Landlord Question and Answer Forum

Hello Forum, I own a two family home in northern New Jersey,and I am being faced with a huge conflict. The tenants that were renting the apartment were month to month renters rather than entered into a lease agreement. On January 1st they were officially one month late on payment plus half a month behind the previous month. On December 23rd I started the eviction process,and I have a court date scheduled for the 25th of this month. Once the tenant received the court order,he came to me and told me he would be out within 5 days from December 31st. The tenants then started moving things out and hasn't been back to the property since January 5th. The problem i have now is the tenant never gave back the keys so from my understanding,he is legally in possession of the property. I have a home appraisal scheduled for the 20th of January. From what i gathered from researching various sites, I am not allowed to enter the property until 72 hours after the court date. I have no idea what kind of damage could be done to the unit and the appraiser notified me he would have to have access to every unit.What can I do that would protect ME under the State Landlord Tenant Laws?

If they tenant told you they vacated, and to all appearances they have, then possession returns to you and you can go in and change the locks, and make any necessary repairs. Best of luck with the property.

Posted by Renee R, MD on Tuesday, January 18, 2011