Law Office of Michael D. Mirne LLC

11/18/2021

This Friday morning, the Monmouth County Courthouse will be hosting a Landlord Tenant Fair. The Court has asked me to be present to answer any questions that Landlords may have. I look forward to seeing everyone there.

06/01/2021

In 1951, the New Jersey State Legislature codified the Summary Dispossess Act, N.J.S.A. 2A:18-53, et. seq., in order to afford the Courts a fast, efficient and fair way of handling Landlord Tenant disputes. In 1974, the vast majority of Landlord Tenant disputes, which involve residential tenants, became guided by the Anti-Eviction Act, N.J.S.A. 2A:18-61.1, et. seq., which sets forth special procedures for dealing with residential disputes, while still allowing the Court to follow the efficient procedure of the Summary Dispossess Act....

These proposed measures really have nothing to do with the pandemic and if they are enacted by the New Jersey Supreme Court, they will become a permanent part of landlord tenant law.

05/30/2021

On Tuesday, June 1 at 10:00 am, the New Jersey Supreme Court will be hearing public comments regarding the Court’s recent proposal to “improve” landlord tenant court, by adding extra steps to the eviction procedure. A few of my colleagues have volunteered to present arguments on behalf of those of us practitioners who firmly believe that the Court’s proposals with regard to landlord tenant law are a bad idea. If you would like to observe these arguments, you can obtain the link from njcourts.gov on the morning of June 1. They are not advertising this hearing and they are not posting the link until the morning of the hearing. You can draw your own conclusion as to why they are taking such unusual measures to avoid publicity for this hearing.

Official Website of the New Jersey Judiciary Court System

04/01/2021

URGENT NEWS FOR NEW JERSEY LANDLORDS - ASSISTANCE IS NOW AVAILABLE

URGENT NEWS FOR NEW JERSEY LANDLORDS Help for Tenants and Landlords is on the way! It is hard to believe that it has been a year since the New Jersey Courts stopped hearing eviction cases. While compl

11/23/2020

For the past several months, we have been providing our clients with status updates regarding court closures and delays in lockouts. During this difficult time for landlords, our concern has been the idea that the State of New Jersey has no plan about how eviction actions will resume. New Jersey currently has 50,000 eviction cases awaiting trial, and while many landlords believe that one day, the courts will just re-open and all the non-paying tenants will be evicted, it always seemed to me that New Jersey was going to try to avoid the prospect of 50,000 tenants being evicted all at once. We have just been informed of the plan, which is designed to help defer rent payments, even if it means that most landlords in New Jersey will be out of business as a result.

Some of the following is part of an urgent message from the New Jersey Apartment Association:

WE NEED YOUR HELP!!! Please let the New Jersey Legislature know that you vehemently oppose Senate Bill S-2340, which would devastate the residential rental business and put your livelihood at risk. Here are some of the highlights of the Bill:

a. Eviction proceedings shall not be initiated or continued during the time provided in the executive order, unless the court determines on its own motion or motion of the parties that a proceeding is necessary in the interest of justice; and
b. A prohibition preventing landlords from imposing late fees on residential tenants; and
c. A 90-day repayment window for each month of rent arrears for a residential tenant, beginning with the first day of the second month next following the conclusion of both the state of emergency and public health emergency.

The bill would rewrite existing lease agreements and force landlords into prolonged, multi-year repayment plans for tenants who have failed to pay rent. We believe that this Bill, if passed, would further incentivize the nonpayment of rent, bankrupting small landlords and severely impacting larger landlords. Your income and the viability of the residential rental industry is at risk because of this legislation.

This bill is poised to move, and advocates are pushing hard with email blasts and letters to legislators. We need your help to let legislators know that this bill is not a solution!

We urge you to send this letter to your legislator requesting that they oppose this bill. Please share this with your colleagues, employees and vendors and ask them to do the same to ensure that the multifamily industry’s voice is heard.

Don’t delay! Act today!

10/10/2020

In 2014, Judge Palmer was installed as the presiding Special Civil Part Judge in Ocean County. Since I often try landlord tenant matters in Ocean County, I got to know Judge Palmer, and within a few months, he became my favorite judge. In 2017, I was asked to deliver the Landlord Tenant seminar for attorneys at the New Jersey Bar Association's annual meeting. I asked Judge Palmer to be on my panel, since he always had great stories to tell. During the last six months, with the Courts closed due to the COVID pandemic, I have not had a chance to see Judge Palmer. I just learned of his passing today. I am very sad that he is gone. He was a great Judge and an even better person.

View James Palmer's obituary, send flowers and sign the guestbook.

08/12/2020

In the wake of the financial disaster created by the COVID pandemic, many New Jersey landlords and tenants have become familiar with Executive Order 106, which states that no lockouts of residential tenants can occur until two months after the State of Emergency has ended. As of the date of our last blog, it appeared that the State of Emergency would end in early July. [ 256 more words ]

"Even though the State of Emergency and Executive Order 106 will both eventually end, we anticipate that the backlog of landlord tenant matters waiting to be heard will extend for several months ...

06/16/2020

During the past several weeks, our office has fielded hundreds of phone calls and emails from anxious clients (and concerned attorneys), who have all been wondering when we will resume having landlord tenant trials in New Jersey. Unfortunately, as of now, there is still no plan as to when (and how) the Courts plan on scheduling landlord tenant trials, amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. [ 416 more words ]

"It is clear that the prior method of conducting landlord tenant court, which has always involved several hundred people crowding into a room and waiting for their names to be called, will no ...

04/01/2020

During the past few weeks, our office has been reporting on New Jersey’s restrictions on evictions during the COVID-19 pandemic. At the core of these temporary measures is Executive Order 106, which generally prohibits lockouts from taking place until two full months after the State of Emergency has ended. The State of New Jersey law does not, however, prohibit the landlord from filing eviction actions and it does not prohibit the Court from entering Judgments for Possession against tenants who cannot pay their rent. [ 452 more words ]

Put simply, under Section 4024 of the Cares Act, if you are a landlord a multifamily building and you have a Federally backed loan, you cannot file an eviction prior to July 29, 2020!

03/29/2020

We are in a difficult and uncertain time and I hope everyone is staying safely at home. In the meantime, our office has been receiving daily updates from the New Jersey Supreme Court and the Legislature, concerning delays in Court dates and filing deadlines. We have been trying to forward this information to our clients as it becomes available. On March 19, 2020, Chief Justice Rabner signed an Order delaying the filing deadline for local property tax appeals from April 1 to a new date, which will be scheduled for 30 days following the determination that the state of emergency declared by Governor Murphy has ended. [ 365 more words ]

On March 19, 2020, Chief Justice Rabner signed an Order delaying the filing deadline for local property tax appeals from April 1 to a new date, which will be scheduled for 30 days following the ...

03/27/2020

The New Jersey Supreme Court has announced that Landlord Tenant Courts will remain closed until April 26. As the COVD-19 Epidemic continues to worsen, please expect more delays to be announced in the upcoming weeks.

03/26/2020

https://www.newjerseyrealestateattorneyblog.com/new-jersey-evictions-covid-19-update/

Our office remains open and we are closely monitoring the quickly developing effects of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. During the past few days, we have received several calls from our ...