We recently received a notice from our landlord regarding renewing our lease and that is what my question pertains to. In the lease renewal form it states that we must either accept or reject the terms of the new lease by 6/16/2005. If we remain in possession of our apartment after 8/1/2005, they will consider this an election on our part to rent the apartment in which we reside for a period of one year. After doing some research online, I found out that the law says we would become month to month tenants rather than renewing our lease again for another year. I then took a look at a copy of our current lease and their was some language in there that seems to preclude the landlord from the NJ statute that would allow us to become month to month tenants after our current lease expires. The language in the current lease is as follows…” under no circumstances shall this lease become month to month tenancy upon expiration.” My question is whether or not the landlord can put language into a lease that precludes them from following the NJ statutes. If so, then I have nothing to argue about and I am bound to terms of my lease. Thanks in advance for your help in this matter.

What you need to do is accept or reject the terms of the lease. The landlord is saying that doing nothing means an annual renewal in writing, an addendum to the lease you could say. If you want a month to month lease, you need to write the landlord and say that you only accept a month to month lease upon exipiration of the current lease. They will either accept that, make a counteroffer, or terminate your lease. There is usually a clause in leases about notices being provided in writing in a period prior to lease renewal.

So I take it you are saying that what the NJ statute actually means is that a landlord can preclude theirself from the laws requiring them to offer a month to month lease if they put language into the original lease agreement that states such.

I was told that under certain circumstances, the landlord will offer 6 month lease options to tenants but they will not offer month to month leases, even though the NJ law says that they are required to do so. Just like you wrote in your reply, we were told that in order to be granted a 6 month lease we must file a written request by a certain date. I just wanted to find out if there was anything we could do about the landlord not giving us the option to get the month to month lease. If there is nothing we can do, we will just file a request for the 6 month lease instead.

Thanks,
Christian

Your lease is ending. It is an annual lease that is ending. The landlord is saying to renew for another annual lease- do nothing. You want a month to month lease. If both parties agree to a month to month lease in writing, the courts will uphold that. I am not from New Jersey, but a month to month lease renews monthly and an annual lease renews annually. If you want a month to month lease, counter the landlord's offer of an annual lease renewal automatically in writing. In that writing, tell the landlord that you want a month to month lease. The landlord will respond. You just need to get into the process and negotiate what you want. The landlord has made an offer, you need to accept, counteroffer with the month to month lease, or reject, then when an agreement is made, a new lease or new lease addendum with the agreed upon terms will be signed by both parties.

I am not from New Jersey, but a month to month lease renews monthly and an annual lease renews annually.

Actually in New Jersey a yearly lease renews on a monthly basis if the tenant fails to move out by the expiration date on their current lease. Here is an excerpt from the info that I gathered online...."If your lease or a notice from your landlord says that you must either sign a new lease by a certain date or else move out by the date your present lease expires, your failure to renew your lease will put the landlord on notice that you intend to move out at the end of the lease period. If you object to changes in the lease, let the landlord know. Lease changes must be reasonable. See Chapter 9, The Causes for Eviction. If you then choose not to move out, you will become a month-to-month tenant. Cite: Kroll Realty v. Fuentes, 163 N.J. Super. 23 (App. Div. 1978) and Lowenstein v. Murray, 229 N.J. Super. 616 (Law Div. 1988)."

My question is that if the above mentioned law says that we automatically become month to month tenants, can the landlord get around this by inserting language into our current lease that says that there will be no creation of a month to month lease when our current lease expires, even though the state law says otherwise.

I apologize for not giving you all the necessary information in the beginning.

Thanks again,
Christian

We are from IL and we had that option. But our landlord stated that if we did nothing and did not sign the lease we would be month to month and $100 more a month, but if we signed it it would remain the same as the first year.

Landlords frequently include unenforcable lease clauses in their contracts. However if you look at the NJ statue below it states that the month to month tenancy only kicks in with the "absence of any agreement to the contrary." You have an agreement with your landlord in your current lease regarding holding over and renewal of your lease.

TITLE 46 PROPERTY
46:8-10. Tenant holding over; tenancy from month to month

46:8-10. Tenant holding over; tenancy from month to month
Whenever a tenant whose original term of leasing shall be for a period of one month or longer shall hold over or remain in possession of the demised premises beyond the term of the letting, the tenancy created by or resulting from acceptance of rent by the landlord shall be a tenancy from month to month in the absence of any agreement to the contrary.

L.1941, c. 317, p. 856, s. 1, eff. Aug. 4, 1941.

I received a notice to vacate my apartment 30 days prior to expiration of my lease, however there is no reason indicated for the landlord not renewing the lease, and I had no idea that the lease was not going to be renewed. Now I am finding it difficult to rent another apartment because I cannot give prospective landlords any reason for moving. They are suspicious that I am lying about something. They are saying "there must be some reason why the landlord wants you to move". Is it legal for the landlord to force a tenant to move without giving any reason?

PEPPERD, it's a good idea to start your own thread rather than adding on to an old one. There is no law that requires a landlord to provide a reason for not renewing a lease. Leases provide options for both the landlord and the tenant to get out at the end of the lease, so it's a two-way street. You wouldn't need to tell him why if you chose not to renew either.

Did you ask the landlord why he wasn't renewing you when you got notice?

Yes, I asked him, he just told me he wasn't renewing my lease. I was under the impression that we had a good relationship and it surprised me that he choose not to renew my lease. If I had known sooner, I could have prepared to move like I did when I moved into his apartment. Now, I don't have any security rent saved up and also the couple of landlords I have spoken to want to know why he is asking me to move. If I can't come up with an explanation, they think I am a bad risk.

In Connecticut can a new owner of an apartment house have a tenant sign a new lease with a "no pet" provision even though the prior landlord allowed them. And if they don't sign a new lease can he have them evicted. Is the old lease transferrable after the house is sold...I am looking also for some case law...this is a research project I am working on...and would appreciate the input.