Legal Question in Landlord & Tenant Law in New Jersey

I live in NJ. On june 26 2012 backdoor fell off the hinge. It is an entry door. Also the glass fell out the door is wood with four glass sections. My lanlord was notified of the rotting wood and that the door was damaged weeks before it broke. When it finally broke it was 9 30 at night I live in the countries most dangerous city camden. I called her to inform her and left a voicemail. I called again the next day she was informed. And said she was getting eye surgery the next day and could not come out. on the fourth day I mailed het a letter demanding she fix my door. I recieved no response. On july 3 she called and asked for my rent I respnded by asking her about the door that is just sittin against the wall. Not closed cant close or lock and she said im calling about payment and ignored my ? I told her I am going to repair the door with rent if she doesn't fix it she said if I did that she would evict me. The next day I sent her a letter stating that if my door was not fixed in 3 days I will deduct and repair. And that is what I did. Now she is evicting for non payment. I have photos and video of thedoor. Copies of the lettets and text messages I sent her. A copy of the invoice for the repair.i have never been to an eviction hearing am I going to lose my


Asked on 7/23/12, 9:22 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
John Corbett Corbett Law Firm LLC

You must be prepared to pay the rent that is due into court on the day of your hearing. That might not be required, but if it is and you do not pay, the court has no choice but to evict you. (Take a breath and understand that first.) Now, when the case is heard, give the same facts to the judge that you did above. Show the pictures. Present the bills. Tell the judge that you paid the bills from the rent that would have been due after notifing the landlord of the dangerous condition and giving her time to correct the problem. This is called a habitability defense. The principle is that the lease contract requires the landlord to provide you with a premises that is habitable. You will contend that a dwelling in Camden that does not have a door that can be secured is not habitable. My intuition is that the judge will agree and will not evict you and will permit you to apply the cost to the rent. At worst, the judge will let you stay if you pay the full rent.

See also: http://info.corbettlaw.net/lawguru.htm

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Answered on 7/24/12, 6:31 am


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