TRENTON – Today, the Senate Community and Urban Affairs Committee advanced the “Immigrant Tenant Protection Act,” sponsored by Senate Majority Leader M. Teresa Ruiz and Senate President Nick Scutari. The act adds legal protections for tenants against landlords who attempt to use immigration status to intimidate tenants when they exercise their housing rights, and prohibits landlords from evicting tenants on the basis of their citizenship status.
“Housing discrimination of any kind is unacceptable, and protections for tenants against adverse actions by landlords extend to everyone, regardless of immigration status,” said Senate Majority Leader M. Teresa Ruiz (D-Essex/Hudson). “Families deserve stability and security, not the fear of losing their housing or having their status weaponized against them. When every family has access to safe and stable housing, our communities are stronger, healthier, and more resilient.”
"For New Jersey’s housing discrimination laws to be strong, they must clearly protect everyone from unfair treatment,” said Senate President Scutari (D-Union/Somerset). “This legislation makes clear that landlords cannot take adverse action against a tenant in the middle of a valid lease by suddenly demanding new information that was never required before. All tenants, including immigrants, deserve to be treated fairly and should feel safe exercising their housing rights when necessary."
Under S-3530, landlords are prohibited from using a tenant's immigration status, whether actual or perceived, to intimidate, retaliate against, or evict a tenant. Landlords are barred from threatening to disclose immigration information, filing eviction actions based on status, or forcing tenants to vacate for failing to provide documents that prove citizenship after tenancy has begun.
Tenants whose rights are violated may seek damages, penalties, court costs, and attorneys’ fees against a landlord that engages in prohibited conduct. The bill also clarifies that a person's immigration or citizenship status is irrelevant to any issues of liability or remedy in a civil action involving a tenant’s housing rights.
The legislation preserves a landlord’s rights to comply with federal programs and legal obligations, verify the financial qualifications and identity of prospective tenants, and enforce lease violations. The bill does not expand or reduce landlords’ existing rights to terminate a tenancy, nor does it limit municipal authority to address landlord harassment.
Additionally, the legislation codifies the long-recognized implied warranty of habitability under New Jersey law, affirming that all tenants—regardless of immigration status—are entitled to safe, sanitary, and habitable housing. The measure ensures that landlords cannot exploit needed repairs as a means of constructive eviction.
To promote awareness, the Commissioner of Community Affairs is required to publish an online summary of landlord and tenant rights, translated into the seven most common non-English languages spoken in New Jersey. The bill would take effect immediately upon enactment.
