Property management
The salesperson-level basics: screening tenants fairly, accommodations and landlord-tenant rights.
Property management in one paragraph
Typical NJ rental vs owner-occupied building with 2 or fewer rental units
| Typical NJ rental | Owner-occupied, 2 or fewer rental units | |
|---|---|---|
| Anti-Eviction Act | Good cause needed to evict or refuse to renew | Exempt. Landlord can remove a holdover tenant after written notice and a court judgment |
| Rent Security Deposit Act | Applies: 1.5 months' cap, interest-bearing account, return within 30 days | Exempt unless the tenant opts in with 30 days' written notice |
| Truth in Renting guide | Required in buildings with 3 or more units | Not required, since owner-occupied buildings need 4 or more units |
| Self-help eviction | Illegal | Still illegal. Removal needs a court judgment |
Property management: 4 rules to memorize
Same criteria for everyone.
Written screening standards applied to every applicant.
Accommodations vs modifications.
Change a rule or change the unit, both for disabilities.
Fair housing covers rentals.
Ads, showings, screening and terms.
Know the lease basics.
Rights and duties of landlords and tenants.
Property management, explained
Setting rent starts with a market analysis: compare similar rentals by size, condition, location and amenities, and watch local vacancy. New Jersey has no statewide rent control, but some municipalities have ordinances that limit how much and how often rent can rise. A rent increase needs a written notice to quit plus notice of the increase, and it can take effect only at the start of a new lease term.
The Rent Security Deposit Act caps a deposit at 1.5 times one month's rent, and any yearly increase at 10% of the current deposit. The landlord puts it in an interest-bearing account at a New Jersey bank (buildings with 10 or more units have other options) and, within 30 days, tells the tenant in writing the bank's name and address, the account type, the interest rate and the amount. Within 30 days after the lease ends, the landlord returns the deposit plus interest, minus itemized deductions, or the tenant can sue for double the amount. Owner-occupied buildings with 2 or fewer rental units are exempt unless the tenant opts in with 30 days' written notice.
Under the Anti-Eviction Act, most New Jersey landlords need good cause to evict or refuse to renew, and an expired lease alone is not good cause. Grounds include nonpayment, disorderly conduct, damage, lease violations after a notice to cease, and refusing a reasonable rent increase. Self-help is illegal: no changing locks, padlocking or shutting off utilities. Only a court officer removes a tenant, after a judgment for possession and a warrant. Owner-occupied buildings with no more than 2 rental units are the main exception.
NJ vs national: New Jersey's Fair Chance in Housing Act limits how most landlords use criminal history in screening, and the Truth in Renting Act requires the state's tenant rights guide in buildings with three or more total dwelling units (four or more if owner-occupied).
How the exam tries to trip you up
- The lease expired, so the landlord can evict? Not for most New Jersey rentals. The Anti-Eviction Act requires good cause, and an expired lease alone is not one.
- A landlord changes the locks on a tenant who owes 2 months' rent. That is an illegal self-help eviction. The landlord must go to court, and only a court officer removes the tenant.
- Deposit math: multiply monthly rent by 1.5. At $2,000 a month the most a landlord can hold is $3,000, not 2 months' rent.
- A tenant with a disability asks to keep an assistance animal in a no-pet building. That is a reasonable accommodation, a change to a rule, not a modification, which is a physical change to the unit.
Property management practice questions
Fair housing laws apply to tenant screening, so a manager should:
Property management flashcards
Keyboard: Space to flip · ← → to move · 1 still learning · 2 got it
All 7 terms at a glanceShowHide
- Reasonable accommodation
- A change in rules or policies for a person with a disability.
- Reasonable modification
- A physical change to the unit for a person with a disability.
- Screening criteria
- Written standards applied the same way to every applicant.
- Rent Security Deposit Act
- NJ law capping deposits at 1.5 months' rent, held in an interest-bearing account, returned within 30 days.
- Anti-Eviction Act
- NJ law requiring good cause to evict or refuse to renew most residential tenants.
- Self-help eviction
- Forcing a tenant out without a court judgment, such as changing locks or cutting utilities; illegal in NJ.
- Notice to cease
- Written warning to stop a lease violation, required before evicting for grounds like disorderly conduct.
Property management: common questions
Sources and further reading
More Property management questions in the app
Launching soon on iPhone, Android and the web. Free to start.