STATE OF NEW JERSEY
222nd LEGISLATURE
PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 2026 SESSION
Sponsored by:
Assemblywoman LINDA S. CARTER
District 22 (Somerset and Union)
Assemblywoman YVONNE LOPEZ
District 19 (Middlesex)
Co-Sponsored by:
Assemblywomen Speight, Park, Haider, Morales, Assemblyman Miller, Assemblywomen Reynolds-Jackson, Donlon and Peterpaul
SYNOPSIS
Limits amount of residential rental property application fee; establishes penalty.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
Introduced Pending Technical Review by Legislative Counsel.
An Act limiting the amount of residential rental property application fees and supplementing chapter 8 of Title 46 of the Revised Statutes.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. a. A landlord, or agent thereof, shall not require an application or other similar fee to apply to lease or sublease a residential rental property for dwelling purposes, which exceeds $50.
b. A landlord, or agent thereof, who violates subsection a. of this section shall be liable for a penalty of $1,500 for each offense, which shall be collected and enforced by summary proceedings pursuant to the "Penalty Enforcement Law of 1999," P.L.1999, c.274 (C.2A:58-10 et seq.). The Superior Court, Law Division, Special Civil Part in the county in which the residential rental property is located shall have jurisdiction over the proceedings. Process shall be in the nature of a summons or warrant, and shall issue upon the complaint of the Director of the Division of Consumer Affairs in the Department of Law and Public Safety or the Attorney General. Following the proceedings, $250 from the collected penalty shall be remitted to the applicant or prospective tenant.
c. The requirements of subsection a. of this section shall not apply to a dwelling unit located in a one-family or two-family dwelling that is offered for rent.
d. Beginning on January 1 of the year next following enactment of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill) and each year thereafter, the amount of the fee limitation established pursuant to subsection a. of this section shall be adjusted by the Director of the Division of Consumer Affairs in the Department of Law and Public Safety in direct proportion to the percent change in the Consumer Price Index over a 12-month period ending October 31 of the previous year. For the purpose of this section, "Consumer Price Index" means the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers, New York-Northern New Jersey-Long Island Metropolitan Area, All Items (1982-84=100), as published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics in the United States Department of Labor. The State Treasurer shall determine the amount of the adjustment by December 1 of each year and the adjustment to the limitation shall become effective for fees charged during the calendar year following the December 1 determination, beginning with fees made on or after January 1 of each calendar year. An adjustment in the fee limitation shall be made only if the percent change in the Consumer Price Index for the period specified is greater than zero. The Director of the Division of Consumer Affairs shall annually publish the fee limitation applicable pursuant to this section on the division’s Internet website.
2. The Director of the Division of Consumer Affairs in the Department of Law and Public Safety shall, in accordance with the "Administrative Procedure Act," P.L.1968, c.410 (C.52:14B-1 et seq.), adopt rules and regulations as necessary to implement P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill), including rules setting forth a mechanism for applicants or prospective tenants to report violations of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill), which the director shall make available on the Internet website of the Division of Consumer Affairs.
3. This act shall take effect on the first day of the fourth month next following the date of enactment, except that the Director of the Division of Consumer Affairs in the Department of Law and Public Safety shall be permitted to take anticipatory action necessary to effectuate the provisions of this act.
STATEMENT
This bill prohibits a landlord, or a landlord’s agent, from requiring an application or other similar fee, to apply to lease or sublease a residential rental property, which exceeds $50. The bill establishes a penalty for a landlord’s violation of the bill of $1,500 for each offense, enforceable in an action brought by the Director of the Division of Consumer Affairs in the Department of Law and Public Safety (director) or the Attorney General. The bill requires $250 from the collected penalty to be remitted to the applicant or prospective tenant. The bill also would exempt from the requirements of the bill dwelling units located in a one-family or two-family dwelling that are offered for rent.
This bill requires the director to adopt rules and regulations setting forth a mechanism for applicants or prospective tenants to report violations of the bill, which is required to be made available to tenants or prospective applicants on the Internet website of the Division of Consumer Affairs (division). This bill would take effect on the first day of the fourth month next following enactment; the director, however, would be permitted to take anticipatory action necessary to effectuate the provisions of the bill.