Legal Question in Real Estate Law in New Jersey

Homeowner\Automatic Renewal Lease

I have a question that about an automatic lease renewal.

My wife and I are trying to buy a house. It is a two family. We like the one set of Tenants. The others are paying less and have the apartment we want. Part of our closing rider was that they serve the eviction.

After two weeks we go a hold of the lease.

Section 20

Renewal of Lease

Landlord must offer the Tenant a renewal lease to take effect at the end of the term. The renewal may contain reasonable changes; include any changes in the rent or the term. If so the Landlord must notify the Tenant of the changes not less then 120 days before the end of the term ends, unless the tenancy is month to month. The tenant must notify the Landlord in writing of the Tenant�s acceptance or rejection of the changes not less then 90 says before the end of the term ends. If the Tenant fails to properly notify the Landlord of the Tenant�s acceptance, it will be considered a rejection. If the Tenant does not accept the changes, the Tenant must vacate the Apartment when the term ends.

Our attorney is saying that the word MUST is in there we can not evict the Tenant or even move in to our own house. Is this true?


Asked on 4/05/04, 8:10 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Lawrence Simon Law Offices of Lawrence M. Simon

Re: Homeowner\Automatic Renewal Lease

Your attorney is wrong because of your unique situation. You cannot evict the tenant if you intended on re-renting that unit. However, if you plan on personally occupying that unit, the law (Landlord-Tenant) merely requires a 60 day notice properly served. I suggest you hire a landlord-tenant lawyer to properly serve the notice once you take over the premises, and let your lawyer handle only the real estate closing. If the seller is supposed to handle all aspects of the eviction, try to have your lawyer negotiate a proper credit to you for legal fees, if the eviction does not occur pre-closing. Good luck.

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Answered on 4/05/04, 9:09 pm


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