i am a tenant in an apartment building that is literally falling apart and i can't afford to move right now.

Question

my question is: in the city of Newark, NJ where do i go to report negligence on the part of my landlord? i have been without hot water for over 5 days now, my basement is flooded with water, and there isn't even any electricity in the entire building!who do i report this to?my landlord lives out of town & he can't come into town to do something about the problems that we as tenants have to face on a daily basis, but has the audacity to forward his new post office box address to us so that we can send him his rent on time! is it legal for me to refrain from paying him his rent until he decides to take action and at the very least provide us with the basic survival essential such as hot water? please, someone out there with knowledge of landlord/tenant laws respond soon...help!!

Answer 1

You need to call Inspection & Enforcement at 973-733-6506.

They will issue violations and your landlord will be forced to make repairs. Ask the inspector for a copy of the violations and his report. You will also need to get their name in case you have to subpoena them to come to court.

In New Jersey, there are very specific notification requirements for witholding rent, and you will be taken to court for non-payment.

You must send your landlord a letter by certified mail AND regular mail stating all the problems that need correcting. Reasonable time must be given to make the repairs (10 to 14 days for most problems). It is only after this period is up that you may withold rent. Make sure your letter says that it was sent by regular and certified mail. If your landlord does not sign for the certified mail, it wont matter because the regular mail will be considered served on the 3rd business day after mailing.

You MUST have all the rent on your court date because you will be required to deposit the rent into court as a prerequisite for obtaining what is called a "Marini hearing". I cannot stress this enough. You MUST bring all the rent with you to court or you will be evicted for non-payment.

A Marini hearing is when a Judge or mediator looks at your proofs (photos, copies of violations etc) and possibly orders a rent abatement. Or he can order a reinspection of the property and a return date, with the abatement to be decided at that time. The better your photos and proofs are, the better your chances of an abatement.

After the hearing, the Judge or mediator will decide who gets what, and a court order will be signed to distribute the money that the court is holding.

Once again, YOU WILL NOT BE GRANTED A MARINI HEARING UNLESS YOU HAVE DEPOSITED ALL RENT MONIES INTO COURT. There is no other way to obtain this hearing besides following the steps I have outlined in detail for you above.

Your landlord needs to have the name and number of someone local listed on the building registration. How many units and wether on not your building is owner occuped are the deciding factors for which registration your landlord must have (NJ DCA or City of Newark). The good news is if your landlord failed to register the building properly, his non-payment case will be tossed out or rescheduled for after he gets the proper registration.
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Edited to respond to this comment:

"You should also contact the New Jersey State Bar Association and get the telephone number for some attorneys who will do pro bono (free) representation on landlord/tenant issues."

So far this year, in Essex County alone (where the poster is), the L/T part of special civil has heard over 29,000 non-payment of rent and possession cases. It is big business in NJ, and absolutely no one does it for free.

Legal Services has limited availabilty and resources, and can only help a mere fraction of the people who apply for help, and the income eligibility guidelines are such that only the poorest of the poor in an urban area of NJ have even the slightest possibility of getting representation.

Answer 2

Do NOT withhold the rent without contacting a tenant advocacy service there in Newark. The landlord is legally entitled to evict you if you don't go through the right channels. For an emergency situation like yours, I'm sure the tenant advocacy service will act very quickly to correct the problems. In some severe cases, they will even have the city/county make the repairs that are needed to bring the building into a livable condition and charge the landlord for the costs.

In some states (Minnesota is an example), you can place your rent in an escrow account where it is held until the landlord corrects the problems.

You should also contact the New Jersey State Bar Association and get the telephone number for some attorneys who will do pro bono (free) representation on landlord/tenant issues.

Good luck to you.

Answer 3

It looks like you've gotten some good answers so far. I second the suggestion to call an attorney or tenants' rights groups. Lots of law schools provide free legal services to tenants too -- try Rutgers Law School, which is in Newark.

In Massachusetts, where I work, it is legal to withhold rent based on conditions. As practical (not legal) advice, I'd say withhold your rent -- at the very least, it will get his attention! He would then have to move to evict you and you can raise all of these conditions as defenses.

Good luck!

Answer 4

Try this and good luck!!!!

New Jersey Landlord Tenant Rights: Fair Housing Agency: Division on Civil Rights ... Consumer Protection Office. P.O. Box 45025. Newark NJ 07101 [phone] ...www.usinvestmentproperty.com/laws/nj.html

Answer 5

Call the New Jersey Tenants Organization

201-342-3775
http://www.njto.org

Answer 6

Depending on your state laws it may be illegal for you to with hold rent money. However If i was in your situation I would tell the landlord that he/she is NOT getting their rent money till they fix all their problems or you are reporting them. Im not sure where you would report him to....You could call your local police department and ask them, Local heath department, and such. Depending on how far you want to take it, contact your local news station and news paper and have them do a story on it. Your land lord will have to comply to your complaints then. By the way, Take pictures of the damage and problems of things you are having so you have proof.

Answer 7

You must first send him a certified letter telling him of the problems in the house. If he still does not fix them, you can hold the rent. Or you can fix what is needed and deduct it from the rent. Go to your city's municipal building or court house ask them what you can do legally. If that doesn't help look up renters rights at your local library, or on the net. Be careful because they are different laws in each state.
Good luck

Answer 8

sharon lov hit the nail on the head. use her info to help yourself. im a landlord and see this stuff all the time. landlords not taking care of the people who keep them in business.. by taking care of their buildings. you will work through this and absolutely learn alot. when this comes to court, remember 2 things that all judges i have come in front of respect and respond positively to is documentation,(photos,reports,journals,reciepts etc.) and money in an account(rent in liew of repairs for each month until it is resolved or heard by the judge). Oh, and one other thing they can never get enough of is pleasant people standing before them being pleasant reguardless of all the hard-ache the landlord has created, it gets the judge on your side.
Believe it, I need landlords like yours out there because it makes my market grow. i cant buy enough houses to keep up with demand, these guys will never get it that you are the reason he's in business.
good luck

Answer 9

I'm a housing caseworker in Ottawa Canada. Please check out this site: http://www.uslandlord.com/laws/nj.html

I would imagine that for vital services like water, heat, electricity it would be the same. When one of my client's vital services are cut off there are two things you can do:

1) call the City and have a property inspector look at the property;
2) Go to small claims court and sue your landlord.

Make sure though that if you are going to take the landlord to court have proof. Take photos and get a property inspector's report.

Hope this helps.

Answer 10

Go to your local City Hall and speak with the Codes Enforcement Officer. There are codes that landlords have to abide by or they can get into serious trouble. You may want to check to see if there's any other assistance you can get while at City Hall.