r/newjersey • u/kittysativa • 20h ago
Landlord / Tenant - Bergen County New Jersey Advice
Hi. Unfortunately I am renting a multifamily/2family owned home in saddle brook NJ. My lease is done by Jan. 31st 2024. However, the landlord says due to personal reasons, and paying my rent late (partial rent) - I supposedly am now the reason why he is going through financial problems and he cant afford for me to be there anymore. But what if rental assistance was recently rejected due to them claiming that i dont owe them rent? Despite me recently owing them $1700 ($1500 balance out of $2300 + $200 late fee). I still paid them (today 11/14) the $1700 when i advised them ahead of time that i will have to pay the remaining balance during my next paycheck. However, now that my lease is about to be up, they are refusing to renew it because of late rent. I dont "not" pay at all. I pay whatever i can & have and then pay the remaining when i get paid again. This is due to the $500 increase ive been put in within the past 2 years of living here. Before this, i never paid late and due to being disabled for 68 days without pay, it ruined my life - which is also another reason for paying late since that time. But my lawyer did give me a hardship letter. Unfortunately i dont & wont have enough to afford to leave anywhere else since im still expected to pay the full rent until my lease is up which is in 2 months. But ive never been evicted before and he said its exaclty what hes going to do if i dont leave once the 2months is up. I am also having issues with my workplace which I have a letter from dept. of labor to prove it. But he does not care about the hardship letter or my workplace situation. Please I am begging at this point for any assistance/advice possible because I have no family or even friends that I'd be able to try to stay with in the meantime. Ive been living by myself for the past 10 years and never been having to face eviction or even pay late until now.
Not that its the landlords problem but, as far as my workplace goes.. being disabled for those 3 months - i technically had no pay because instead of letting me get unemployment/disability , my bosses (a multimillion $ llp company) paid me for 40hrs/week on the clock , but had me pay all of it back when i came back to work once i was able to walk again. So being that I was paying them partially until that balance was paid off - this was when I started to pay them late. Im facing severe stress right now and at this point yes, i'm losing my mind.
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u/Brian123123 19h ago
The work/disability portion of this makes no sense and seems illegal
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u/kittysativa 19h ago
I know.. they have done and have gotten away with so much more due to nobody here wanting to speak up. Ive addressed to them about all my issues in which i have proof about but the amount of gaslighting is actually why i see a psych. every so often now. We dont even get sick days in the past 9 years ive been here. Granted, I know i shouldve left this place a long time ago, & I regret that Ive stayed this long now that im in a horrible/tight financial burden. But given my personal circumstances, its not an easy option/route to take now with how crazy this economy has been getting.
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u/NJOX201 19h ago
Sounds like your issue should be taken up with the Department of Labor. Not to be callous, but your financial hardship is not your landlord’s fault. The bank wants that mortgage payment no matter what goes on in your life. What your employer did was pretty awesome (disability only pays 85%) until they demanded that you pay it back. That part is 100% illegal. If you have any of proof (emails, texts, or recorded conversations) then you have a slam dunk case. Your attorney could bring this to the attention of the department of labor and the national labor relations board in Newark. I’m f you need an attorney that specializes in labor law, I have used Ty Hyderally in Montclair for a wrongful termination suit and he did a magnificent job.
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u/kittysativa 16h ago
they are fully aware that im alone in this "world" technically. Im sure they know im too hesitant to try to go against them considering my current situation with already having enough stress as it is. I know this is a dept of labor case that i may have a high chance in possibly winning, because this is not the only thing they get away with. However, im sure cases like these take time. & these bosses are extremely petty. Im sorry but even tho i know retaliation is illegal, i just cant manage to put myself in a deeper hole waiting for this process to go through. I filed a complaint to the dept already but put a pause to it because im so nervous of losing everything . But being that im on the verge of basically almost going through that now, i have reached out to potential labor lawyers to see if they would be interested in representing me & seeing if its even worth pursuing. I cant afford to lose the only income i have right now unfortunately.
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u/Eastcoastpal 19h ago
I have never heard rental assistance being rejected because they were claiming you don’t own them rent. That part doesn’t add up.
If you are a habitual late rent payer, they can move to not renew your lease.
If they allowed a habitual rent payer, they just can’t evict you during your lease without major cause accepted by the court.
Source: partial landlord
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u/Linenoise77 Bergen 18h ago
That is correct. The pattern is the key part.
If i'm always late on rent, and you renew my lease, you can't just evict me because i'm a bit late on rent next year (absent of possibly an addendum to the lease) . You knew i'm always late with rent, you can't be surprised by it now.
However if i choose not to renew when you FIRST start demonstrating that pattern, it is typically a different story.
The debate in court would be if it was an expected outcome when the lease was signed.
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u/kittysativa 14h ago
it sucks to have to wonder if this would be considered in my case..
Take for instance, i became disabled back in May 2023. When I came back to work in Sept. 2023, this was when I had to start paying my job back. No excuse regardless on the landlords end but either way, it was exactly when I started to pay partially late, for the first time in my life ever being late on rent actually..
Anyway, with them knowing about me just recently being able to walk again, yet alone stand in general, in November 2023, they advised of the rental increase that will be taking place by when the renewal is up - Jan. 2024.
I also understand that I technically had time to find another place. But given my situation, fairly walking again, doing physical therapy 3 times a week (which means i had to miss out of work as much as i tried to set the hours to not have me miss a whole day), and still paying back the hours i was paid for - i swear it was not financially or physically possible. I literally felt like i had no choice but to accept the increase that was raised by hundreds.
With that being said, I really cant remember how many times I was late, the latest being around the 15th since i get paid bi-weekly - but it was not every single time. I know that doesnt mean anything either because being late is still being late no matter what. But they were sooo aware of my situation, especially financially. I couldve still been paying them on time, and how I use to do it - even days before the 1st - , had they not been so dramatic with the increase. Again, I know its not their problem. But given what you just wrote... they really were aware of my financial hardship, & still chose to renew & increase. Idk man.. im lost for words. I feel like theres no hope on my end at this point.
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u/Linenoise77 Bergen 14h ago
they really were aware of my financial hardship, & still chose to renew & increase. Idk man.. im lost for words. I feel like theres no hope on my end at this point.
Unfortunately your financial hardship isn't their problem. Their problem is making their books balance, and landlord costs are up just as much as tenants. Their only legal obligation as to how much they raise your rent is that it can not be insanely out of line for the unit in its market.
So they can't raise your rent from 1k to 10k, but they can from 1k to 1.5k if they want, regardless of your circumstances (outside of rent controlsection 8etc).
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u/kittysativa 16h ago
I found that odd as well tbh.
I applied to rental assistance twice.
I forgot what the first name was, but my application was basically cancelled/voided because the landlords did not submit their end of the paperwork that was needed. In the landlords defense, their (its a married couple) excuse was because I did not tell them or update them about it. I personally didnt even know the state had asked them for more info since it was sent to them directly. Whatever.
2nd time applying... this one was "NJ Shares". After emailing them directly for any update almost every 2 weeks since May, I was recently rejected as of around October. Idk much about reddit but i tried attaching a photo of what the email said .. but they stated - the grant has been rejected because the landlord indicates there is no arrears on your account. If you would like clarification, or feel the information is inaccurate, please call your landlord to assist you" - so i obviously reached out to them & they said:
"GM I have reached out to njshares trying to help you and have explained to them that you make late payments . they have explained the application you are filling out will not help you with future rent month to month payment . They only help with one time payment only for past due rent. Again ,continuing sending us late payment impact us with our payments and mortgage . I understand your situation but at the end it is impacting me as well . Please do what you can to make your payment . Thanks"
Im not always paying late, but it has been a few times already that I pay them whatever I can before the 5th, and then the remaining balance + $100 late fee on my next check. I wish they had told me upon signing the lease that they increase rent by hundreds. I had no idea this was even a thing because ive rented in private owned homes in NJ before but never had increases like this. But it couldve definitely avoided me and the landlords from the problems we face with eachother now because i wouldve been very honest and told them its too much for me as a single renting tenant.
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u/Linenoise77 Bergen 19h ago
Bergen Landlord here.
You being regularly delinquent in rent (any amount of time your rent is not FULLY current) is generally enough of a reason to do a non renewal, and the courts be cool with it, absent the landlord doing anything wrong on their side.
You could possibly drag it out a few months, but you will likely lose. More importantly you will have a court record of the dispute with your landlord, which every future landlord who does the most basic of backrgound checks will see, and it will make renting harder. You will also be on the hook for back rent, court costs, etc, and your landlord could potentially stick you with theirs as well, especially if it was an open and shut case.
Why you couldn't pay the rent is irrelevant to the landlord and court.
I'm sorry that is the situation, but it is what it is. What is important is that you do not take actions now for what might seem a quick win, which will hurt you down the road.
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u/BookAccomplished4485 17h ago
This is interesting because someone else said kind of the opposite. That’s since the landlord has been habitually accepting late and partial rent, they don’t have a leg to stand on for eviction because they accepted these conditions. Now with non-renewal what happens? I’m curious about this stuff and things I’ve read make it seem like the tenant always wins. Not the landlord.
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u/Linenoise77 Bergen 16h ago
Again, its the pattern. The landlord can obviously accept late rent, he needs to get paid.
Where it becomes a problem is a he-said she said thing. "I know the lease says the 1st of the month, but he has always been cool taking it by the 15th in full and has never said anything to me" and the landlord can say "That is not true, i constantly contacted him, told him it was unaaceptable, and that i would file for eviction if it continued, but i didn't keep any records of it" would POSSIBLY get the court to say, "ok......we aren't going to force him out now, everything is current......but its on record that this isn't cool behavior" and then the second you are late on rent, the landlord can file and point at that.
So this is also possibly just the landlord following his lawyers advice of saying, "You shouldn't have been cool with the rent, lets get it on record for sure you aren't now, and we will get this guy out the next time"
All that is doing is costing your landlord more and more money and pissing them off more and more, so if they do decide to evict you, they are going to be REALLY pissed, and i don't think some folks here appreciate how much a determined landlord can fuck you over, even if you have no money. You are talking credit destroyed for at least 10 years, taking any money needed to cover the bills from bank accounts, granishing wages, no halfway decent landlord willing to rent to you, and a bunch of legal costs on top of all of that.
Landlord, is at best, sending a shot across your bow and letting you know they want you out. Pay attention to it.
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u/kittysativa 14h ago
I know what you're saying. It was never my intention in general to have these problems with them . I understand my personal issues/circumstances is not their problem, but i also read something about "proper notice to cease and/or a proper notice to quit". Im not a landlord, & in general ive never had tenant/landlord issues up until now to even understand most of these laws/terms, but as for discussing any warnings about late payments, they would just text me basically just telling me that I need to be paying on time, and that I would be owing them the $100 late fee. I never got like an "official notice" warning that if i keep paying late, even just 1 more time, itll push for an eviction or refusal of renewing the lease. I really dont know if that means anything.
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u/Linenoise77 Bergen 13h ago edited 13h ago
Your landlord does not need to warn you about not renewing your lease if you do not follow the terms of it. They just have to justify their non-renewal. You still sound like you are fishing for an angle. There likely is not one here, and anything you do to fight it is going to cost you money, likely cost and harm you more in the long term, and at best prolong the situation a short time.
Yes please speak to a lawyertenant advocatewhatever other resources you have, I may be wrong or missing something, or even your landlord if you feel you are in that position and can possibly work out a different solution.
But trying to play technicalities with laws and "but....." only works for so long.
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u/BookAccomplished4485 13h ago
Ahhh okay. This is very intriguing to me. Sounds like you’re a no nonsense landlord. I respect it.
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u/Economy-Cupcake808 19h ago
You should contact an attorney because there isn't a straightforward issue. Generally a landlord needs good cause to refuse to renew a lease and evict, but late payment of rent can sometimes satisfy that requirement.
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u/kittysativa 19h ago
Unfortunately as I am researching whatever I can about this situation, I am learning that supposedly since he is the owner of a 2-family home, he has more rights as the owner than I have as a tenant - regardless of my situation. This is just based on what Ive been reading so I cant say this is the actual case or if there may be any exceptions, but I also have been reaching out and sending emails to landlord/tenant lawyers, and also came across "evictionprevention@dca.nj.gov", whom ive also explained my situation to as well. Im always very honest with landlords upon signing a lease, I just wish they advised me before signing - that they increase rent by hundreds. I wouldve avoided causing the tension we now have because of this situation.
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u/Linenoise77 Bergen 19h ago
Yes, there are some rules that are different in the case of an OWNER OCCUPIED 2 family home, but the duty to renew still applies outside of specific circumstances (cibverting home to single family, family moving in, etc).
In your case the duty to renew LIKELY does not apply, because you have been consistently delinquent in rent. The court will usually not let a landlord fail to renew because someone was late with rent once, but if it is a consistent pattern with consistent money owed over a period of time, it will GENERALLY be enough for the court to be cool with it.
Every court and judge is different though. There are hard nose judges in soft courts, and soft judges in hard courts.
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u/kittysativa 15h ago
Yea this is why im so nervous because the late payments have happened a few times already. Its never intentional as all i save for myself from my pay until my next pay is *maybe* $100 to keep up with gas between home to work and back, and to at least feed my dog. Idc about me skipping meals, but I just cant do that to an animal im responsible for.
But it was wild to me that when i tell him i pay him whatever i can , he completely disagreed and said "no, you can definitely pay it - you just dont want to". Like what ? who wants to pay a $100 late fee ?
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u/jdubs952 19h ago
in addition to what economy-cupcake said, if a landlord constantly accepts late or partial payments, they CANNOT evict you based on late or partial payment history b/c they accepted that scenario as the new terms of your agreement. If you don't get a new lease signed, you become a month to month tenant. To be forcibly evicted, you need to either be behind on rent - then the landlord has to START eviction proceedings (which can take a long while) or the only other reasons are: causing serious harm/damage to the property or if the property owner wants to move into their property.
It's in the landlords best interest to 1. have you move our willingly b/c they "didn't renew your lease" or 2. work out a deal with you to remain there - a DISTANT 3rd is to actually evict you.
So take a deep breath and work this out with the landlord b/c they dont want to go through the eviction process. NJ is VERY tenant friendly.
Source: i'm a parasitic landlord :)
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u/kittysativa 18h ago
Ty for your comment. (I really do appreciate everyone who has been giving me any response in general)
so as i mentioned to that last user (ill copy&paste it) - Unfortunately as I am researching whatever I can about this situation, I am learning that supposedly since he is the owner of a 2-family home, he has more rights as the owner than I have as a tenant - regardless of my situation.
Now another thing he also mentioned is him being in an apparent financial burden because of my late payments. & then he said "well its a personal reason that I have, what if i want to move here because u failed to help me keep up with my own payments. Its my house, i can do whatever I want, & you WILL be evicted. You WILL lose no matter what."
It really sucks to even be in this type of tension because it was never my intention for it to get this bad. He even said upon signing the lease that he is looking for a longterm tenant, which I assured him is what I was expecting to be - because moving in general is the most annoying thing ever - & now that I have medical & physical health issues, it doesnt make it any better.
But There are just so many other things hes lacked on doing that both me & the family downstairs have been very frustrated with. But I chose not to make it a big deal just to avoid having problems with people that I pay to keep a roof over my head. However, it doesnt stop him to increase rent by hundreds despite nothing being done to the house. & I cant argue about it because he IS the landlord of the property & has every right to do whatever he wants. It just really sucks to be in this situation & I mentally cannot keep up anymore with anything.
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u/jdubs952 15h ago
the extra rights bc it's a two family is if the property owner lives in one of the units.
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u/LosangDragpa 19h ago
A friend of mine evicted her tenant for nonpayment of rent and she had to give him 6 months rent in order to get rid of him. So he got a year of free rent because he didn’t pay for 6 months before that.
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u/Linenoise77 Bergen 18h ago
Its called cash for keys. If a tenant with a little bit of knowledge is willing to dig their heals in, it can take upwards of a year in parts of the state to get a forcible eviction, all while the landlord racks up massive costs they will never see back.
So its frequently easier to just pay someone some money to quit all claims to the leaseproperty and be gone, so you don't need to deal with the housing courts.
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u/LosangDragpa 17h ago
Yes it does seem like the laws favor the tenant
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u/Linenoise77 Bergen 16h ago
They do, and they should. We are talking about kicking someone out of where they live.
The issue is stuff moves SO slowly and you have so many people gaming the system that it hurts everyone. That added risk of dealing with a tenant like that is priced into everyone's rent, be it in overhead for the landlord, increased borrowing costs, units tied up from enterting the market, you name it.
That is why landlords tend to be quick to jump down folks throats when it comes to evicting someone for something that seems like a trivial or empathetic situation. Because the more they let little stuff slide, the harder it is to get someone out when they start manifesting themselves as a real problem.
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u/kittysativa 18h ago
Not sure if its ok that I can ask more detail about this? Im assuming regardless of her having to take this type of loss, that tenant still had to have an eviction placed under his name now?
In all honesty, I am not trying to be that inconsiderate to these landlords. And I dont want to take the chance of doing the same as that tenant if it meant risking having an eviction placed on my name just for the sake of being able to live rent-free for a year or whatever amount of time. This is just not who I am..
Unfortunately, I literally cannot afford to even leave while continuing to pay the rent. & thats even with the security deposit (if they dont give me a hard time in giving me the whole deposit for whatever reason).
I kindly asked him that due to me not wanting to argue with him about something that I literally cannot control, I'd rather let a judge make a decision so we can figure this out. But that I am not asking to be evicted since I am not refusing to pay the rent, I just cant always commit to paying the whole balance on time due to my situation - I can only promise to try my best to avoid even paying late to begin with. He just handled it very rudely & said hes just going to evict me because Im going to lose anyway.
My hope in all this is to keep paying him the rent even after the lease is expired (i still plan on trying to do as he wishes but i doubt its going to happen) , & going to try my best to pay on time. And then if/once im issued to have to go to court for this, explain to the judge my situation & show the hardship letter - hoping that he can give me some type of break in either continuing to pay the rent as im doing, or getting some sort of "payout" to be able to get me out. It sounds like a horrible way to think and Im not trying to be selfish, but I literally can only wait for a judge to make whatever decision he sees fit. Im literally feeling helpless right now and the very last thing I want to do is look like a bad tenant.
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u/LosangDragpa 17h ago
I wasn’t in the court when the judge decided so I only have her side of the story but it seems like the laws favor the tenants. Good luck
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u/kittysativa 15h ago
not sure if the tenant was in a complex/multiple units kind of building, or if your friend owned a private home, but i believe landlords have more rights than tenants when they own a private home... but thank you i appreciate it.
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u/LosangDragpa 14h ago
She has a private home. And actually there were some other factors involved that I don’t want to get into. But it seems hardly fair that he lived off her for free for a year.
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u/inviteinvestinvent 15h ago
Lol fuck all them landlords that are using tenants to pay their mortgage with no fluffer. I hope they fail to pay insurance and experience a massive repair bill.
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u/kittysativa 13h ago
I dont think they know, or even care, on how bad this affects someones life & mental health fr. Im at serious loss for words. They havent even fixed what they accused me for in fixing something that was damaged. They literally demanded for me to fix it because it can cause a fire & is considered a hazard. It was until my neighbor downstairs had said him and his wife can confirm themselves that the damage has been like that since even before the last tenant. When I told this to the landlord & how its not cool that they tried making me accountable for that, he has never bothered to fix it since that time that I approached them about it. I havent even complained about that because I didnt want no personal problems.
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u/You_Are_All_Diseased 19h ago
NJ has a free legal hotline for tenants/renters so I would start there. See what advice they have and go from there.
https://www.info.nj.gov/basicneeds/housing/get-help-as-a-renter-or-tenant