All commercial evictions have been on hold in the State of New Jersey since Governor Murphy issued an Executive Order in April of 2020 directing that the court system refrain from removing residents during any eviction foreclosure process. While the Order only applied to residential properties, most Sheriff offices postponed all evictions including those related to commercial tenancies and foreclosures.
A new directive which will go into effect on February 15, 2021, will now allow lenders and landlords to begin again the eviction process in commercial properties in which tenants have stopped making their mortgage or lease payments. Although commercial foreclosure trials have continued during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the courts have withheld post-judgment action by way of formal evictions, lockouts or writs of possession, etc. which allows Sheriff’s departments to remove individuals from the properties.
Going forward, the actual lockouts of the tenants, if necessary, will not occur until 60-days after the current State of Emergency in New Jersey is rescinded. Nonetheless, the above represents an acknowledgement by the Court that these actions need to proceed in earnest in the near future and steps are now being taken to begin that process. If you have a Landlord/Tenant issue be it residential or commercial, please do not hesitate to contact the lawyers at Hagner & Zohlman, LLC.