New Jersey Eviction Notice

Q: How many days notice to evict a tenant in New Jersey?

It depends entirely on the ground. New Jersey does not require any notice at all before filing to evict a tenant for ordinary nonpayment of rent, one of the only states where that's true. For other good-cause grounds, the Notice to Quit period ranges from 3 days (property damage, certain convictions) to 1 month (rules violations, covenant breaches, and habitual late rent, after a required Notice to Cease) up to 18 months (permanently retiring a building from residential use). There is no single statewide day count.

Q: Can a landlord evict without notice in New Jersey?

For nonpayment of rent, yes: New Jersey law does not require a Notice to Quit before filing suit, except for tenants in federally subsidized housing, who must get 14 days' notice. For every other good-cause ground under the Anti-Eviction Act, N.J.S.A. 2A:18-61.1, written notice is required, and skipping it can get the case dismissed.

Q: What's the difference between a Notice to Cease and a Notice to Quit in New Jersey?

A Notice to Cease is a warning: it tells the tenant to stop specific ongoing conduct, like a rules violation, a lease breach, or habitual late rent, and New Jersey law requires the warning period to be reasonable but doesn't set an exact number of days. A Notice to Quit is the notice that actually ends the tenancy; for continuing-conduct grounds it can only be served after the Notice to Cease goes unheeded, while one-time grounds like property damage get a Notice to Quit directly, with no cease step.

Q: Is there an official Notice to Quit form in New Jersey?

No. New Jersey does not publish a mandatory government form for the Notice to Quit. The statute requires the notice to specify the cause of termination in detail, but landlords write their own notice meeting that content requirement. A separate, official Landlord-Tenant complaint form is used later, to file the case in court, not to serve the initial notice.

Q: How do I serve an eviction notice in New Jersey?

New Jersey law allows three methods, and none has to be tried first: personal delivery to the tenant, leaving a copy at the tenant's home with a family member age 14 or older, or certified mail. If a certified letter goes unclaimed, the landlord must also send a copy by regular mail. (N.J.S.A. 2A:18-61.2)

Q: How do I calculate the deadline on a New Jersey Notice to Quit?

Start counting from the date the Notice to Quit is served, using the period that applies to the ground you checked on the notice: 3 days for property damage or certain convictions, 1 month for rules violations, covenant breaches, or habitual late rent, and considerably longer periods, 3 months to 3 years, for grounds like health and safety violations or a building-wide condo conversion. Get the ground wrong and the deadline is wrong too.

Q: What counts as a lease violation that can be cured in New Jersey?

A rules or regulations violation, a lease covenant breach, and habitual late rent are all grounds where the tenant gets a chance to stop the conduct after a written Notice to Cease, before the landlord can serve the Notice to Quit that starts the eviction clock. Property damage and the one-time grounds listed in the statute, like certain criminal convictions, don't get a cease step first.

Q: What happens if the tenant doesn't move out after the notice period ends?

The landlord can file a complaint for possession with the Special Civil Part of the Superior Court in the county where the property is located. If the landlord wins, the court enters a judgment for possession, and a warrant for possession can't issue until 3 business days later; the tenant then has 3 more business days to move before a Court Officer carries out the eviction.

New Jersey eviction notice: nonpayment needs no pre-filing notice; every other cause needs 3 days to 18 months. Free template. Attorney review available.

Introduction

An eviction notice is a written notice a landlord must serve on a tenant to begin ending a tenancy for cause, before filing a case in the Special Civil Part of the Superior Court. This page gives you the actual Notice to Quit document to fill in, sign, and serve, not a general explainer of how New Jersey eviction law works. New Jersey stands apart from nearly every other state on one point: for ordinary nonpayment of rent, the law requires no pre-filing notice at all, and the landlord can go straight to court. Nonpayment is the exception, not the rule. Every other ground for eviction needs a written Notice to Quit, and New Jersey's Anti-Eviction Act, N.J.S.A. 2A:18-61.1, is one of the few state laws requiring "good cause" for essentially all residential evictions from the start of the tenancy, not only after a tenant has lived somewhere a set number of months. For continuing problems, like a rules violation, a lease covenant breach, or habitual late rent, the landlord must first send a separate written Notice to Cease giving the tenant a chance to stop; only if the conduct continues does a one-month Notice to Quit follow. Property damage and several one-time grounds skip straight to a 3-day Notice to Quit, and a ground like permanently retiring a building from residential use carries an 18-month notice period. Every notice must specify the cause of termination in detail, and it can be served personally, left with a family member 14 or older, or sent by certified mail. There's no state-mandated form for the notice itself.

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Key Things to Know

1
An eviction notice, called a "Notice to Quit" in New Jersey, is a written notice a landlord must serve on a tenant to begin ending a tenancy for cause, before filing a case in the Special Civil Part of the Superior Court.
2
For ordinary nonpayment of rent, New Jersey law does not require a Notice to Quit before filing suit at all, unlike almost every other state. The one exception: a tenant in federally subsidized housing must get 14 days' notice first. (N.J.S.A. 2A:18-61.2)
3
For a rules violation, a lease covenant breach, or habitual late rent, the landlord must first serve a written "Notice to Cease" warning the tenant to stop. The law does not set an exact number of days for this notice, only that it be reasonable for the violation; if the conduct continues, a one-month Notice to Quit follows. (N.J.S.A. 2A:18-61.1(d), (e), (j); Section 2A:18-61.2(b))
4
Property damage and several one-time grounds (certain criminal convictions on the property, an employment-conditioned tenancy ending) get a 3-day Notice to Quit with no cease step first. Disorderly conduct also gets a 3-day notice, but only after a prior Notice to Cease. (N.J.S.A. 2A:18-61.1(b), (c), (m)-(r); Section 2A:18-61.2(a))
5
New Jersey's Anti-Eviction Act requires "good cause" to evict a residential tenant from the start of the tenancy, not just after a minimum occupancy period. There's no general no-cause notice for ending a month-to-month tenancy the way most states allow. (N.J.S.A. 2A:18-61.1)
6
The notice can be served personally on the tenant, left at the tenant's home with a family member age 14 or older, or sent by certified mail, with a regular-mail follow-up if the certified letter goes unclaimed. New Jersey does not require exhausting one method before trying the next. (N.J.S.A. 2A:18-61.2)
7
There's no state-mandated form for the Notice to Quit, but the law requires it to specify the cause of the termination in detail. (N.J.S.A. 2A:18-61.2)

Key decisions before you file

Before you file a Eviction Notice in New Jersey, a few decisions shape the document: which option to choose and what each one means. The Eviction Notice guide walks through them.

Open the Eviction Notice guide

Customize your Eviction Notice Template with DocDraft

NEW JERSEY EVICTION NOTICE

NOTICE TO QUIT

Date of Notice: [DATE]

1. LANDLORD AND TENANT

Landlord/Property Manager: [LANDLORD'S FULL LEGAL NAME] Landlord's Address: [STREET ADDRESS, CITY, STATE, ZIP] Landlord's Phone: [PHONE NUMBER]

Tenant(s): [FULL LEGAL NAME(S) OF ALL TENANTS ON LEASE]

2. PREMISES

Rental Address: [STREET ADDRESS, UNIT/APT NUMBER, CITY, NEW JERSEY, ZIP CODE]

3. REASON FOR NOTICE (GOOD CAUSE)

[SELECT ONE, per N.J.S.A. 2A:18-61.1:]

Disorderly conduct: destroying the peace and quiet of other occupants, continuing after a Notice to Cease dated [DATE]: [DESCRIBE].
Property damage: willful or grossly negligent damage or injury to the premises: [DESCRIBE].
Rules violation: continued, substantial breach of a written rule accepted by the tenant, after a Notice to Cease dated [DATE]: [DESCRIBE].
Lease covenant breach: continued, substantial breach of a lease covenant with a landlord right of re-entry, after a Notice to Cease dated [DATE]: [DESCRIBE].
Habitual late rent: habitual, unjustified failure to pay rent when due, after a Notice to Cease dated [DATE].
[Other good-cause ground under N.J.S.A. 2A:18-61.1: DESCRIBE, cite subsection]

Note (nonpayment of rent): New Jersey does not require a Notice to Quit for ordinary nonpayment of rent. Do not use this form for a plain nonpayment filing.

4. CURE OR VACATE PERIOD

Note (include only if a Notice to Cease applies to the ground checked above): A written Notice to Cease was served on [DATE], giving a reasonable period to stop the conduct; New Jersey law sets no exact number of days for this warning.

You have [3 DAYS / 1 MONTH / OTHER PERIOD FOR THE GROUND CHECKED ABOVE] from service of this Notice to Quit to vacate, under N.J.S.A. 2A:18-61.2.

5. VACATE-BY DATE

Deadline: [DATE, calculated from the notice period that applies to the ground checked above]

6. STATUTORY BASIS

Served under the New Jersey Anti-Eviction Act, N.J.S.A. 2A:18-61.1 and 2A:18-61.2. This notice specifies the cause of termination as required by statute. If the tenant has not vacated by the deadline, the landlord may file a complaint for possession with the Special Civil Part of the Superior Court in the county where the property is located.

7. SERVICE / PROOF OF SERVICE

Method of service (N.J.S.A. 2A:18-61.2, any one satisfies service):

Personal delivery to the tenant, OR
Left at the tenant's usual place of abode with a family member over age 14, OR
Certified mail (if unclaimed, a copy must also go by regular mail).

Served by: [NAME OF PERSON SERVING NOTICE] Date served: [DATE] Method used: [PERSONAL / LEFT WITH FAMILY MEMBER / CERTIFIED MAIL]

Landlord Signature: _________________________ Date: [DATE]

Issued under the New Jersey Anti-Eviction Act, N.J.S.A. 2A:18-61.1 and 2A:18-61.2. This is a template; consult the current statute or an attorney to confirm details for your situation, attorney review is available and optional. Does not apply to an ordinary nonpayment filing, which New Jersey does not require pre-filing notice for. For the full national Eviction Notice template covering all notice types, see the full Eviction Notice template.

New Jersey Requirements for Eviction Notice

Good Cause Required for All Residential Evictions (New Jersey Statutes Annotated Section 2A:18-61.1)
The landlord must establish one of the statute's enumerated good-cause grounds to remove a residential tenant, from the start of the tenancy. Unlike most states, there is no general no-cause notice available to end a month-to-month tenancy.
Nonpayment of Rent: No Notice to Quit Required (New Jersey Statutes Annotated Section 2A:18-61.2)
New Jersey does not require a Notice to Quit before filing for ordinary nonpayment of rent, unlike most states. The only exception is federally subsidized housing, which requires 14 days' notice before filing suit.
Service of Notice Requirements (N.J.S.A. 2A:18-61.2)
The notice may be served personally on the tenant, left at the tenant's usual place of abode with a family member over age 14, or sent by certified mail; if the certified letter is not claimed, a copy must also be sent by regular mail. No method must be attempted before another.
No Prescribed Form, Mandatory Content (New Jersey Statutes Annotated Section 2A:18-61.2)
New Jersey does not publish a mandatory Notice to Quit form. The statute requires the notice to specify in detail the cause of the termination of the tenancy.
Notice to Cease Prerequisite for Continuing Violations (New Jersey Statutes Annotated Section 2A:18-61.1(d), (e), (j))
For a rules or regulations violation, a lease covenant breach, or habitual late rent, the landlord must first serve a written Notice to Cease. The statute does not set an exact number of days for this warning, only that it be reasonable for the violation; only after the tenant continues the conduct can a one-month Notice to Quit follow.
Notice to Quit Period by Ground, 3 Days to 18 Months (New Jersey Statutes Annotated Section 2A:18-61.2)
Notice periods vary sharply by ground: 3 days for property damage, disorderly conduct after a cease notice, and several one-time grounds like certain criminal convictions; 1 month for rules violations, covenant breaches, habitual late rent, and lease-change refusals; 3 months for health and safety violations; 18 months for permanently retiring a building from residential use; 2 months to 3 years for condo or cooperative conversions.
Governing Anti-Eviction Act (New Jersey Statutes Annotated Section 2A:18-61.1 to Section 2A:18-61.2)
The statutory basis for every good-cause ground and notice requirement above, and the court process that follows if the tenant does not comply.

Frequently Asked Questions

How many days notice to evict a tenant in New Jersey?

Can a landlord evict without notice in New Jersey?

What's the difference between a Notice to Cease and a Notice to Quit in New Jersey?

Is there an official Notice to Quit form in New Jersey?

How do I serve an eviction notice in New Jersey?

How do I calculate the deadline on a New Jersey Notice to Quit?

What counts as a lease violation that can be cured in New Jersey?

What happens if the tenant doesn't move out after the notice period ends?

Introduction

Key Things to Know

Key decisions before you file

Customize your Eviction Notice Template with DocDraft

NEW JERSEY EVICTION NOTICE

NOTICE TO QUIT

1. LANDLORD AND TENANT

2. PREMISES

3. REASON FOR NOTICE (GOOD CAUSE)

4. CURE OR VACATE PERIOD

5. VACATE-BY DATE

6. STATUTORY BASIS

7. SERVICE / PROOF OF SERVICE

New Jersey Requirements for Eviction Notice

Good Cause Required for All Residential Evictions (New Jersey Statutes Annotated Section 2A:18-61.1)

Nonpayment of Rent: No Notice to Quit Required (New Jersey Statutes Annotated Section 2A:18-61.2)

Service of Notice Requirements (N.J.S.A. 2A:18-61.2)

No Prescribed Form, Mandatory Content (New Jersey Statutes Annotated Section 2A:18-61.2)

Notice to Cease Prerequisite for Continuing Violations (New Jersey Statutes Annotated Section 2A:18-61.1(d), (e), (j))

Notice to Quit Period by Ground, 3 Days to 18 Months (New Jersey Statutes Annotated Section 2A:18-61.2)

Governing Anti-Eviction Act (New Jersey Statutes Annotated Section 2A:18-61.1 to Section 2A:18-61.2)

Frequently Asked Questions