Rent on an illegal apartment

Hi. I was just wondering if anyone knew the law for having to continue paying rent on an apartment that was deemed illegal by the State. I live in NJ. The landlord has given me three months to move out but I don't feel I should have to continue paying rent for an illegal apartment. Also, I never did get a formal lease from this landlord. The letter he sent me said my tenancy was terminated.

Does anyone know a website that would list NJ laws that would clear this up for me.

Thanks!

There seems to be a lot of information HERE. I hope this helps.

The registration law prevents a landlord from evicting you if the building is not properly registered. If your landlord has not registered the property or has not given you a copy of the registration, the court cannot enter a judgment to evict you in favor of the landlord. In most eviction cases where a landlord has not registered, the judge will postpone hearing the case to give the landlord time to register. Once the landlord registers, the court can then hear the case and enter a judgment for eviction. The postponement can give you extra time to move or to obtain the rent you may owe. Some judges do not follow this procedure and will enter a judgment anyway, if the landlord agrees to register the property later. This practice is clearly wrong.

Littlepuddin, help me out here. What, exactly constitutes an 'illegal apartment'? Is the place unliveable, or what?

you dont have to pay rent. the law states. the following.
the lanlord can not collect rent. he or she has no legal right to.
collect rent. and he or she has to by you out the apt. go to.
the certificate of accupancy building and get that. its free of.
charge. ones you have that. it will have evidence of that apt.
being illegal. show that to the judge. and you can collect.
rent youv'e paid him or her. going back 4 yrs. theres no hurry.
he or she cannot even legally evict you. they gotta offer you.
a way out. you can sue the landlord in fact..,

for more info go to google.com search for eviction rights the.
land lord's hanbook. there youll see all you can use againts them.
***Information deleted as solicitation is against forum TOS - Jason

I am currently going through the same thing in the state of NY my land wants me out by the end of the month. i have research the info and i cannot be evicted without being served papers legally. after that the easiest way to remove the tenant and only want is to file a second petition 10days later totaling 400 dollars in legal fees from the LL as well as up 15,000 in fines in changes to the apartment are not done. the landlord can not charge you rent. nor throw you with out having to pay 3x the amount of damages. If there is no marshall not legally able to throuw you out. qnzbeautifulma@aol.com

i live in a illegal apt i have the notice from the zoning officer and i think i have a problem collecting relocation because its owner occupied does that matter in the state of nj?

Little pudin,

Whether or not that apartment is illegal, you have to pay rent to the landlord because you are occupying the space. The way I see it, the land lord gave you a very human treatment by giving you a three month notice. Do not use the ILLEGAL APARTMENT to take advantage of the land lord and to milk him because you have learned something that you can use against the land lord to milk him. Be A HUMAN!

There are such scumbags out there just trying to get over on anyone they can. If the landlord was a slumlord, thats another story. However, if you had no problems with the landlord or apartment, why take advantage. The fact that the apartment is illegal does not have anything to do with the tenant. Unless of course it the apartment is unsafe. Be a decent person a pay rent for a place that you are living in.

The original post on this thread is from 3 years ago. I'm pretty sure "little-puddin" is no longer living in this "illegal" apartment.