FOL. VII·Landlord & Tenant

A Former Judge. A Father-Son Trial Firm. Fifty Years of New Jersey Practice.

Avery & Avery, Esqs. handles rent control matters across New Jersey from our offices in Ridgefield (Bergen County). The firm has practiced Landlord-Tenant for nearly fifty years — Robert W. Avery began NJ practice in 1976 and served fifteen years as Judge of the Ridgefield Municipal Court (1986-2000); John S. Avery joined the firm in 2012. Rent Control is one of our core landlord-tenant sub-practices.

If you have a rent control matter — pending charge, hearing date, or investigation — call (201) 943-2445 for a free first consultation. Robert or John picks up when we’re in the office; voicemails returned promptly.

What Rent Control Means in New Jersey

NJ does not have statewide rent control but ~100 NJ municipalities have local rent-control ordinances. Hoboken (Chapter 155) and Jersey City (Chapter 260) are two of the best-known. Each ordinance limits annual rent increases; vacancy decontrol applies in some.

The rent control caseload in New Jersey is large enough that prosecutors and defenders alike develop pattern-recognition specific to the offense — the typical fact patterns, the recurring evidentiary issues, and the negotiated dispositions that resolve most cases short of trial. The Avery firm’s depth in Landlord-Tenant matters means we approach every rent control file with that pattern-recognition built in.

The Statute Breakdown

The primary statute and supporting authorities controlling rent control matters in New Jersey:

• Local municipal ordinance (varies)
• N.J.S.A. 2A:18-61.1 (Anti-Eviction Act)
• Inganamort v. Borough of Fort Lee, 62 N.J. 521 (1973)

The rent control statute reads more narrowly than most defendants assume when they first see the charging document. The State must prove every element of the statute — and where the charging instrument fails to specify how the defendant’s conduct meets each element, that is itself a defense ground.

Penalties and Consequences

Rent Control convictions in New Jersey carry direct statutory penalties — fines, license consequences, jail / probation exposure, and points where applicable. But the larger consequence is often collateral:

• Insurance impact — moving violations and most criminal convictions trigger insurance-rate increases for 3-5 years
• Employment background checks — convictions surface on hiring background checks for at least 5-10 years (sometimes longer for certain offenses)
• Professional licensing — many NJ professional boards (medical, nursing, real estate, financial-advisor) require disclosure of any conviction, including disorderly persons offenses
• Immigration consequences — non-citizens face removal exposure for certain convictions; even a guilty plea to a minor offense can be a removable offense under federal immigration law
• NJ MVC point exposure — Title 39 offenses feed the cumulative point total that triggers license suspension at 12 points

The full penalty exposure depends on the specific charge, the defendant’s prior record, and where the matter is filed. For a rent control matter specifically, expect the statute’s stated penalty plus any of the collateral exposures above.

Common Defenses to Rent Control

Rent Control cases turn on the same core defense angles repeatedly. The Avery firm’s approach starts with the four pillars below; specific strategy varies by fact pattern, court, and defendant goals:

• Local-rent-board petition representation
• Vacancy-decontrol applicability analysis
• Hardship rent-increase application
• CPI-based base-rent calculation challenges

The strongest defense in any rent control matter is the one that fits the factual record. We don’t run formulaic defense — we read the discovery, look for the specific evidentiary, procedural, and constitutional gaps in the State’s case, and build defense theory from there. Where settlement is the right outcome, we negotiate hard from a position of trial-readiness; where trial is the right outcome, we go.

Avery & Avery’s Approach to Rent Control

Trial-firm DNA. Robert W. Avery served fifteen years as a New Jersey Municipal Court Judge before returning to defense practice. That bench experience shapes our reading of every rent control file — what the prosecutor needs to prove, what the judge wants to see, where the case naturally settles.

Father-son continuity. John S. Avery joined the firm in 2012 and handles day-to-day appearances across our active caseload. The same firm handling intake, motion practice, and trial means clients aren’t bounced between unfamiliar attorneys at different stages.

Same-day callback. On active arrest or court-date situations, we return calls the same day during business hours. After-hours and weekend voicemails get returned the next business morning.

Statewide reach with a local foundation. Our home base is Ridgefield, Bergen County — but we appear in Bergen, Hudson, Essex, Passaic, Morris, and Sussex matters as a matter of routine. The rent control caseload often crosses county lines (defendant residence, offense location, court of jurisdiction); our six-county practice handles that without difficulty.

Related Practice Resources

• Landlord-Tenant Practice
• About Avery & Avery
• Robert W. Avery, Esq.
• John S. Avery, Esq.
• Bergen County Lawyer
• Hudson County Lawyer

Schedule a Free Rent Control Consultation

Call (201) 943-2445 or submit through the form.