To fill out the NJ Realtors Standard Form of Residential Lease, a licensed New Jersey Realtor generates the current version through zipForm, enters the parties, property, term, rent, and security deposit details, attaches the disclosures New Jersey and federal law require, and sends the package to the landlord and tenant for attorney review and signature. The form is proprietary, so a landlord working without an agent cannot download it directly and would need to engage a Realtor or use a different compliant template.
Getting Access to the Form
The form belongs to the New Jersey Association of Realtors and is distributed to members through zipForm. The agent populates the fields electronically, including the brokerage firm’s information, office license number, and individual agent details, then attaches the required addenda before circulating the draft to both sides and any attorneys involved.
If you are a landlord without representation, you will not have direct access to this particular form. You can engage a licensed NJ Realtor to prepare it or use a different lease template that complies with New Jersey law.
Information to Gather Before You Start
Opening the form without the following in hand will stall you partway through:
- Full legal names of every adult tenant who will live in the unit, and the landlord or management entity. No nicknames or abbreviations.
- Complete property description: street address, unit number, municipality, and county. List extras like a parking space, storage unit, or garage separately.
- Lease term, with exact start and expiration dates. Most New Jersey residential leases run one year, though the form accommodates other durations.
- Monthly rent amount and the calendar day it is due. Most leases set the first of the month.
- Security deposit amount, which cannot exceed one and one-half times the monthly rent under New Jersey’s Security Deposit Law. If rent is $2,000, the maximum deposit is $3,000.
- Security deposit banking details: the name and address of the bank or investment company, the account type, and the interest rate.
- Occupancy limits, consistent with local health and safety codes.
- Permitted use. The form’s preprinted language restricts the premises to residential use, which blocks a tenant from running a business out of the unit without written consent.
Filling in the Security Deposit Section
New Jersey’s Security Deposit Law (N.J.S.A. 46:8-19 through 26) is unusually detailed, and the blanks on the form map directly onto its requirements.1New Jersey Department of Community Affairs. Security Deposit Law N.J.S.A. 46:8-19 Through 26 The deposit is held in trust and remains the tenant’s property until lawfully applied; it cannot be commingled with the landlord’s personal funds.
Where the deposit is held depends on the size of the landlord’s portfolio. Landlords with ten or more rental units must invest the deposit in either an insured money market fund based in New Jersey or an interest-bearing account at a state or federally chartered bank in New Jersey. Landlords with fewer than ten units must, at a minimum, deposit the money in an interest-bearing account at an insured New Jersey bank.1New Jersey Department of Community Affairs. Security Deposit Law N.J.S.A. 46:8-19 Through 26
Interest earned belongs to the tenant. Each year, the landlord either pays the accumulated interest in cash or credits it toward rent on the lease anniversary. A landlord can instead pay interest on January 31 if the tenant received written notice of that schedule. A landlord who fails to deposit the money properly or pay the annual interest can be forced, by written tenant demand, to apply the full deposit plus 7 percent annual interest toward rent.2New Jersey Department of Community Affairs. Security Deposit Bulletin
Writing the bank name, address, account type, and interest rate directly into the lease at signing satisfies the landlord’s separate obligation to provide that information in writing within 30 days of receiving the deposit. Putting it in the lease avoids a follow-up mailing.
At the end of the tenancy, the landlord has 30 days to return the deposit plus the tenant’s share of accumulated interest, minus any lawful deductions for damages or unpaid obligations. Return must be made by personal delivery or certified mail.3Justia. New Jersey Code 46:8-21.1 – Return of Security Deposit
Disclosures and Addenda You Must Attach
New Jersey law requires several disclosures to accompany the lease. The NJ Realtors form bundles most of them as addenda, but the landlord is responsible for making sure each one actually reaches the tenant. A disclosure sitting unsigned in a file does not satisfy the obligation.
Truth in Renting Statement
The Truth-in-Renting Act (N.J.S.A. 46:8-43) requires the New Jersey Department of Community Affairs to publish a plain-language summary of landlord and tenant rights.4Justia. New Jersey Code 46:8-43 – Short Title Every landlord must provide this statement to each new tenant at or before move-in and keep a current copy posted in a prominent, accessible location. A tenant cannot waive the right to receive it.5New Jersey Department of Community Affairs. New Jersey Code 46:8-43 Through 50 – The Truth-in-Renting Act
Lead-Based Paint Disclosure
For any building constructed before 1978, federal law requires the landlord to disclose known lead-based paint hazards before the lease is signed, provide any available inspection reports, include a lead warning statement in the lease, and give the tenant the EPA pamphlet “Protect Your Family From Lead in Your Home.”6US EPA. Lead-Based Paint Disclosure Rule (Section 1018 of Title X) The form includes a lead paint addendum. Complete and sign it even if the landlord has no knowledge of lead paint; skipping the disclosure carries federal penalties.
Flood Hazard Notification
Under N.J.S.A. 46:8-50, landlords must notify tenants before lease signing or renewal if the property sits in a FEMA Special Flood Hazard Area (the 100-year floodplain) or a Moderate Risk Flood Hazard Area (the 500-year floodplain). The notice must also disclose whether the landlord has actual knowledge that the rental unit or its parking areas have previously flooded.7Justia. New Jersey Code 46:8-50 – Notification, Tenants, Flood Zone DCA publishes a standard Flood Risk Notice form that satisfies the requirement.8New Jersey Department of Community Affairs. Flood Risk Notice
Window Guard Notice
For multi-unit dwellings, the lease must contain a conspicuous boldface notice telling tenants they can request child-protection window guards if a child 10 or younger lives in the unit or is regularly present there for a substantial period. At signing, the landlord or agent must also verbally inform the tenant of this right. Once a tenant makes a written request, the landlord must install and maintain the guards.9Cornell Law Institute. N.J. Admin. Code 5:10-27.1 – Child-Protection Window Guards; When Required
Smoke and Carbon Monoxide Alarms
New Jersey requires smoke alarms on each level of the unit, including the basement, and outside each separate sleeping area. Carbon monoxide alarms are required in units with a fuel-burning appliance or an attached garage, placed in the immediate vicinity of sleeping areas. Battery-operated alarms are permitted but cannot replace hardwired alarms that were part of the original construction.10New Jersey Department of Community Affairs. Smoke Alarm and Carbon Monoxide Alarm Compliance The form addresses the landlord’s and tenant’s respective maintenance responsibilities.
Preprinted Clauses With Blanks You Will Fill In
Beyond the data fields and the addenda, several preprinted clauses have blanks or options that interact with state law. Fill them with those rules in mind.
Late Fee and Grace Period
New Jersey requires a five-business-day grace period for rent due on the first of the month. No late fee or delinquency charge can be assessed during those five days. Business days exclude Saturdays, Sundays, and state or federal holidays, so a Monday holiday pushes the deadline further than you might expect.11Justia. New Jersey Code 2A:42-6.1 – Grace Period for Rent Payment The state does not cap the late fee itself, but courts have struck down charges they consider unreasonable. The form has a blank for the amount; keep it proportionate to the rent.
Pet Policy
New Jersey has no state law prohibiting a pet ban in residential leases, and the form lets the landlord specify whether pets are permitted and on what terms. A few exceptions limit that discretion. Service and guide dogs for tenants who are disabled, blind, or deaf cannot be excluded, and no extra charge can be imposed for them. In senior citizen housing projects with three or more units, tenants have a statutory right to keep a pet upon written notice to the landlord. If a pet deposit is collected, the combined total of the security deposit and pet deposit still cannot exceed one and one-half times the monthly rent.12New Jersey Department of Community Affairs. Truth in Renting
Utilities and Heat
Spell out which utilities the landlord pays and which the tenant pays. New Jersey’s housing maintenance code requires every dwelling to have a heating system that maintains at least 68°F from October 1 through May 1 between 6:00 a.m. and 11:00 p.m., and 65°F at other hours. A tenant can agree to supply heat only if the unit has its own separate heating equipment and the fuel or energy can be separately metered and billed. If a utility that should be billed to the landlord is instead charged to the tenant, that diversion of service can be reported to the Board of Public Utilities.12New Jersey Department of Community Affairs. Truth in Renting
Landlord Entry
New Jersey regulations require tenants to grant the landlord access for inspection and maintenance upon reasonable notification, normally interpreted as one day’s notice. In a genuine safety or structural emergency, the landlord may enter immediately without prior notice.13New Jersey Department of Community Affairs. Right of Entry The form contains entry language, but the regulatory standard governs regardless of what the lease says.
Signing and Delivering the Lease
Filling the blanks is only half the job. How the lease is signed and delivered determines whether it actually binds anyone.
The landlord and every adult tenant should initial each page and sign the execution block on the final page. Initialing each page confirms that everyone reviewed every clause, not just the signature page. Signing can happen in person or through a secure digital platform. Each party must receive a fully executed copy of the entire package, including every addendum and disclosure. A tenant who never receives a signed copy is at a disadvantage if a dispute later arises.
The form includes an attorney review clause giving each party the right to have an attorney review the lease within three business days after both sides receive a fully signed copy. During that window, either attorney can send a letter disapproving the lease or proposing changes. If no letter arrives within the three-day period, the lease becomes binding as written. This mirrors the attorney review process used in New Jersey real estate purchase contracts.
Once the review period passes without cancellation, the landlord collects the first month’s rent and the security deposit. The landlord then has 30 days to provide written notice of where the deposit is being held, including bank name, address, account type, and interest rate. Writing those details into the lease at signing satisfies the obligation and avoids a separate mailing.2New Jersey Department of Community Affairs. Security Deposit Bulletin