Legal Question in Landlord & Tenant Law in New Jersey

I was late paying my rent this month. On the 6th I got a letter from the management office of my apartment complex which stated that my account would be sent to the "legal department" if the rent and late fees weren't paid by the 10th. I didn't make it home from work in enough time to pay on the 10th so I took a money order for the full rent and late fee directly to the property manager on the next business day, the 12th. The property manager accepted my payment and told me that my account was now satisfied. Three days ago I received a summons for landlord-tenant eviction proceedings for non-payment of September's rent. The landlord's verification statement was signed and dated 9/14/16 (two days after I had paid in full for September) and the landlord's attorney signed the documents on the 15th. I went to the property manager and asked her to drop the case based on the fact that it was for rent she had already collected, and she refused to dismiss the matter until October's rent is paid in full. She also stated that she had a right to file against me despite my payment because her letter said that she would file if I hadn't paid by the 10th, and she is demanding that I pay the apartment complex's attorney's fee for the unnecessary filing. I'm not sure what to do about this but my main question is, is this filing even legal seeing as how it was made under false pretenses?


Asked on 9/27/16, 5:17 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Matthew Schutz Matthew R. Schutz, Esq.

You paid the rent before the matter was filed and the landlord accepted. Under New Jersey law the matter should be dismissed. If the landlord accepts the payment of the base rent and does not receive any payments that are denominated as additional rent, they are waived.

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Answered on 9/28/16, 6:49 am


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