Bill Text: NJ S3185 | 2024-2025 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Restricts landlord from imposing charge on applicant or tenant for keeping pets in residential rental units.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Introduced) 2024-05-09 - Introduced in the Senate, Referred to Senate Community and Urban Affairs Committee [S3185 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2024-S3185-Introduced.html
Sponsored by:
Senator JOSEPH P. CRYAN
District 20 (Union)
SYNOPSIS
Restricts landlord from imposing charge on applicant or tenant for keeping pets in residential rental units.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Act concerning certain restrictions on landlord related to charges for keeping pets in rental units and supplementing chapter 8 of Title 46 of the Revised Statutes.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. As used in P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill):
"Landlord" means any person or entity, or their agent, who rents or leases or offers to rent or lease, for a term of at least one month, dwelling units, except dwelling units in hotels, motels, or other guest houses serving transient or seasonal guests. "Landlord" also means a third-party screening vendor used by an owner, lessor, or property manager of a residential rental dwelling unit to screen prospective tenants or facilitate a prospective tenant's application for renting the dwelling unit.
"Pet" means any domesticated animal normally maintained in or near the dwelling unit of that animal's owner.
"Tenant" means any person who rents or leases, for a term of at least one month, a dwelling unit, except dwelling units in hotels, motels, or other guest houses serving transient or seasonal guests. "Tenant" shall also mean an applicant, prospective tenant, or other person who applies to rent or lease, or seeks to rent or lease, for a term of at least one month, a dwelling unit, except a dwelling unit in hotels, motels, or other guest houses serving transient or seasonal guests.
"Third-party screening vendor" means a company or vendor that engages in the business of collecting, assembling, and evaluating residential tenant applications for the purpose of facilitating a landlord's approval or rejection of a prospective tenant's application.
2. a. A landlord shall not charge a tenant any additional rent, fees, or other increases to the monthly rent or monthly fees, nonrefundable or otherwise, because a tenant keeps, or intends to keep, a pet in the dwelling unit.
b. A landlord shall not require as a condition for any lease, lease addendum, or lease application that a tenant pay any additional fees or charges, nonrefundable or otherwise, because a tenant keeps, or intends to keep, a pet in the dwelling unit.
c. A landlord shall not include within any lease, lease addendum, or lease application a provision requiring additional fees or charges, nonrefundable or otherwise, because a tenant keeps, or intends to keep, a pet in the dwelling unit.
d. A landlord shall not charge a tenant or accept a sum greater than $500 for a one-time security deposit related to the tenant keeping one or more pets in the dwelling unit, which security deposit shall be refundable and subject to P.L.1967, c.265 (C.46:8-19 et seq.). A pet security deposit shall be included as part of, and shall not be required in addition to, the security deposit as limited in sum by section 4 of P.L.1971, c.223 (C.46:8-21.2).
3. a. A tenant shall have the right to petition a court of competent jurisdiction to terminate a lease or agreement containing a provision in violation of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill), and shall be permitted to recover reasonable attorney's fees or expenses.
b. A landlord who violates section 2 of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill) shall also, at the discretion of the tenant, be subject to a separate cause of action by the tenant in the Superior Court, Law Division, Special Civil Part in the county in which the dwelling unit is located. A tenant may recover $1,000 from the landlord for each offense, in addition to reasonable attorney's fees or expenses.
c. A landlord shall be subject to the penalties set forth in this section for each violation of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill), which may be brought pursuant to subsection b. of this section at the tenant's discretion.
d. The remedies available to a tenant pursuant to this section shall function in addition to, and shall not be construed or interpreted to interfere with, the remedies available to a tenant, licensee, executor, administrator or surviving spouse, or other person acting on behalf of a tenant, licensee, executor, administrator or surviving spouse, pursuant to section 3 of P.L.1971, c.223 (C.46:8-21.1).
4. This act shall take effect on the first day of the fourth month next following the date of enactment and shall apply to tenancies commencing on or after the effective date of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill), and to oral or written representations made by a landlord, applications offered by a landlord, and submitted applications by a tenant beginning on or after the effective date of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill).
STATEMENT
This bill prohibits a landlord from charging a tenant, including an applicant or prospective tenant, additional rent or fees because the tenant has a pet or intends to keep a pet in the residential rental dwelling unit.
The bill defines the term "pet" to mean a domesticated animal normally maintained in or near the dwelling unit of that animal's owner. The bill defines the term "tenant" to mean: (1) any person who rents or leases, for a term of at least one month, a dwelling unit, except dwelling units in hotels, motels, or other guest houses serving transient or seasonal guests; and (2) an applicant, prospective tenant, or other person who applies to rent or lease, or seeks to rent or lease, for a term of at least one month, dwelling units, except dwelling units in hotels, motels, or other guest houses serving transient or seasonal guests.
Specifically, the bill prohibits a landlord from:
§ charging a tenant, as defined in the bill, additional rent, fees, or other increases to the monthly rent, nonrefundable or otherwise, because the tenant keeps, or intends to keep, a pet in the dwelling unit;
§ requiring as a condition for a lease, lease addendum, or lease application that a tenant pay any additional fees or charges, nonrefundable or otherwise, because the tenant keeps, or intends to keep, a pet in the dwelling unit; and
§ including within any lease, lease addendum, or lease application a provision requiring additional fees or charges, nonrefundable or otherwise, because the tenant keeps, or intends to keep, a pet in the dwelling unit.
The bill would permit a landlord to charge a one-time, refundable pet security deposit of no more than $500, which would be included within the total security deposit limit set forth by present law. The bill would also codify certain State case law by prohibiting a landlord from requiring a security deposit in excess of one and a half times the monthly rent because the tenant keeps or intends to keep one or more pets.
A violation of the bill would:
(1) permit a tenant to petition the court to terminate a lease or agreement in violation of the bill, and to recover reasonable attorney's fees or expenses; and
(2) subject a landlord to a private cause of action, brought at the discretion of the tenant, who would be permitted to recover $1,000 from the landlord for each offense, in addition to reasonable attorney's fees or expenses.
The remedies provided to a tenant would function in addition to, and are not to interfere with, existing remedies available pursuant to section 3 of P.L.1971, c.223 (C.46:8-21.1 et seq.).
The bill would take effect on the first day of the fourth month following enactment, and apply to tenancies commencing on or after the effective date of the bill, and to oral or written representations made by a landlord, applications offered by a landlord, and submitted applications by a tenant beginning on or after the effective date of the bill.
