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New Jersey Eviction Moratorium
Last Updated January 20, 2022
Fast Facts
- State: As of January 1, 2022, all previous New Jersey state moratoriums enacted due to COVID-19 are lifted, and tenants may be evicted for any rent that becomes due and owing as of January 1, 2022. Tenants that have filed a Certification of Low Income may still be protected for rents that accrued between March 2020 and December 2021, under specific conditions.
- Federal: CDC Eviction Moratorium, nullified by the US Supreme Court, expired on August 26, 2021.
What is an eviction moratorium?
Is the New Jersey Eviction Moratorium still in effect?
On August 4, 2021, the Governor of New Jersey executed Executive Order No.249, phasing out the eviction moratorium with a final end date of December 31, 2021. However, the moratorium still protects low-income tenants from being evicted for rents accrued and unpaid prior to December 31, 2021, or prior to August 31, 2021, pursuant to conditions detailed below.
Tenants earning below 120% of the area’s medium income are forever protected for rent that accrued between March 01, 2020 and August 31, 2021. Landlords are prohibited from pursuing an eviction action against these tenants for reasons of non-payment of rent, habitual late payments of rent, and failure to accept rent increases, which accrued during the stated period.
Tenants with household income of less than Moderate, Low or Very Low Income are forever protected for rent that accrued between March 01, 2020 and December 31, 2021, provided the following conditions are fulfilled:
- The tenants completed and submitted the Income-Self Certification Form;
- The tenants certified that the hardship is due to the COVID-19 pandemic; and
- The tenants applied for rental assistance.
In order to qualify for eviction protection, Tenants were required to fill out the Income Self-Certification Form for determining and certifying their level of household income.
What are the income levels?
Income Level | Description |
|---|---|
Middle Income | At or above 80% of the area Median Income (AMI), and below 120% AMI. |
Moderate Income | Above 50% AMI, below 80%. |
Low Income | At or below 50% AMI. |
Very Low Income | At or below 30% AMI. |
This online tool will help you determine your tenants’ income level: https://www.huduser.gov/portal/datasets/il.html.
Is the CDC Eviction Moratorium still in effect?
On September 4, 2020, the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) enacted a nation-wide moratorium on evictions through an order titled “Temporary Halt in Residential Evictions to Prevent the Further Spread of COVID-19.” This Order, extended several times, halted evictions. Under the CDC Eviction Moratorium, a landlord could not remove or cause the removal of a tenant that was considered a “Covered Person.”
As of August 26, 2021, the CDC Eviction Moratorium is no longer in effect. The U.S. Supreme Court, deeming the CDC exceeded its powers and challenging its authority to enact a moratorium, blocked the CDC’s order extending the federal moratorium on evictions.
What is the CARES Act?
The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act, also known as the CARES Act, was effective for 120 days between March 27, 2020 and July 25, 2020. The CARES Act made a number of programs available to Americans in an effort to alleviate many issues arising from the COVID-19 pandemic.
Although the CARES Act has expired, portions of it appear to remain in effect. Landlords of Covered Properties may still be required to provide their tenants a 30-day notice prior to initiating an eviction process due to non-payment of rent. Multi-family landlords of properties having five or more units and receiving forbearance for federally-backed mortgages are restricted from charging late fees and evicting tenants residing in those properties.
“Covered properties” are properties that participate in housing programs such as public housing, Housing Choice Vouchers, Project-Based Section 8 housing, and the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit program. This also includes properties having federally-backed mortgages by the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), Department of Agriculture (USDA), and government-sponsored enterprises known as Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.
RESOURCES
Executive Order No. 231 https://nj.gov/infobank/eo/056murphy/pdf/EO-231.pdf
CDC Eviction Moratorium https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/more/pdf/CDC-Eviction-Moratorium-03292021.pdf
New Jersey COVID-19 Information Hub https://covid19.nj.gov/forms/renter
New Jersey Self-Certification Form https://covid19.nj.gov/forms/renterform
U.S. Supreme Court ruling nullifying the CDC Eviction Moratorium https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/20pdf/21a23_ap6c.pdf
Federal CARES Act, 15 U.S.C. § 9058(a) https://uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?req=(title:15%20section:9058%20edition:prelim)
Federal CARES Act, 15 U.S.C. § 9057 https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/15/9057
What Provisions of the CARES Act Remain in Effect. https://slls.org/wp-content/uploads/8-28-20-What-provisions-of-the-CARES-Act-remain-in-effect.pdf
