New Jersey Senior Citizens & Disabled Protected Tenancy Act
When a rental building is converted to a condominium or cooperative, New Jersey lets eligible senior-citizen and disabled tenants keep a rent-regulated home for years instead of being displaced. The full statutory text, hosted for reference, with a plain-language guide for homeowners.
Many New Jersey condominium and cooperative communities are born from conversion — an owner turns an existing rental building into for-sale units, and the buyers become the new association. The Senior Citizens and Disabled Protected Tenancy Act governs what happens to the people already living there when that conversion occurs.
Under the Act, a qualifying senior-citizen (age 62 or older) or disabled tenant who lived in the building at the time of conversion can be granted “protected tenancy” — the right to stay on as a rent-regulated renter for up to 40 years, rather than being evicted because the building went condo or co-op (§§ 2A:18-61.25, 2A:18-61.30). To qualify, the tenant must meet age or disability, residency, and income tests, and the unit must be the tenant's principal residence (§ 2A:18-61.28).
How it works
- The converting owner must notify tenants of the Act and their possible eligibility, and cannot complete the conversion registration without proving that notice was given (§§ 2A:18-61.27, 2A:18-61.29).
- A local rent-control board — or the Department of Community Affairs where none exists — administers the program and rules on eligibility (§ 2A:18-61.26).
- During the protected period, rent increases are limited to what local rent control (or a reasonableness standard) allows (§ 2A:18-61.31).
- Protected tenancy ends if the tenant buys the unit, stops using it as a principal residence, or no longer meets the eligibility tests (§§ 2A:18-61.32, 2A:18-61.33).
- Any agreement in which a tenant waives these rights is void as against public policy (§ 2A:18-61.36).
Why it matters to buyers and boards
A purchaser who buys a converted unit that is still occupied by a protected tenant becomes that tenant's landlord, not its occupant — so the contract of sale must disclose that the Act may apply and the buyer must acknowledge it (§ 2A:18-61.34). For a converting community, that means some units may carry long-term regulated tenancies well after the association is formed. Understanding which units are affected is essential for developers, buyers, and the new board alike. For related resources, see the New Jersey HOA laws hub.
This amendatory and supplementary act shall be known and may be cited as the "Senior Citizens and Disabled Protected Tenancy Act."
L.1981, c. 226, s. 1, eff. July 27, 1981.
The Legislature finds that research studies have demonstrated that the forced eviction and relocation of elderly persons from their established homes and communities harm the mental and physical health of these senior citizens, and that these disruptions in the lives of older persons affect adversely the social, economic and cultural characteristics of communities of the State, and increase the costs borne by all State citizens in providing for their public health, safety and welfare. These conditions are particularly serious in light of the rising costs of home ownership, and are of increasing concern where rental housing is converted into condominiums or cooperatives which senior citizens on fixed limited incomes cannot afford, an occurrence which is becoming more and more frequent in this State under prevailing economic circumstances. The Legislature, therefore, declares that it is in the public interest of the State to avoid the forced eviction and relocation of senior citizen tenants wherever possible, specifically in those instances where rental housing market conditions and particular financial circumstances combine to diminish the ability of senior citizens to obtain satisfactory comparable housing within their established communities, and where the eviction action is the result not of any failure of the senior citizen tenant to abide by the terms of a lease or rental agreement, but of the owner's decision advantageously to dispose of residential property through the device of conversion to a condominium or cooperative.
The Legislature further finds that it is in the public interest of the State to avoid the forced eviction and the displacement of the handicapped wherever possible because of their limited mobility and the limited number of housing units which are suitable for their needs.
The Legislature further declares that in the service of this public interest it is appropriate that qualified senior citizen tenants and disabled tenants be accorded a period of protected tenancy, during which they shall be entitled to the fair enjoyment of the dwelling unit within the converted residential structure, to continue for such time, up to 40 years, as the conditions and circumstances which make necessary such protected tenancy shall continue.
The Legislature further finds that the promotion of this public interest is possible only if senior citizen tenants and disabled tenants are protected during this period from alterations in the terms of the tenancy or rent increases which are the result solely of an owner's decision to convert.
L.1981, c. 226, s. 2, eff. July 27, 1981.
As used in this amendatory and supplementary act:
a. "Senior citizen tenant" means a person who is at least 62 years of age on the date of the conversion recording for the building or structure in which is located the dwelling unit of which he is a tenant, or the surviving spouse of such a person if the person should die after the owner files the conversion recording and the surviving spouse is at least 50 years of age at the time of the filing; provided that the building or structure has been the principal residence of the senior citizen tenant or the spouse for at least one year immediately preceding the conversion recording or the death or that the building or structure is the principal residence of the senior citizen tenant or the spouse under the terms of a lease for a period of more than one year, as the case may be;
b. "Disabled tenant" means a person who is, on the date of the conversion recording for the building or structure in which is located the dwelling unit of which he is a tenant, totally and permanently unable to engage in any substantial gainful activity by reason of any medically determinable physical or mental impairment, including blindness, or a person who has been honorably discharged or released under honorable circumstances from active service in any branch of the United States Armed Forces and who is rated as having a 60% disability or higher as a result of that service pursuant to any federal law administered by the United States Veterans' Act; provided that the building or structure has been the principal residence of the disabled tenant for at least one year immediately preceding the conversion recording or that the building or structure is the principal residence of the disabled tenant under the terms of a lease for a period of more than one year. For the purposes of this subsection, "blindness" means central visual acuity of 20/200 or less in the better eye with the use of correcting lens. An eye which is accompanied by a limitation in the fields of vision such that the widest diameter of the visual field subtends an angle no greater than 20 degrees shall be considered as having a central visual acuity of 20/200 or less;
c. "Tenant's annual household income" means the total income from all sources during the last full calendar year for all members of the household who reside in the dwelling unit at the time the tenant applies for protected tenant status, whether or not such income is subject to taxation by any taxing authority;
d. "Application for registration of conversion" means an application for registration filed with the Department of Community Affairs in accordance with "The Planned Real Estate Development Full Disclosure Act," P.L.1977, c.419 (C.45:22A-21 et seq.);
e. "Registration of conversion" means an approval of an application for registration by the Department of Community Affairs in accordance with "The Planned Real Estate Development Full Disclosure Act," P.L.1977, c.419 (C.45:22A-21 et seq.);
f. "Convert" means to convert one or more buildings or structures or a mobile home park containing in the aggregate not less than five dwelling units or mobile home sites or pads from residential rental use to condominium, cooperative, planned residential development or separable fee simple ownership of the dwelling units or of the mobile home sites or pads;
g. "Conversion recording" means the recording with the appropriate county officer of a master deed for condominium or a deed to a cooperative corporation for a cooperative or the first deed of sale to a purchaser of an individual unit for a planned residential development or separable fee simple ownership of the dwelling units;
h. "Protected tenancy period" means, except as otherwise provided in section 11 of this amendatory and supplementary act, the 40 years following the conversion recording for the building or structure in which is located the dwelling unit of the senior citizen tenant or disabled tenant.
L.1981,c.226,s.3; amended 1981, c.445, s.1; 1983,c.389,s.1; 1990,c.110,s.1; 1990,c.111,s.1.
Each eligible senior citizen tenant or disabled tenant shall be granted a protected tenancy status with respect to his dwelling unit whenever the building or structure in which that unit is located shall be converted. The protected tenancy status shall be granted upon proper application and qualification pursuant to the provisions of this amendatory and supplementary act.
L.1981, c. 226, s. 4, eff. July 27, 1981.
The governing body of the municipality may authorize a municipal board, agency or officer to act as its administrative agency for the purposes of this amendatory and supplementary act or may enter into a contractual agreement with a county office on aging or a similar agency to act as its administrative agency for purposes of this amendatory and supplementary act. In the absence of such authorization or contractual agreement, this amendatory and supplementary act shall be administered by a municipal board whose principal responsibility concerns the regulation of residential rents or, if no such board exists, by the municipal clerk.
L.1981, c. 226, s. 5, eff. July 27, 1981.
The owner of any building or structure who, after the effective date of this amendatory and supplementary act, seeks to convert any premises, shall, prior to his filing of the application for registration of conversion with the Department of Community Affairs, notify the administrative agency or officer responsible for administering this amendatory and supplementary act of his intention to so file. The owner shall supply the agency or officer with a list of every tenant residing in the premises, with stamped envelopes addressed to each tenant and with sufficient copies of the notice to tenants and application form for protected tenancy status. Within 10 days thereafter, the administrative agency or officer shall notify each residential tenant in writing of the owner's intention and of the applicability of the provisions of this amendatory and supplementary act and shall provide him with a written application form. The agency's or officer's notice shall be substantially in the following form:
"NOTICE
THE OWNER OF YOUR APARTMENT HAS NOTIFIED ............................................ (insert name of municipality) OF HIS INTENTION TO CONVERT TO A CONDOMINIUM OR COOPERATIVE. THE LEGISLATURE HAS PROVIDED THAT, IF YOU ARE A SENIOR CITIZEN, 62 YEARS OF AGE OR OLDER, OR DISABLED, YOU MAY BE ENTITLED TO A PROTECTED TENANCY PERIOD. PROTECTED TENANCY MEANS THAT YOU CANNOT BE EVICTED BECAUSE OF THE CONVERSION. YOU MAY BE ELIGIBLE:
(1) IF YOU ARE 62, OR WILL SOON BE 62, OR IF YOU ARE DISABLED; AND
(2) IF YOU HAVE LIVED IN YOUR APARTMENT FOR AT LEAST ONE YEAR OR IF THE LEASE ON YOUR APARTMENT IS FOR A PERIOD OF MORE THAN ONE YEAR; AND
(3) IF YOUR HOUSEHOLD INCOME IS LESS THAN ............................ (insert current income figure for county as established by Section 7c. of this amendatory and supplementary act).
IF YOU WISH THIS PROTECTION, SEND IN THE APPLICATION FORM BY .............................. (insert date 60 days after municipality's mailing) TO THE .............................. (insert name and address of administrative agency). FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CALL ................................... (insert phone number of administrative agency) OR .................................. (insert phone number of Department of Community Affairs).
IF YOU DO NOT APPLY YOU CAN BE EVICTED BY YOUR LANDLORD UPON PROPER NOTICE."
The Department of Community Affairs shall not accept any application for registration of conversion for any building or structure unless included in the application is proof that the agency or officer notified the tenants prior to the application for registration. The proof shall be by affidavit or in such other form as the department shall require.
L.1981,c.226,s.6; amended 1987,c.287,s.1; 1990,c.110,s.2.
Within 30 days after receipt of an application for protected tenancy status by a tenant, the administrative agency or officer shall make a determination of eligibility. It shall send written notice of eligibility to each senior citizen tenant or disabled tenant who:
a. Applied therefor on or before the date of registration of conversion by the Department of Community Affairs; and
b. Qualifies as an eligible senior citizen tenant or disabled tenant pursuant to this amendatory and supplementary act; and
c. Has an annual household income that does not exceed an amount equal to three times the county per capita personal income, as last reported by the Department of Labor and Industry on the basis of the U.S. Department of Commerce's Bureau of Economic Analysis data, or $50,000.00, whichever is greater; and
d. Has occupied the premises as his principal residence for at least one year or has a lease on the premises for a period longer than one year.
The department shall adjust the county per capita personal income to be used in subsection c. of this section if there is a difference of one or more years between (1) the year in which the last reported county per capita personal income was based and (2) the last year in which the tenant's annual household income is based. The county per capita personal income shall be adjusted by the department by an amount equal to the number of years of the difference above times the average increase or decrease in the county per capita personal income for three years, including in the calculation the current year reported and the three immediately preceding years.
The administrative agency or officer shall likewise send a notice of denial with reasons to any tenant whom it determines to be ineligible. The owner shall be notified of those tenants who are determined to be eligible and ineligible.
The administrative agency or officer may require that the application include such documents and information as may be necessary to establish that the tenant is eligible for a protected tenancy status under the provisions of this amendatory and supplementary act and shall require such application to be submitted under oath. The Department of Community Affairs may by regulation adopt forms for application for protected tenancy status and notification of eligibility or ineligibility or adopt such other regulations for the procedure of determining eligibility as it determines are necessary.
L.1981,c.226,s.7; amended 1987,c.287,s.2; 1990,c.110,s.3.
No registration of conversion shall be approved until the Department of Community Affairs receives proof that the administrative agency or officer has made determinations and notified all tenants who applied for protected tenancy status within the initial 60-day period of their eligibility or lack of eligibility. The proof shall be by affidavit or in such other form as the department may require.
The department may grant registrations of conversion for applications pending on the effective date of this amendatory and supplementary act upon the implementation of a procedure whereby any eligible tenant may make application for protected tenancy status in a manner comparable to that specified in sections 6 and 7 of this amendatory and supplementary act.
L.1981, c. 226, s. 8, eff. July 27, 1981.
Protected tenancy status shall not be applicable to any eligible tenant until such time as the owner has filed his conversion recording. The protected tenancy status shall automatically apply as soon as a tenant receives notice of eligibility and the landlord files his conversion recording. The conversion recording shall not be filed until after the registration of conversion.
L.1981, c. 226, s. 9, eff. July 27, 1981.
In a municipality which does not have a rent control ordinance in effect, no evidence of increased costs which are solely the result of the conversion, including but not limited to any increase in financing or carrying costs, and which do not add services or amenities not previously provided shall be used as a basis to establish the reasonableness of a rent increase under section 2f. of P.L. 1974, c. 49 (C. 2A:18-61.1).
In a municipality which has a rent control ordinance in effect, a rent increase for a tenant with a protected tenancy status, or for any tenant to whom notice of termination pursuant to section 3g. of P.L. 1974, c. 49 (C. 2A:18-61.2) has been given, shall not exceed the increase authorized by the ordinance for rent controlled units. Increased costs which are solely the result of a conversion, including but not limited to any increase in financing or carrying costs, and which do not add services or amenities not previously provided shall not be passed directly through to these tenants as surcharges or pass-throughs on the rent, shall not be used as the basis for a rent increase, and shall not be used as a basis for an increase in a fair return or hardship hearing before a municipal rent board or on any appeal from such determination.
L. 1981, c. 226, s. 10; amended by L. 1987, c. 287, s. 3.
11. The administrative agency or officer shall terminate the protected tenancy status immediately upon finding that:
a. The dwelling unit is no longer the principal residence of the senior citizen tenant or disabled tenant; or
b. The tenant's annual household income, or the average of the tenant's annual household income for the current year, computed on an annual basis, and the tenant's annual household income for the two preceding years, whichever is less, exceeds an amount equal to three times the county per capita personal income, as last reported by the Department of Labor and Industry on the basis of the U.S. Department of Commerce's Bureau of Economic Analysis data, or $50,000.00, whichever is greater.
The department shall adjust the county per capita personal income to be used in subsection b. of this section if there is a difference of one or more years between (1) the year in which the last reported county per capita personal income was based and (2) the last year in which the tenant's annual household income is based. The county per capita personal income shall be adjusted by the department by an amount equal to the number of years of the difference above times the average increase or decrease in the county per capita personal income for three years, including in the calculation the current year reported and the three immediately preceding years.
Upon the termination of the protected tenancy status by the administrative agency or officer, the senior citizen tenant or disabled tenant may be removed from the dwelling unit pursuant to P.L.1974, c.49 (C.2A:18-61.1 et al.), except that all notice and other times set forth therein shall be calculated and extend from the date of the expiration or termination of the protected tenancy period, or the date of the expiration of the last lease entered into with the senior citizen tenant or disabled tenant during the protected tenancy period, whichever shall be later.
If the administrative agency determines pursuant to this section that a tenant is no longer qualified for protected tenancy under this act, the administrative agency shall proceed to determine the eligibility of that tenant under the "Tenant Protection Act of 1992," P.L.1991, c.509 (C.2A:18-61.40 et al.), or, in any case in which the administrative agency is not the same as the agency administering that other act in the municipality, refer the case to the appropriate administrative agency for such determination. If the tenant is found to be eligible under the "Tenant Protection Act of 1992," P.L.1991, c.509 (C.2A:18-61.40 et al.), his protected tenancy status shall be continued. The protected tenancy status of the tenant shall remain in full force pending such determination.
L.1981,c.226,s.11; amended 1987,c.287,s.4; 1991,c.509,s.23.
In the event that a senior citizen tenant or disabled tenant purchases the dwelling unit he occupies, the protected tenancy status shall terminate immediately upon purchase.
L.1981, c. 226, s. 12, eff. July 27, 1981.
Any public offering statement for a conversion as required by "The Planned Real Estate Development Full Disclosure Act," P.L.1977, c. 419 (C. 45:22A-21 et seq.), shall clearly inform the prospective purchaser of the provisions of this amendatory and supplementary act, including, but not limited to, the provisions concerning eviction, rent increases and leases. Any contract or agreement for sale of a converted unit shall contain a clause in 10-point bold type or larger that the contract is subject to the terms of this amendatory and supplementary act concerning eviction and rent increases and an acknowledgement that the purchaser has been informed of these terms.
L.1981, c. 226, s. 15, eff. July 27, 1981.
A municipality is authorized to charge an owner a fee which may vary according to the size of the building to cover the cost of providing the services required by this amendatory and supplementary act.
L.1981, c. 226, s. 16, eff. July 27, 1981.
Any agreement whereby the tenant waives any rights under P.L.1981, c. 226 (C. 2A:18-61.22 et seq.) on or after the effective date of this 1983 amendatory act shall be deemed to be against public policy and unenforceable.
L.1981, c. 226, s. 17, eff. July 27, 1981. Amended by L.1983, c. 389, s. 2, eff. Dec. 2, 1983.
If any section, subsection, paragraph, sentence or other part of this amendatory and supplementary act is adjudged unconstitutional or invalid, such judgment shall not affect, impair or invalidate the remainder of this act, but shall be confined in its effect to the section, subsection, paragraph, sentence or other part of this act directly involved in the controversy in which said judgment shall have been rendered.
L.1981, c. 226, s. 18, eff. July 27, 1981.
The Department of Community Affairs is authorized to adopt such rules and regulations as may be necessary to implement the provisions of this amendatory and supplementary act.
L.1981, c. 226, s. 19, eff. July 27, 1981.
This amendatory and supplementary act shall be liberally construed to effectuate the purposes thereof.
L.1981, c. 226, s. 20, eff. July 27, 1981.
General information, not legal advice. Statutory text is reproduced from the official New Jersey source and may not reflect the most recent amendments.