Legal Question in Landlord & Tenant Law in New Jersey
My sister just died in car accident. The family went over to her apartment to retrieve cats and clean up affairs. The property manager maintenance man called the police and claimed that we could not be there as guests until the complex legal dept. gives an okay after the weekend. This is a form of lockout and not allowed correct? is there a NJ statute that pertains to this?
Thank You
1 Answer from Attorneys
I am sorry to hear about your loss. The property manager acted properly unless whoever tried to get access is appointed by the court as the personal representative of your sister's estate. Except as to the Personal Representative (Executor) it would only be a lockout if the landlord was excluding your sister which, under the circumstances, is not possible. You can't be her guest unless an occupancy status was created before she died. My guess is that the landlord's lawyer will not approve unsupervised access except to the PR of the estate. So, it is probably incumbent upon the family to have one appointed.
See also: http://info.corbettlaw.net/lawguru.htm
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