224 JEFFERSON STREET CONDOMINIUM ASSOCIATION v. EMANUEL G. PAIGE, SR.

This appeal requires us to consider whether N.J.S.A. 2A:18- 61.1(l)(2) (subsection 2) of the Anti-Eviction Act, N.J.S.A. 2A:18-61.1 to -61.12 (the Act), requires the owner of less than three condominium units to provide three years notice to evict a tenant upon sale of the unit absent a formal lease notice provision as required by N.J.S.A. 2A:18-61.9 (section 61.9). The trial judge, relying in part on N.J.A.C. 5:24-1.9, held that the notice provision, clearly applicable to N.J.S.A. 2A:18-61.1(l)(1) (subsection 1), applied with equal force to subsection 2, and dismissed plaintiff 224 Jefferson Street Condominium Association's (the Association) tenancy complaint. He further concluded that absent compliance with section 61.9, the court was without jurisdiction to consider plaintiff's dispossession action. We disagree and conclude that the notice provisions of section 61.9 do not create a jurisdictional bar to actions prosecuted under subsection 2. Accordingly, we reverse and remand the matter to the Special Civil Part.

These are the facts adduced at trial. Plaintiff owns two condominiums units in an eight-unit building located in Hoboken. The condominium conversion of the eight units was effectuated by the filing of a master deed in the Hudson County Register's Office in July 1986. Thereafter, the two units were conveyed to plaintiff. Plaintiff entered into a written month-to-month lease agreement with defendant Emanuel G. Paige, Sr. in October 1998. Although defendant resided in the apartment with his grandmother for an extended period of time, both parties agree that defendant is a post-conversion tenant. The penultimate provision of the lease agreement states:

31. Landlord shall provide Tenant with a sixty (60) day notice to quit pursuant to N.J.S.A. 2A:18- 61.1(l)(2) because the owner has contracted to sell the Unit to a buyer who wishes to personally occupy it and the Contract of Sale calls for the Unit to be vacant at the time of closing.

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Reversed

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