Will an arrest or an adjudication of a juvenile household member get a family evicted from private housing?

If a juvenile is adjudicated delinquent on the basis of an act which, if committed by an adult, would constitute an offense under the “Comprehensive Drug Reform Act of 1987” and the juvenile has not (a) successfully completed or (b) been admitted to a drug rehabilitation program, the family may be evicted by a private landlord.  However, if the juvenile adjudication constitutes an offense of possession, this statute does not apply.

NJSA 2A:18:61.1n  Conviction of a drug offense

Notices required:

• Notice to quit—must be served on the tenant at least three days before filing the eviction suit.

Comments:

• The drug offense must have taken place in the apartment building or on the grounds of the apartment complex.
  
  
• The tenant must be convicted of a drug offense. (“Conviction” means pleading guilty or being found guilty in court.) This also applies if the tenant is a juvenile and has been found delinquent for a drug offense.
  
  
• This will not apply if the person convicted has completed or been admitted to a drug rehabilitation program.
  
  
• This also applies if the tenant (1) lets a family member or anyone else who has been convicted of a drug offense in the building or complex live in the tenant’s apartment, or (2) has in the past allowed that person to live in the apartment. This section does not apply to permitting a juvenile to occupy the premises where the juvenile has been found delinquent for the offense of use or possession.
  
  
• The tenant being evicted for letting a drug offender live in the apartment must know that the person has been convicted. If not, the tenant cannot be evicted. Cite: Housing Authority of the City of Hoboken v. Alicea, 297 N.J. Super. 310 (App. Div. 1997); Housing Authority of the City of Jersey City v. Thomas, 318 N.J. Super. 191 (App. Div. 1999). However, if the tenant lives in subsidized housing—even if it is privately owned—the landlord may be able to evict the tenant even if the tenant did not know. But the landlord must have a good reason for evicting an innocent tenant in this situation. Cite: Oakwood Plaza Apts. v. Smith, 352 N.J. Super. 467 (2002).
  
  
• No eviction suit may be brought more than two years after the date of the conviction, or more than two years after the person’s release from jail, whichever is later.
  
  
• Specific rules apply when the landlord is a public housing authority.