Walk It Through: Late Rent And A New Lock
The grace period, the good cause rule, and a lock that is not a court order.
Rent is due on the first. On the third, a late fee shows up on the bill.
Two things a person in this spot might do. Picking one shows what the law says about it.
One tenancy in a building the good cause rule reaches. The full list of good causes, the notice periods for grounds other than rent, and how the court case runs are not set out here.
A practice walkthrough, not a prediction of how any real one will go. Legal information, not legal advice.
Words this turns on
Terms with a legal meaning that is narrower than the everyday one. Each links to the definition and the authority behind it.
- Disorderly conductWith purpose to cause public inconvenience, annoyance or alarm, or recklessly risking it, fighting, threatening, behaving violently or tumultuously, or creating a hazardous condition with no legitimate purpose. A petty disorderly persons offense.
- Good causeOne of the grounds the statute lists, without which the Superior Court may not remove a residential tenant: unpaid rent, disorderly conduct or broken rules continued after written notice to cease, damage to the premises, habitual late rent, and others.
- Notice to ceaseA written notice telling a tenant to stop disorderly conduct, breaking reasonable rules or lease terms, or habitually paying late. Those grounds for eviction exist only when the conduct continues after it.
- Notice to quitThe written notice before an eviction action that specifies in detail the cause of the termination, served in person, left with a family member above the age of 14 years, or sent by certified mail.
- Ascertainable lossA loss of money or property from an unlawful practice, which lets a person sue under the consumer fraud law for threefold the damages, plus reasonable attorneys' fees, filing fees and costs of suit.
- Disorderly persons offenseThe grade below the crimes, punishable by not more than 6 months and a fine up to $1,000.00.
- Unlawful entry and detainerEntering and holding a home without the consent of the person in possession, outside the eviction procedures the law provides. A person who does it to rental property is a disorderly person.
- Grace periodFive business days to pay rent due on the first of the month, which no late charge may include.