and Public Safety shall be permitted to take
anticipatory action necessary to effectuate the provisions of this act.

STATEMENT

���� This bill prohibits a
landlord, or a landlord�s agent, from requiring an application or other similar
fee, to apply to lease or sublease a residential rental property, which exceeds
$50.� The bill establishes a penalty for a landlord�s violation of the bill of
$1,500 for each offense, enforceable in an action brought by the Director of
the Division of Consumer Affairs in the Department of Law and Public Safety
(director) or the Attorney General.� The bill requires $250 from the collected
penalty to be remitted to the applicant or prospective tenant.� The bill also
would exempt from the requirements of the bill dwelling units located in a
one-family or two-family dwelling that are offered for rent.

���� This bill requires the director
to adopt rules and regulations setting forth a mechanism for applicants or
prospective tenants to report violations of the bill, which is required to be
made available to tenants or prospective applicants on the Internet website of
the Division of Consumer Affairs (division).� This bill would take effect on
the first day of the fourth month next following enactment; the director,
however, would be permitted to take anticipatory action necessary to effectuate
the provisions of the bill.