Landlord-Tenant Law in New Jersey

[Nick Louie]

Hi BP community,

I am a first-time home buyer. I am going under contract for a property in New Jersey after giving up my search in New York. My property is a 3 family plus garden unit. So, I'm going to be a landlord soon! 

I know New York is notorious for its tenant friendly laws. Evictions are hard to complete and there's not much recourse for landlords. I was wondering whether New Jersey is the same. I'm still early in my own preliminary research, so I'd love to hear some first-hand landlord experiences of collecting pass-due rent, removing tenants from the property, evictions, and overall impressions of the landlord-tenant environment. 

To give some background, the seller wanted to deliver my property with 3 existing tenants paying within the lower 25% percentile of rent. I intend on charging the higher 75% percentile for rent. So, I requested the property be delivered vacant. My agent said the tenants are all month-to-month, so removing the tenants wouldn't be an issue. I could just simply notify them and they will leave (or the sheriff will remove them immediately). But coming from New York. It's not that easy. And I know that the very last thing I want to do is inherit tenants, even if they timely pay their rent because they won't be happy with my sudden rent increase.

So, I countered to the seller, that the seller either: (1) deliver vacant; or (2) arrange for the tenants to agree to my new licenses, which will have quite the rent increase.

Thoughts?