New Jersey Rental Application Form

Introduction

Key Things to Know

1. 1

   The Fair Chance in Housing Act splits a New Jersey application into two stages and puts the criminal record entirely inside the second one. Section 46:8-55(a)(1) bars the provider from requiring an applicant to complete any housing application that includes any inquiries regarding the applicant's criminal record prior to the provision of a conditional offer. Section 46:8-55(a)(2) bars any oral or written inquiry regarding the record before the conditional offer is made, so the rule is not a form-design rule that a phone call gets around. The two exceptions the statute names on its face are narrow and specific: a conviction for drug-related criminal activity for the manufacture or production of methamphetamine on the premises of federally assisted housing, and whether the applicant is subject to a lifetime registration requirement under a State sex offender registration program. In force since January 1, 2022.

2. 2

   New Jersey does not cap the fee, and that absence is on the record rather than merely unfound. The Department of Community Affairs, in the Credit Checks and Background Checks section of its Truth in Renting statement, tells tenants that the landlord is allowed to charge the tenant for the cost of the report and may also request reasonable rental application fees or employment verification, and the only law it cites on the point is the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act. There is also no general New Jersey duty to refund an unused application fee, to itemize it, or to give a receipt for it. The one place a fee return appears is as a remedy: under 46:8-63(d)(3) the Director of the Division on Civil Rights may require that the applicant's rental application fee be returned on a substantiated violation of the Act, which is discretionary and after the fact rather than a duty running on every application.

3. 3

   Six categories of record are off the table at every stage, before and after the conditional offer alike. Section 46:8-56(a) provides that a housing provider shall not, either before or after the issuance of a conditional offer, evaluate an applicant based on arrests or charges that have not resulted in a criminal conviction; expunged convictions; convictions erased through executive pardon; vacated and otherwise legally nullified convictions; juvenile adjudications of delinquency; or records that have been sealed. The prohibition is on evaluating the applicant on that basis, so it reaches the decision and not only the question.

4. 4

   After a conditional offer the window is closed by degree and by time, and the tiers are exact. Section 46:8-56(b) permits consideration only of a record that is for an indictable offense of the first degree issued within the six years immediately preceding the issuance of the conditional offer, of the second or third degree within the four years immediately preceding it, or of the fourth degree within one year immediately preceding it. Where the conviction resulted in a prison sentence, the clock runs from the conclusion of that sentence instead of from the conviction. The Act's time limits do not reach one enumerated list of the gravest convictions, which the section names as murder, aggravated sexual assault, kidnapping, arson, human trafficking, sexual assault in violation of N.J.S. 2C:14-2, causing or permitting a child to engage in a prohibited sexual act or in the simulation of such an act under N.J.S. 2C:24-4, and any crime that resulted in lifetime registration in a state sex offender registry. The implementing rule at N.J.A.C. 13:5-1.8 repeats the three windows word for word and extends them to equivalents under federal law or the law of another state.

5. 5

   Something has to be handed over before the fee is taken, and the rule says what it has to look like. Section 46:8-55(b) requires that prior to accepting any application fee, the provider disclose in writing whether the eligibility criteria of the housing provider include the review and consideration of criminal history, and give a statement that the applicant may provide evidence demonstrating inaccuracies within the applicant's criminal record or evidence of rehabilitation or other mitigating factors. N.J.A.C. 13:5-1.5(b) adds that the Model Disclosure form made available by the Division on its website must be a standalone document, written in at least size 12 font, and must include an acknowledgement that the applicant has received the notice, whether physically or electronically. Section 46:8-57 directs the Director to publish that model disclosure and a model notice of withdrawal on the Division's website at no cost, in English, Spanish and any other language the Director deems appropriate.

6. 6

   A conditional offer cannot simply be taken back. Section 46:8-56(c)(1) permits withdrawal based on a criminal record only if the provider determines, by preponderance of the evidence, that the withdrawal is necessary to fulfill a substantial, legitimate, and nondiscriminatory interest. Section 46:8-56(c)(3) makes an individualized assessment mandatory first, in light of six enumerated factors: the nature and severity of the offense; the age of the applicant when it occurred; the time which has elapsed since it occurred; any information produced by the applicant or on the applicant's behalf about rehabilitation and good conduct since; the degree to which the offense, if it reoccurred, would negatively impact the safety of other tenants or property; and whether the offense occurred on or was connected to property that was rented or leased by the applicant. Section 46:8-55(c) separately requires the provider to apply the section's standards to each applicant in a nondiscriminatory manner.

7. 7

   The Act reaches most New Jersey rentals but not all of them, and it follows the screening vendor. The definition of rental dwelling unit at 46:8-54 covers a unit offered for rent for residential purposes other than a dwelling unit in an owner-occupied premises of not more than four dwelling units, so those small owner-occupied buildings sit outside the Act entirely. Outsourcing does not help a provider that is inside it: N.J.A.C. 13:5-1.8(c) requires a provider using a vendor or outside person or entity to conduct a criminal record check to take reasonable steps to ensure that the check is conducted consistently with the Act and the chapter, and makes the provider liable under the Act for relying on a non-compliant check where it failed to take those steps.

New Jersey Requirements for Rental Application Form

• No Statutory Cap on a New Jersey Application Fee

  New Jersey does not limit the amount. The Department of Community Affairs, Division of Housing and Community Resources, states in the Credit Checks and Background Checks section of its Truth in Renting statement that the landlord is allowed to charge the tenant for the cost of the report and may also request reasonable rental application fees or employment verification, citing only the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act. No New Jersey statute sets a ceiling, and there is no general duty to refund, itemize or receipt the fee. The only fee return in the Act is a remedy: under N.J.S.A. 46:8-63(d)(3) the Director of the Division on Civil Rights may require that the applicant's rental application fee be returned on a substantiated violation, and under (d)(4) may direct up to $1,000 of the penalty sum to the applicant. That is discretionary and after the fact, not a refund clock.

• The Written Disclosure Due Before Any Application Fee Is Accepted

  N.J.S.A. 46:8-55(b) provides that prior to accepting any application fee, a housing provider shall disclose in writing to the applicant whether the eligibility criteria of the housing provider include the review and consideration of criminal history, and a statement that the applicant may provide evidence demonstrating inaccuracies within the applicant's criminal record or evidence of rehabilitation or other mitigating factors. The implementing rule, N.J.A.C. 13:5-1.5, is captioned Application fees and adds that the Model Disclosure form made available by the Division on its website must be a standalone document, written in at least size 12 font, and must include an acknowledgement that the applicant has received the notice, whether physically or electronically. N.J.S.A. 46:8-57 directs the Director to publish that model disclosure and a model notice of withdrawal on the Division's website at no cost, in English, Spanish and any other language the Director deems appropriate. In force since January 1, 2022.

• No Criminal Record Question on the Form, and None Asked Before a Conditional Offer

  N.J.S.A. 46:8-55(a)(1) provides that a housing provider shall not require an applicant to complete any housing application that includes any inquiries regarding an applicant's criminal record prior to the provision of a conditional offer. Subsection (a)(2) adds that the provider shall not make any oral or written inquiry regarding an applicant's criminal record prior to making a conditional offer, so the duty is not satisfied by a clean form and a question over the phone. Subsection (a)(3) preserves the applicant's ability to put forward evidence of inaccuracies in the record or of rehabilitation or other mitigating factors. N.J.S.A. 46:8-54 defines a conditional offer as an offer to rent or lease a rental dwelling unit that is contingent on a subsequent inquiry into the applicant's criminal record or any other eligibility criteria the provider may lawfully utilize. The same definitions section excludes from rental dwelling unit a dwelling unit in an owner-occupied premises of not more than four dwelling units, which sits those buildings outside the Act.

• Six Categories That May Never Be Used to Evaluate an Applicant

  N.J.S.A. 46:8-56(a) provides that a housing provider shall not, either before or after the issuance of a conditional offer, evaluate an applicant based on any of the following types of criminal records: arrests or charges that have not resulted in a criminal conviction; expunged convictions; convictions erased through executive pardon; vacated and otherwise legally nullified convictions; juvenile adjudications of delinquency; and records that have been sealed. The operative verb is evaluate, so the restriction binds the decision and not only the question, and because the subsection reads both before and after the issuance of a conditional offer, reaching the second stage of the process does not unlock any of the six.

• The Lookback Windows That Open Only After a Conditional Offer

  N.J.S.A. 46:8-56(b) closes the window by degree and by time. After the issuance of a conditional offer a provider may consider only a record for an indictable offense of the first degree that was issued, or where the conviction resulted in a prison sentence that sentence concluded, within the six years immediately preceding the issuance of the conditional offer; for an indictable offense of the second or third degree, within the four years immediately preceding it; and for an indictable offense of the fourth degree, within one year immediately preceding it. The clock therefore starts at the conviction or at the end of the prison term, and it is counted to the conditional offer rather than to the application date. The subsection separately names a list of the gravest convictions that the time limits do not reach. N.J.A.C. 13:5-1.8 reproduces the three windows in identical language and extends them to equivalents under federal law or the law of another state.

• The Individualized Assessment Required Before a Conditional Offer May Be Withdrawn

  N.J.S.A. 46:8-56(c)(1) permits withdrawal of a conditional offer based on a criminal record only if the housing provider determines, by preponderance of the evidence, that the withdrawal is necessary to fulfill a substantial, legitimate, and nondiscriminatory interest. Subsection (c)(3) makes an individualized assessment mandatory, in light of six enumerated factors: the nature and severity of the criminal offense; the age of the applicant at the time of the occurrence; the time which has elapsed since the occurrence; any information produced by the applicant, or on the applicant's behalf, about rehabilitation and good conduct since; the degree to which the offense, if it reoccurred, would negatively impact the safety of the provider's other tenants or property; and whether the offense occurred on or was connected to property that was rented or leased by the applicant. N.J.S.A. 46:8-55(c) requires the provider to apply the section's standards to each applicant in a nondiscriminatory manner. N.J.A.C. 13:5-1.8(c) requires a provider that uses a vendor to run the check to take reasonable steps to ensure the vendor complies, and makes the provider liable for relying on a non-compliant check.

• What the Applicant Is Owed When a Conditional Offer Is Withdrawn

  N.J.S.A. 46:8-56(c)(2) provides that if a housing provider withdraws a conditional offer, the provider shall give the applicant written notification that includes, with specificity, the reason or reasons for the withdrawal, and an opportunity to appeal the denial by providing evidence demonstrating inaccuracies within the applicant's criminal record or evidence of rehabilitation or other mitigating factors. Subsection (d) then sets a two-way clock: the applicant may request, within 30 days after the notice of withdrawal, a copy of all information that the provider relied upon in considering the applicant, including criminal records, and the provider shall provide it free of charge within 10 days after receipt of a timely request. The word specificity is the operative one; a general statement does not discharge the duty, and the appeal route is part of the notice rather than something the applicant has to find.

• No Drug or Alcohol Test, and the Source of Lawful Income Limit

  N.J.S.A. 46:8-60 provides that a housing provider shall not require an applicant to submit to a drug or alcohol test, or request the applicant's consent to obtain information from a drug abuse treatment facility. There is no exception on the face of that section, and it bears directly on the consent block of a New Jersey application: a release covering treatment records asks for something the provider may not request. On the income side, the Department of Community Affairs states in its Truth in Renting statement that the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination lists source of lawful income among the protected categories in the rental of housing, citing N.J.S.A. 10:5-12(g) to -(h), with carve-outs at N.J.S.A. 10:5-5(n) for two-family owner-occupied dwellings, rooms in an owner-occupied or resident-occupied single home, and single-sex or age-restricted residences. That limit is attributed to the agency statement; the Law Against Discrimination text itself is not quoted here.