MATTHEW G. CARTER APTS. VS. KATHY RICHARDSON A-1992-09T3 11-24-10
Plaintiff/landlord served a written notice to cease upon defendant/tenant regarding her habitual late rental payments. After receipt, defendant paid her rent in a timely fashion for the next four months. She was then eight days late with the rent, and plaintiff served a "1st violation." Defendant paid on time the next month, but was two days late in paying the rent the following month. Plaintiff served a notice to quit and refused to accept any further rental payments which were tendered in a timely fashion and ultimately escrowed with defense counsel. In sum, defendant was late in the payment of her rent a total of ten days during the eleven-month period.
The trial judge granted plaintiff judgment of possession finding a cause of action was proven under N.J.S.A. 2A:18- 61.1(j) (defendant had "after written notice to cease, . . . habitually and without legal justification failed to pay rent which [wa]s due and owing") because a second late payment was made after receipt of the notice to cease.
While we reaffirmed our prior holding in Ivy Hill Park v. Abutidze, 371 N.J. Super. 103 (App. Div. 2004), that general equitable defenses are not available to defeat the landlord's cause of action for habitual late payment of rent, we nevertheless reversed, finding that under the factual circumstances, plaintiff had failed to prove the statutory cause of action.
