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A4922 • 2026

Establishes affirmative defense of Social Security hardship in certain eviction actions.

Establishes affirmative defense of Social Security hardship in certain eviction actions.

Housing
Passed Legislature

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

Sponsor
Stewart, Kenyatta
Last action
2026-05-07
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.

Establishes affirmative defense of Social Security hardship in certain eviction actions.

Establishes affirmative defense of Social Security hardship in certain eviction actions.

What This Bill Does

  • Establishes affirmative defense of Social Security hardship in certain eviction actions.
  • 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. 2026-05-07 New Jersey Legislature

    Introduced, Referred to Assembly Housing Committee

Official Summary Text

Establishes affirmative defense of Social Security hardship in certain eviction actions.
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 
A4922

ASSEMBLY, No. 4922

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

222nd LEGISLATURE

�

INTRODUCED MAY 7, 2026

Sponsored by:

Assemblyman� KENYATTA STEWART

District 35 (Bergen and Passaic)

Assemblywoman� SHANIQUE SPEIGHT

District 29 (Essex and Hudson)

SYNOPSIS

���� Establishes affirmative defense of Social Security
hardship in certain eviction actions.

CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT

���� As introduced.

��

An Act

establishing an affirmative defense of Social
Security hardship in eviction actions
and
supplementing Title 2A of the New Jersey Statutes.

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

���� 1.��� a.�������� For the
purpose of this section, �Social Security hardship� means a loss of income due
to an interruption in a person�s receipt of Social Security benefits due to the
action or inaction of the federal government.� �Social Security hardship� shall
not include the termination of Social Security benefits due to a person�s
ineligibility for such benefits.

���� b.��� A tenant of a
residential dwelling unit may assert Social Security hardship as a defense to a
notice to quit for non-payment of any rent withheld.� A tenant that asserts
Social Security hardship as a defense shall provide evidence that:

���� (1)�� Social Security benefits
typically received by the tenant�s household have been terminated, delayed, or
reduced due to the action or inaction of the federal government; and

���� (2)�� the Social Security
hardship negatively impacted the tenant�s ability to afford to pay all or a
portion of rental payments due to the landlord and thereby prevented the tenant
from paying the unpaid rent alleged in an eviction action.

���� c.���� If a tenant provides
evidence required by subsection b. of this section, then a court shall stay the
eviction action until the earlier of either of the following:

���� (1) fourteen days after the
tenant�s Social Security benefits are restored; or

���� (2) six months after the stay
is issued.

���� d.��� Within 14 days of Social
Security benefits being restored by the federal Social Security Administration,
a tenant shall either pay all past due rent to the landlord or enter into a
mutually agreed upon payment plan with a landlord.�

���� e.���� If a tenant that has
complied with the provisions of this section, a court shall dismiss the notice
to quit.� Nothing in this section shall be construed to prohibit a court from
finding that a tenant failed to pay rent prior to Social Security hardship.

����

���� 2. �� This act shall take
effect immediately.

STATEMENT

���� This bill establishes an
affirmative defense of Social Security hardship in an eviction action.

���� This bill provides that a
tenant of a residential dwelling unit may assert Social Security hardship, as
defined in the bill, in an eviction action for non-payment of any rent
withheld.� The bill provides that a tenant that asserts Social Security
hardship as a defense to non-payment of rent is required to provide evidence
that Social Security benefits typically received by the tenant�s household have
been terminated, delayed, or reduced due to the action or inaction of the
federal government and that the Social Security hardship negatively impacted
the tenant�s ability to afford to pay all or a portion of rental payments due
to the landlord and thereby prevented the tenant from paying rent.� If a tenant
is able to provide evidence of Social Security hardship, a court is to issue a
stay of the eviction action until the earlier of either 14 days after the
tenant�s Social Security benefits are restored or six months after the stay was
issued have elapsed.

���� The bill requires a tenant to
make payment of all past due rent within 14 days of Social Security benefits
being restored or enter into a mutually agreed upon payment plan with a
landlord.

���� The bill provides that if a
qualifying tenant has asserted the Social Security hardship and complied with
the bill�s provisions, then a court is to dismiss the notice to quit.� The bill
does not prohibit a court from finding that a tenant failed to pay rent prior
to Social Security hardship.