| Rent Increase Facts | Answer |
| Reason Needed? | No |
| Maximum Amount | None |
| Required Notice | 30 days |
Does New Jersey Have Rent Control Laws?
New Jersey does not have statewide rent control laws limiting the amount that landlords request. However, state law allows local governments to establish local rent control laws.
When Can a Landlord Raise Rent in New Jersey?
Landlords in New Jersey can raise the rent at any time, as long as they comply with the following:
- Wait until the end of the lease term (unless otherwise specified in the lease)
- Give reasonable notice
- Don’t break any local rent control laws
- Aren’t raising rent for discriminatory or retaliatory reasons
30 days before the end of a year-long lease, a landlord sends the tenant a notice that rent will increase by 4.5% if they choose to renew the lease.
When Can’t a Landlord Raise Rent in New Jersey?
Landlords in New Jersey may not raise the rent if:
- It is during the middle of a lease’s fixed term (unless stated otherwise in the lease agreement)
- It is done as retaliation against a protected tenant action, such as requesting repairs
- The increase is higher than what’s allowed under local rent control laws
- The increase is applied in a way that discriminates against one of the protected classes specified in the Fair Housing Act
The New Jersey Law Against Discrimination also prohibits discrimination due to marital, domestic partnership, or civil union status, source of income or rent payment, ancestry, or atypical hereditary cellular or blood trait.
How Often Can Rent Be Increased in New Jersey?
By New Jersey state law, landlords can increase the rent as often as they wish, as long as sufficient notice is provided each time. However, many cities with local rent control ordinances have a limitation on the frequency of rent increases (e.g. once per year in Elizabeth).
How Much Notice is Needed to Raise Rent in New Jersey?
New Jersey state law requires that landlords give 30 days of advance notice before increasing rent unless the lease specifies a longer period. The notice must be sent by one of these methods:
- Hand-delivery to the tenant or a member of their family over 14 years old
- Certified mail
- Regular mail (if the certified letter is not claimed)
The increase notice letter must state that the notice ends the current lease and the tenant has the option to either accept a new lease at a higher rent or move out.
Cities with local rent control ordinances may require a longer notice period, like Edison, which requires 60 days of advance notice.
How Much Can a Landlord Raise Rent in New Jersey?
By New Jersey state law, landlords can raise the rent by any reasonable amount. There is no statewide limit or cap on the amount of a rent increase, but it must be reasonable within the current market.
Over 100 cities have enacted local limitations on rent increases, including:
- Atlantic City – Based on the Consumer Price Index
- Edison – No more than 5%
- Elizabeth – 3%, but no more than $20
- Jersey City – Based on Consumer Price Index, but no more than 4%
- Lakewood – 5% if the tenant pays for heating, 6.5% if the landlord pays for heating
- Newark – Based on the Consumer Price Index, but no more than 4%
- Paterson – 5%, but no more than 3.5% for seniors and disabled tenants
The New Jersey Department of Community Affairs provides a more comprehensive summary of rent control ordinances by city.
Sources
- 1 N.J. Stat. § 2A:42-10.12(d)
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In any action or proceeding instituted by or against a tenant, the receipt by the tenant of a notice to quit or any substantial alteration of the terms of the tenancy without cause after:
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d. Judgment under section 2 of this act is entered for the tenant in a previous action for recovery of premises between the parties; shall create a rebuttable presumption that such notice or alteration is a reprisal against the tenant for making such attempt, report, complaint, or for being an organizer of, a member of, or involved in any activities of, any lawful organization. No reprisal shall be presumed under this section based upon the failure of a landlord to renew a lease or tenancy when so requested by a tenant if such request is made sooner than 90 days before the expiration date of the lease or tenancy, or the renewal date set forth in the lease agreement, whichever later occurs.
Source Link - 2 Elizabeth Code of Ord. § 5.70.060(B)
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No landlord may request or receive more than one increase in base rent for any twelve (12) month period.
Source Link - 3 N.J. Stat. § 2A:18-61.2
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No judgment of possession shall be entered for any premises covered by section 2 of this act, except in the nonpayment of rent under subsection a. or f. of section 2, unless the landlord has made written demand and given written notice for delivery of possession of the premises. The following notice shall be required:
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e. For an action alleging refusal of acceptance of reasonable lease changes under subsection i. of section 2, one month’s notice prior to institution of action.
Source Link
- 4 N.J. Stat. § 2A:18-61.2
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…The notice in each of the foregoing instances shall specify in detail the cause of the termination of the tenancy and shall be served either personally upon the tenant or lessee or such person in possession by giving him a copy thereof, or by leaving a copy thereof at his usual place of abode with some member of his family above the age of 14 years, or by certified mail; if the certified letter is not claimed, notice shall be sent by regular mail.
Source Link
- 5 Edison Mun. Code § 17-4.5
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Any landlord seeking an increase in rent shall first notify the tenant, by ordinary mail, with proof of mailing, of the calculations involved in computing the allowable increase against the previous year’s base rent. The notice shall be sent no later that sixty (60) days prior to the date that the increased rent sought is to be effective, and notice shall detail the prior rent, the amount of the increase in dollars and the new base rent sought.
Source Link - 6 N.J. Stat. § 2A:18-61.1(f)
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No lessee or tenant or the assigns, under-tenants or legal representatives of such lessee or tenant may be removed by the Superior Court from any house, building, mobile home or land in a mobile home park or tenement leased for residential purposes, other than [when]…
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f. The person has failed to pay rent after a valid notice to quit and notice of increase of said rent, provided the increase in rent is not unconscionable and complies with any and all other laws or municipal ordinances governing rent increases.
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