New Jersey Residential Lease Agreement for Rental Properties

Following rental applications, lease agreements and sublease agreements are put in place to protect landlords and tenants. They are there to inform tenants of the rules for renting a property.

Because federal and state laws govern New Jersey rental lease agreements, landlords must ensure that they pay special attention when drawing up their residential lease agreements.

In this article, we'll equip you with the information you need to draw up a detailed residential lease agreement in New Jersey.

What to Include

Here are some of the important details you must include in your New Jersey rental agreement:

• The names, addresses, and contact details of all the parties involved
• Address of the rental property
• Information about the monthly rent - how much and when it is due
• Late fees and bounced checks - are there any fees if tenants pay late or their checks are returned?
• The lease term
• Details about the security deposit - when it is due and how it will be managed
• Warranty of habitability - landlords must ensure that tenants have access to heating, water, carbon monoxide and smoke detectors, locks, and more.
• Disclosures (more on that later)
• Restrictions - parking rules, access to the property, etc.
• The eviction process - tenants may be given a 30-day notice to leave the property for failing to pay rent or violating the terms of the agreement; or a three-day eviction notice for illegal activity

Mandatory Disclosure

Does your home contain lead-based paint? Are there any other potential hazards? Here's what you'll need to disclose to prospective tenants:

1. Flood Zone Disclosure

Suppose a rental property in New Jersey is located in a flood zone. In that case, the landlord has a legal obligation to notify tenants of this in the lease agreement before the tenants occupy a residential property in order to protect the landlord from potential flood damages.

2. Truth in Renting Guide

Landlords are expected to include the New Jersey Truth in Renting Guide in their rental contracts and provide access to this guideline in a common spot on the premises to keep tenants informed when signing a lease.

If this is not followed, the lease agreement may not apply.

3. Lead-based Paint Disclosure

Federal law states that all landlords have an obligation to inform tenants about lead-based paint hazards if the property was built before 1978.

4. Tenant's Right to Child Protective Window Guards

To prevent liability for accidents caused by a lack of child protection window guards, landlords must notify renters of their right to request these window guards on the premises for a fee of $20 per installation.

Landlords will also have to maintain window guards to ensure that they are always functional.

Build Your Own

If you're looking for an easy way to build your own rental agreement, you have a number of options. You could try the eForms rental contract builder for your state.

However, if you feel that this tool doesn't allow you to customize your agreement to get it the way you want, you should try DoorLoop!

What Is DoorLoop?

DoorLoop has an intuitive automation software designed specifically for landlords. It helps them create and manage their lease agreements, receive and track payments, and so much more.

If you own a number of rental units, you'll find that DoorLoop is an invaluable tool to help you manage your business. Use the autofill feature to complete details on your lease contract to save you time and effort.

Feel free to schedule a demo and see DoorLoop at work for yourself. 

eSignature

With DoorLoop, creating and signing leases is faster than ever.

The software allows you to save lease templates that can be reused, auto populating each tenant's information into the right fields whenever a new lease is created.

Then, you can request eSignatures from tenants in one click. With this process, your tenants set the tone for how quickly the lease is signed. This helps to start your relationship off on the right foot.

DoorLoop doesn't stop there. The software also integrates with widely used listing syndication platforms like Zillow, Trulia, Hotpads, Apartments.com, and others, enabling you to attract tenants on autopilot. You can also make sure you're bringing in the most reliable tenants by screening your prospects in seconds through an integration with TransUnion.

To see DoorLoop for yourself, learn more or schedule a free demo.

Final Thoughts

Lease agreements are essential documents to outline the rules and requirements that both tenants and landlords must abide by. However, New Jersey has a number of landlord-tenant laws that must be considered when drawing up rental agreements.

There are also federal laws in play that must be considered. Fortunately, you can use our New Jersey residential lease guide and DoorLoop's innovative rental contract generator to simplify the process.

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Webinar

DoorLoop hosted this webinar with attorney Craig Rothenberg from The Law Office of Craig Rothenberg to help answer many of your legal questions. Craig specializes in real estate law and evictions in New Jersey and we covered:

1. Landlord-tenant issues and laws
2. Grounds to evict a tenant
3. Eviction process
4. Preventing delays or fines
5. Hiring an Attorney vs DIY
6. Post COVID legal changes

Feel free to learn more and watch this webinar for free.

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