New Jersey State Bar Association Headquarters, New Brunswick, NJ. Credit: Google

Capitol Report

A series of notices to the bar were issued last week covering a number of issues in the courts arising from the recent New Jersey Supreme Court decision in State v. Andujar, implementation of landlord tenant settlements, and rules changes.

• Landlord tenant rule relaxation

The Court announced that it would relax and supplement the rules of court in furtherance of the provisions of new legislation that establish additional protections and remedies for certain tenants and landlords affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Courts are now required to dismiss certain cases if the tenant files a certification that the tenant lives in a household with an income below 120% of the county's area median income. For landlords, courts are required to process complaints to pursue collection of unpaid rents that accrued during the covered period (March 1, 2020, through Aug. 31, 2021) in the Special Civil Part, regardless of the amount in controversy. The New Jersey State Bar Association (NJSBA) had advocated for the delay of mandatory settlement conferences in landlord tenant cases in anticipation of these new requirements, and to allow ample opportunity for parties to avail themselves of significant resources available for rental assistance.