A common provision in commercial leases is an option requiring the tenant to notify the landlord of their intention to renew the lease or purchase the property by a specific date. What happens, however, if the tenant fails to provide the landlord with timely notice? In New Jersey, courts generally enforce the lease as written. Therefore, if the tenant fails to renew by the deadline, courts will likely strictly enforce the lease terms. Exceptions to the General Rule: When a Tenant’s Late Notice is Permitted There are a few narrow exceptions to the general rule of strict enforcement of the option provision. There are five special circumstances: (1) the tenant would sustain substantial harm if it were forced to relocate; …
NJ LANDLORD/LEGAL ISSUES – HOW TO MAKE SURE YOUR RIGHTS AREN’T VIOLATED
By Fredrick P. Niemann, Esq. a New Jersey Landlord Attorney As a landlord in New Jersey, your rights will come under question at some point in time. You want to make sure that the other party does not violate your rights. For instance, the tenant may stop paying the rent entirely, and refuse to leave the apartment or mobile home when receiving an eviction notice. This is a violation of the law in the state of New Jersey, so an attorney is required to make sure that your rights are protected. If you don’t do so, then you will have a big legal battle in court. If you protect your rights by going to court, then you will be able …
TOWN ORDINANCE REQUIRING OWNERS TO ALLOW MUNICIPAL INSPECTIONS FOUND TO VIOLATE FOURTH AMENDMENT
By Fredrick P. Niemann, Esq., a NJ Landlord Tenant Attorney The Fourth Amendment protects us all against illegal searches and seizures. The NJ Courts enforced this right against illegal searches in a recent case involving a town ordinance that required all property owners to allow municipal officers to inspect their property. If the owner declined to allow the municipal inspection, they would be subject to prosecution and penalties, said the ordinance. While some property searches against owners’ wishes are allowed in limited instances, the NJ Court held that this law was not one of those instances. The Court stated that the property that was the subject of the lawsuit was not involved in a highly regulated industry, such as …
Landlord’s Prohibited From Billing Tenants More Than Actual Cost of Consulting Lawyer
By Fredrick P. Niemann, Esq., a NJ Consumer Fraud Attorney New Jersey Law dictates that attorney’s fees may not be shared with non-attorneys. This simple rule typically comes into play with referral services. Most lawyers are seeking more and more clients and would love to be able to have someone refer clients to them. While the law states it is ok for one attorney to refer a client to another attorney and receive a percentage of the fee for doing so, non-lawyers are prohibited from a receiving this same percentage for their referral. This law often comes up in the landlord/tenant relationship, as some landlords include a provision in their contract with the tenant that calls for the tenant to …
NJ Court Upholds Commercial Lease Provision Justifying Early Termination by Landlord
By Fredrick P. Niemann, Esq., a NJ Landlord & Tenant Attorney Commercial Leases are often among the most complex contracts. They often contain numerous provisions regarding different aspects of the landlord/tenant relationship, including termination provisions that indicate when the landlord is entitled to terminate the lease. A recent NJ Court Case involved such a provision in a dispute between a tenant and landlord over whether or not the landlord was entitled to terminate the lease. The plaintiff-tenant complained to the Court that the defendant-landlord was attempting to terminate the lease based on the fact that the tenant had located a party willing to sublease the property for more money than the tenant was paying. The tenant claimed the landlord logically …
Call it Eminent Domain or Condemnation, the End Result is the same: A Property Owner Gets Compensation for a State “Taking”
By Fredrick P. Niemann, Esq. a New Jersey Condemnation Lawyer When a municipality, county or the state government of New Jersey takes aim at private property to be taken for some public purpose, more often than not any resulting litigation is a contest over the fair market value of the property and how much the property owner should be paid, rather than whether the exercise of the power of eminent domain was appropriate in the first place. From the landowner’s standpoint, it is important to realize that adequate compensation is not determined simply on the basis of the current use of the property. Instead, the landowner is entitled to the value of the property based on its “ highest and …
LANDLORD MUST HAVE SUFFICIENT GROUNDS TO EVICT TENANT
By Fredrick P. Niemann, Esq., a NJ Landlord/Tenant Attorney Unfortunately, disputes arise every day between landlords and tenants. Sometimes these disputes escalate to the point where the landlord no longer wishes to rent the property out to the tenant. New Jersey law states that landlords must have sufficient grounds to evict tenants from the property. The law lists a number of instances that qualify as these sufficient grounds. If the landlord is justified in evicting the tenant, the Courts will enforce the evictions. However, if the eviction is not in accordance with New Jersey law, the Courts will protect the tenant’s rights. One of the sufficient grounds listed in the New Jersey statute is when tenancy is based on the …
A SUBLEASE VIOLATION COSTS TENANT ITS LEASE; COURT ALLOWS EVICTION
By Christopher J. Hanlon, Esq. an attorney protecting the rights of the landlord Don’t assume knowledge of a violation of a lease provision will allow you to avoid eviction. A recent NJ decision involving a commercial landlord and tenant is significant, in part, because it originates from the Appellate Division and therefore it is binding statewide. The Court considered a judgment entered by the lower court for possession in favor of the landlord. The lease specifically prohibited the tenant from assigning or subletting any portion of its space and the adjacent exterior parking space without the written consent of the landlord. The landlord alleged that the tenant subleased part of its space to an unrelated third party business without its …
As a New Jersey Landlord, Remember these10 Things When Going to Tenancy Court
New Jersey law is very biased against Landlords. One unintended and innocent mistake can be devastating to you financially and result in a dismissal of your case. 1. When the Clerk or Judge calls the calendar of all matters scheduled, if the landlord is present in the courtroom and the tenant is not, the tenant will be “in default.” In that case, a judgment granting the landlord possession of the leased property may be entered against the tenant after the landlord has filed an affidavit proving a right to possession. If the tenant is present in the courtroom and the landlord is not, the landlord’s complaint will be dismissed without prejudice, meaning it will have to be filed again without penalty. …
Is your New Jersey Tenant Filing for Bankruptcy? Take action now to protect your rent.
By Christopher J. Hanlon, Esq. an experienced attorney for Landlords. Commercial Landlords: Four Important Questions to Ask When a Tenant Files for Bankruptcy With the downturn in the residential and commercial real estate market, a number of commercial tenants are experiencing financial difficulties. In turn, this can lead to problems for commercial landlords, most importantly, the tenant staying current with lease payments. This may then lead to the tenant filing for bankruptcy protection. If your commercial tenant files for bankruptcy, it is wise to have a strategy in place to not only minimize the time of non-payment, but also maximize the ability to receive rents and damages allowed under the Bankruptcy Code. Following are four (4) questions for a commercial …