Tenancy Program - Volunteer Resources

Thank you for volunteering with VLJ’s Tenancy Program! The resources below are meant to provide information and support to you while you volunteer with our virtual legal clinic or represent a client pro bono.

sample case file

A VLJ client case file will include: client’s intake information, client’s lease, any background information client submitted and/or search results from the public database search, pictures/evidence submitted by client. Review a sample case file HERE.

Clinic intake form

During a virtual clinic appointment, you will be asked to complete an in-depth interview with the client(s) to better understand their housing situation so you can start to understand what some of their legal arguments may be. Review VLJ’s Intake Form HERE.

dca bulletins

These are resources published by the New Jersey Department of Community Affairs providing brief overviews of some areas of landlord/tenant law.

Abandoned Property

Grounds for Eviction

Habitability

Rent Increase

Security Deposit

Truth in Renting

FAQs

Checking Landlord Identity Law Registration

Landlords must register their properties in accordance with the Landlord Identity Law. The Landlord Identity law requires property with one or two units for rent to be registered with the clerk of the municipality.

Properties with three or more units for rent must be registered with the Department of Community Affairs (DCA). DCA maintains a searchable database for registrations. The database can be accessed here. 

Below are some helpful instructions for using the database effectively.

Select “Certificate of Registration” from drop down menu

1. Select “BHI” from drop down menu

2. Enter the street address

   1. If you cannot find the property, try leaving out the building/house number. For example: if the building has an address of 100 Main St., try looking up Main St. Some buildings will have numbers that span multiple lots, so 100 Main St. might actually be listed as 98-102 Main St.

   2. Some properties may have entrances on multiple streets. Google maps may give you an idea if you are looking for a corner lot that might be registered under a different address.

3. Select the County from the drop down menu

4. Select the Municipality from the drop down menu

5. Hit Search

The system is slow and it may take a few minutes to load the results. If the property is registered, you will see the property in the search results. To view the registration for a property, click the icon in the view column.

Checking eCourts

Everyone should get comfortable using eCourts, as that is the best resource for you to get the most recent information/documents on clients’ court cases. 

If you are a New Jersey attorney in good standing, you should have attorney accessing to eCourts, including viewing case jackets and filing. If you have never accessed eCourts before but believe you should have attorney access, go here: https://www.njcourts.gov/attorneys/ecourts.html

If you do not already have an eCourts account set up, you can us public access with the following steps:

• Go to https://portal.njcourts.gov/webcivilcj/CIVILCaseJacketWeb/pages/publicAccessDisclaimer.faces

• Review the “Disclaimer” and click on the box to confirm that “I’m not a robot”. Click “Agree”.

• Be sure the drop down box next to Search for Case reads “Special Civil Part” – you can do searches using docket numbers or name.

LT - Landlord/Tenant docket, these are eviction cases for possession

DC - Special Civil docket, these are cases for monetary damages seeking to recover no more than $15,000

SC- Small Claims docket, these are case for monetary damages seeking to recover no more than $3,000, unless it is a security deposit in which case the threshold is $5,000

training materials