Landlords must file with the court:
- Verified Complaint
- Enter your full name, address, email address and telephone number.
- To ensure proper service of the complaint, the landlord must provide the correct name(s), address(es), and email address(es), if known, for each tenant named as a defendant. Also, the complaint must identify each tenant(s) as an individual, proprietorship, partnership, or corporation.
- The Landlord must complete the entire mandatory complaint form (Appendix XI-X), providing an answer for each question, 1 through 11, and any other applicable questions, and must attach all required documents.
- Landlord Tenant complaints against residential tenants for non-payment of rent must be signed and verified by someone with personal knowledge of the facts supporting the complaint.
- Tenancy Summons and Return of Service
- The court will insert the trial date on the summons. It will be at least 21 days from date of service of the summons.
- The court will insert the trial date on the summons. It will be at least 21 days from date of service of the summons.
- Landlord Case Information Statement (LCIS)
- Landlord(s) must complete the LCIS and file it with the court with the complaint. The information contained in the LCIS is not admissible as evidence.
- Do not include personal identifiers, such as social security numbers, on the copy of the documents that you file with the court. Complete the forms, make a copy, and then redact the personal identifiers on the copies you will submit to the court.
- A copy of the lease, (or, if the lease exceeds 10 pages, the relevant portions of the lease), including:
- Any provisions specifying fees and charges as “additional rent.”
- Any provisions outlining landlord’s notice obligations under any rental assistance program.
- Any provisions outlining grounds for eviction under any rental assistance program.
- Registration Statement, unless exempt pursuant to N.J.S.A. 46:8-27.
- Certification of Lease and Registration Statement
For cases involving something other than non-payment of rent, include any notices previously given to tenants or Public Housing Authority that you intended to rely upon at trial.
If you are landlord, sign, date, and send the completed required forms and any notices to tenants or Public Housing Authority that you intend to rely upon at trial, along with the appropriate filing and service fees, to the Office of the Special Civil Part through the mail or by using the Judiciary Electronic Document Submission (JEDS) system. For more information on JEDS, go to njcourts.gov.
If you file through the Judiciary Electronic Document Submission (JEDS) system, the filing fees can be paid by credit card or collateral account. There is a 3% credit card processing fee for this service.
If you are not filing through the JEDS system, you must send an original and two copies of your completed forms and attachments for each defendant/tenant named in the summons and complaint forms.
The required forms, as well as a list Special Civil Part offices, addresses, and phone numbers, can be found on the court’s website at njcourts.gov.