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New Jersey residential lease agreement

As of October 26, 2026, New Jersey caps a security deposit at 1.5 months’ rent, held in an interest-bearing account, and the landlord must return it within 30 days of the lease ending.1,2

The parties to a New Jersey lease must be at least 18 and mentally competent, and the lease must include the names of landlord and tenant.2

A New Jersey security deposit remains the tenant’s property, held in trust by the landlord and never mixed with the landlord’s own money.1

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Residential Lease Agreement

State of New Jersey

  1. 1. Parties and property

    This Residential Lease Agreement (the “Lease”) is made on Date between Landlord (the “Landlord”) and Tenant (the “Tenant”). The Landlord rents to the Tenant the home at Address (the “Property”).

  2. 2. Term

    This Lease begins on Start date and ends on End date (the “Term”).

  3. 3. Rent

  4. 4. Security deposit

  5. 5. Utilities and services

  6. 6. Use of the Property

  7. 7. Pets

  8. 8. Smoking

  9. 9. Maintenance and repairs

  10. 10. Entry by the Landlord

  11. 11. Assignment and subletting

  12. 12. Moving out

  13. 13. Default

  14. 14. Notices

  15. 15. General terms

  16. 16. Signatures

Sections 3–16 unlock after purchase. Prepared with SimplePaperwork, which is not a law firm.

New Jersey’s rules, with sources

State form
  • New Jersey accepts a lease that is written or oral, and a written lease must be in plain language an average person can understand.2
  • Under the Truth-in-Renting Act, a New Jersey landlord gives each new tenant the current Department of Community Affairs statement of tenant and landlord rights at or before move-in and keeps a copy posted where tenants can see it.1
  • The New Jersey Truth in Renting statement is not required for buildings with two or fewer units or for owner-occupied buildings with three or fewer units.2
  • New Jersey law has the Department of Community Affairs print the Truth in Renting statement in English and Spanish and post it on its website.1
Signing
  • The parties to a New Jersey lease must be at least 18 and mentally competent, and the lease must include the names of landlord and tenant.2
  • For attorney fees and late fees to count as rent in a New Jersey eviction case, the written lease must expressly provide for them.2
Deadlines
  • Within 30 days after a New Jersey lease ends, the landlord returns the deposit plus the tenant’s interest, minus permitted charges, by personal delivery or registered or certified mail.1
  • Within 30 days of receiving a New Jersey security deposit, and at each annual interest payment, the landlord tells the tenant in writing where the money is held.2
  • When a New Jersey tenant is displaced by fire, flood, condemnation or evacuation, the landlord must make the deposit available within five business days.2
  • If a New Jersey tenant breaks the lease, the 30-day clock for the deposit starts when the unit is re-rented or the lease would have expired, whichever comes first.2
  • New Jersey gives senior citizens on Social Security or government pensions, and recipients of disability benefits, SSI or Work First New Jersey, five business days of grace before a late charge.1
  • In an owner-occupied two- or three-family New Jersey home, a month-to-month tenancy takes a one-month notice to quit, and an at-will or year-to-year tenancy takes three months.2
Where it is filed
  • A New Jersey security deposit remains the tenant’s property, held in trust by the landlord and never mixed with the landlord’s own money.1
  • A New Jersey landlord with fewer than 10 rental units generally keeps the deposit in an interest-bearing account at an insured bank, savings bank or savings and loan association in the state.1
  • New Jersey’s recording law lists leases, or memoranda of leases, for life or for a term of at least two years among the documents entitled to be recorded.1
  • Security deposit disputes up to $5,000 in New Jersey, penalties included, can go to the Small Claims section of the Superior Court’s Special Civil Part.1
Taxes and fees
  • The interest earned on a New Jersey deposit belongs to the tenant and is paid in cash or credited toward rent at the lease renewal or anniversary.1
  • A New Jersey landlord who raises the deposit may collect no more than 10 percent of the current deposit as additional security each year.1
Law
  • N.J.S.A. 46:8-21.2 limits a residential security deposit in New Jersey to one and a half times one month’s rent.1
  • Because prepaid rent counts as security, a New Jersey landlord may not collect more than two and a half months’ rent at the start of a lease, first month included.2
  • A New Jersey tenant who wins a deposit case recovers double the amount owed, with court costs and, at the court’s discretion, reasonable attorney’s fees.1
  • If a New Jersey landlord fails to invest the deposit, give the notice or pay the interest, the tenant may give written notice to apply the deposit plus 7 percent annual interest to rent.1
  • Any New Jersey lease clause by which the tenant waives the Security Deposit Act is void.1
  • A New Jersey landlord may not evict a tenant or refuse to renew a written or oral lease without good cause.2
  • A New Jersey landlord may not require a tenant to pay rent or other lease amounts by electronic funds transfer.1
  • A New Jersey landlord who violates the Truth-in-Renting Act against tenants’ rights faces a penalty of up to $100 for each offense.1

Questions about a New Jersey lease

What must a New Jersey landlord give a new tenant?

In buildings with three or more units, or four or more when the owner lives there, the Truth in Renting statement from the Department of Community Affairs, handed over at or before move-in and kept posted in the building. The statement exists in English and Spanish on the department’s website.

The lease itself may be written or oral. A written one has to be in plain language, name both landlord and tenant, and spell out any attorney fees or late fees the landlord wants to collect as rent.1,2

How much security deposit can a New Jersey landlord take?

One and a half months’ rent at most, and prepaid rent counts toward that cap, so the total due at signing tops out at two and a half months’ rent including the first month. Later increases are limited to 10 percent of the current deposit per year.

The money stays the tenant’s, held in trust in an interest-bearing account at an insured New Jersey bank or, for larger landlords, an insured money market fund. Within 30 days the landlord tells the tenant in writing which bank, the account type, the interest rate and the amount; the interest goes to the tenant every year.1,2

When does a New Jersey landlord return the deposit?

Within 30 days after the lease ends, with interest, by personal delivery or registered or certified mail, and with any deductions itemized. When the tenant broke the lease, the 30 days start once the unit is re-rented or the lease would have ended.

A tenant displaced by fire, flood, condemnation or evacuation can collect it within five business days. A tenant who sues and wins recovers double the amount, and claims up to $5,000 can be filed in small claims.1,2

Can a New Jersey landlord simply decline to renew a lease?

Not in most rentals. The Anti-Eviction Act requires good cause to evict or not renew, whether the lease is written or oral, and each cause other than unpaid rent needs a written notice to quit.

Owner-occupied two- and three-family homes follow a different rule: a month-to-month tenancy ends with one month’s notice to quit, and an at-will or year-to-year tenancy with three months.2

What to have at hand

  • Property address and what is included (parking, storage, appliances)
  • Start date, end date or month-to-month term
  • Monthly rent, due date and security deposit amount
  • Rules on pets, smoking, repairs and utilities

It is not a roommate agreement between tenants, and it is not a commercial lease for a store or office.

Frequently asked questions

Can a New Jersey landlord ask for last month’s rent up front?

Only within the deposit cap. The Department of Community Affairs guide explains that prepaid rent, including the last month’s, counts as part of the security deposit, so the deposit plus first month’s rent cannot exceed two and a half months’ rent.2

Where does a New Jersey tenant sue over a security deposit?

In the Superior Court’s Special Civil Part; disputes of up to $5,000, penalties included, belong to its Small Claims section. A winning tenant recovers double the amount wrongly withheld, plus costs.1

Do senior tenants in New Jersey get a grace period for rent?

Yes. Seniors on Social Security or government pensions, and people receiving disability benefits, SSI or Work First New Jersey, have five business days after the 1st before a late charge can apply.1,2

Residential Lease Agreement in other states

More for New Jersey

Where this information comes from

New Jersey’s rules above come from the state’s own statutes, agency pages and forms, read on the date shown. A rule that passes its review date without a new check is removed automatically.

  1. New Jersey Statutes, full text published by the New Jersey Legislature (Security Deposit Act, Truth-in-Renting Act and N.J.S.A. 46:26A-2) pub.njleg.gov · checked Oct 26, 2026 Open the official page (opens in a new tab) ↩
  2. Truth in Renting: A guide to the rights and responsibilities of residential tenants and landlords in New Jersey (NJ Department of Community Affairs) nj.gov · checked Oct 26, 2026 Open the official page (opens in a new tab) ↩

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