Eviction notices in New Jersey

No notice to quit is required before filing for nonpayment of rent (N.J.S.A. 2A:18-61.2). Proceedings stop if the tenant pays the rent claimed and court costs to the clerk on or before final judgment (2A:18-55; NJ Courts: by 4:30 p.m. on the trial date). After a warrant is posted or a lockout is executed for nonpayment, the tenant has 3 business days to pay, and the landlord must accept and notify the court, which dismisses the case (2A:42-10.16a). Federally subsidized housing requires a 14-day notice (DCA Truth in Renting).

Can the tenant pay to stop it? The case stops if the tenant pays the rent claimed plus costs to the court clerk on or before entry of final judgment; after a judgment or lockout the tenant still has 3 business days to pay all rent due and have the case dismissed.

Type:

No notice required by statute

Notice period:

No fixed number of days

Law:

N.J.S.A. 2A:18-61.2; 2A:18-55; 2A:42-10.16a

For continued substantial violation of reasonable written rules, or of reasonable lease covenants where the lease reserves a right of reentry, the landlord must give a written notice to cease, and then, if the violation continues, a notice to quit at least one month before filing (N.J.S.A. 2A:18-61.1(d), (e); 2A:18-61.2(b)). The statute sets no fixed period for the notice to cease; the DCA guide says it must be reasonable. Habitual late payment also requires a notice to cease and a one-month notice to quit (2A:18-61.1(j); 2A:18-61.2(b)).

Chance to fix it: The landlord must first give a written notice to cease; eviction may proceed only if the tenant continues the violation after that notice.

Type:

Varies

Notice period:

No fixed number of days

Law:

N.J.S.A. 2A:18-61.1(d), (e), (j); 2A:18-61.2(b)

A notice to quit served at least three days before filing is required for these grounds (N.J.S.A. 2A:18-61.2(a), referring to 2A:18-61.1(b), (c), (m)-(r)). Disorderly conduct also requires a prior written notice to cease (2A:18-61.1(b)).

When it applies: Disorderly conduct continuing after a written notice to cease; willful or grossly negligent damage to the premises; end of employment where the tenancy was conditioned on employment (e.g. superintendent or janitor); certain drug, assault, theft or human-trafficking convictions or civil findings.

Notice period:

3 days

Law:

N.J.S.A. 2A:18-61.2(a)

The Anti-Eviction Act states the notice periods as 'three days' notice' and 'one month's notice' before the action is filed and does not say how to count them or whether weekends are excluded (N.J.S.A. 2A:18-61.2). Later steps do exclude weekends: a warrant of removal cannot be executed until the third day after service, excluding Saturdays, Sundays and court holidays (2A:42-10.16(b)), and the post-lockout payment window is 3 business days (2A:42-10.16a).

A notice to quit must state the cause in detail and be served personally, or left at the tenant's usual place of abode with a family member over age 14, or sent by certified mail (and by regular mail if the certified letter is not claimed) (N.J.S.A. 2A:18-61.2).

Under the Anti-Eviction Act a landlord may evict or refuse to renew a residential lease only for one of the listed good causes; owner-occupied buildings with two or fewer rental units and transient/seasonal rentals are excluded. (N.J.S.A. 2A:18-61.1; 2A:18-61.3)

The landlord files a verified complaint in the Landlord/Tenant section of the Superior Court, Special Civil Part; the court sets the trial date on the summons, at least 21 days after service (NJ Courts self-help). No written answer is required, but if the tenant does not appear a default judgment may be entered (DCA Truth in Renting). A warrant of removal cannot issue until 3 days after judgment (2A:18-57) and is executed by a court officer no earlier than the third day (excluding weekends and court holidays) after it is served (2A:42-10.16). Lockouts and utility shut-offs without a court order are illegal; a landlord entering without legal process is a disorderly person (2A:39-1). After a judgment for possession, a tenant can ask the court for an Order for Orderly Removal, which can give up to seven more calendar days to move (NJ Courts self-help).

• Public-housing drug or criminal lease violations follow federal notice rules (N.J.S.A. 2A:18-61.1(e)(2); 2A:18-61.2(h)).
• A tenant may ask the court for a hardship stay of the warrant of up to 6 months after judgment if other housing is unavailable; it requires paying all rent arrears and costs and continuing rent during the stay, and does not apply to rent-controlled premises (N.J.S.A. 2A:42-10.6, -10.8). N.J.S.A. 2A:18-59.1 is a separate one-year stay for certified terminally ill tenants.

• New Jersey notice to end a month-to-month tenancy (no-cause notice by tenant or landlord)
• New Jersey security deposit law: deadlines after move-out
• Federal 30-day notice for covered properties (CARES Act)

• N.J.S.A. Title 2A (official N.J. Legislature statutes text) Retrieved October 13, 2026.
• NJ DCA, Truth in Renting Retrieved October 13, 2026.
• NJ Courts self-help: Landlord/Tenant Retrieved October 13, 2026.

Laws change. This page was checked against the sources above on October 13, 2026. It is legal information, not legal advice; if you have an eviction case, contact your state's legal aid. See our methodology.