Does New Jersey require good cause to evict a mobile home park resident?

Yes. New Jersey's Anti-Eviction Act applies to a 'mobile home or land in a mobile home park,' and under N.J.S.A. 2A:18-61.1 no covered tenant 'may be removed by the Superior Court ... except upon establishment of one of the following grounds as good cause' — including nonpayment of rent, disorderly conduct after notice, damage, continued rule violations after notice, refusing a non-unconscionable rent increase, retiring the park from use, or converting the park. This is general information, not advice about a specific case — consider consulting a licensed attorney in New Jersey.

How much eviction notice does New Jersey require?

It depends on the ground. Under N.J.S.A. 2A:18-61.2, disorderly conduct or damage requires '3 days' notice'; a continued rule or lease violation or habitual late payment requires 'one month's notice'; permanently retiring the park from use (subsection h) requires '18 months' notice'; and a conversion to condominium/cooperative (subsection k) requires '3 years' notice.' Nonpayment of rent requires a demand but no separate statutory notice period.

Can a New Jersey park evict everyone just to close or convert?

Only with long notice and limits. Retiring the park from residential use is a ground under N.J.S.A. 2A:18-61.1(h) but requires 18 months' notice (and no action until any lease expires), and converting the park is a ground under subsection (k) requiring 3 years' notice, with added protections for senior and disabled tenants.

Mobile home eviction rules in New Jersey

New Jersey protects mobile home park residents through the Anti-Eviction Act, which expressly covers a "mobile home or land in a mobile home park" and allows removal only for good cause, with graduated notice. The information below describes how the law generally works; anyone facing a specific notice should consider consulting a licensed attorney in New Jersey.

What the statute says

N.J.S.A. 2A:18-61.1 provides that no covered tenant "may be removed by the Superior Court from any house, building, mobile home or land in a mobile home park ... except upon establishment of one of the following grounds as good cause." The grounds include: nonpayment of rent (subsection a); being "so disorderly as to destroy the peace and quiet" after written notice to cease (b); willful or grossly negligent "destruction, damage or injury to the premises" (c); continued substantial violation of "the landlord's rules and regulations" after written notice (d); failure to pay rent after a valid notice of increase "provided the increase in rent is not unconscionable" (f); the owner's seeking to "retire permanently the ... mobile home park from ... use as a mobile home park" (h); and conversion of the park "to a condominium, cooperative or fee simple ownership" (k).

The notice periods are in N.J.S.A. 2A:18-61.2: "3 days' notice" for disorderly conduct or damage; "one month's notice" for continued rule/lease violations or habitual nonpayment; "18 months' notice" to retire the park from use; and "3 years' notice" for a conversion.

How it works in general

A New Jersey park can't evict a lot tenant without one of the Anti-Eviction Act's good-cause grounds, and most grounds require written notice and (for conduct and rule violations) a prior notice to cease. Nonpayment requires a demand; disorderly conduct or damage requires three days; a continued rule violation requires a month. The biggest protections are at the back end: a park that wants to close (retire from use) must give 18 months' notice, and a conversion to condos or co-ops requires three years' notice, with extra protection for senior and disabled tenants. A rent-increase eviction works only if the increase was not "unconscionable."

Common scenarios

General examples New Jersey park residents commonly encounter:

A resident is cited for a rule violation. The park must give a written notice to cease and then one month's notice before filing (N.J.S.A. 2A:18-61.1(d); 61.2).
The park announces it is closing. Residents are entitled to 18 months' notice (N.J.S.A. 2A:18-61.1(h); 61.2).
The park is converting to a co-op or condo. That requires three years' notice (N.J.S.A. 2A:18-61.1(k); 61.2).

Other authorities that may apply

The Anti-Eviction Act (N.J.S.A. 2A:18-61.1 et seq.) governs the grounds and notice; the mobile-home-park statutes (N.J.S.A. 46:8C-1 et seq.) add fee, sale, and lease protections, and the Senior Citizens and Disabled Protected Tenancy Act and the Tenant Protection Act add protections in conversions. These rights cannot be waived (N.J.S.A. 46:8C-5). Federal protections — the Fair Housing Act and the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act — can also apply.