Other Debt Collection of rent

[Georgia Mellis]

Jurisdiction

New Jersey

Relating to NJ statute of limitations:
Collection of Rents
16 years, generally. NJSA § 2A:14-4
Actions on lease, specialty, recognizance or award; 16 years; effect of payments; action on instrument under seal brought by merchant or financial institution; 6 years

I have a debt on my credit report from 2012 in relation to monies due on an apartment.
Background, after issues with apartment (I tried negotiating upcoming lease & amenities after being there over 16 years), they filed to evict, but I left, leaving security deposit as last month's rent (I left in last month as lease ended). They canceled eviction (as I was gone & also checked with the court) but still sent bills for "unpaid rent"/damages(?)/outrageous cleaning fees & anything they could legally tack on (and this debt is on credit report). In relation to above statute,will this debt will be outstanding for 16 years as opposed to 6?

As an aside, they (their debt collector) only sent a couple of bills back in 2012, and now I just get notice that the interest on debt increases every few months on credit report. I tried negotiating/disputing the charges back then but no dice - so every few years would just dispute on credit report & go on from there) . Thank you for any clarification on above statute!

 

[army judge]

In relation to above statute,will this debt will be outstanding for 16 years as opposed to 6?

The answer you seek is hard to say with precision.

If the debt is onerous, consider a chapter 7 bankruptcy, assuming you otherwise qualify to file a bankruptcy.

As to the disputed amounts, the time to argue was in 2012.

However, it appears you erroneously chose to walk away.

When you abandoned the property you allowed the landlord to gouge you far deeper than you imagined.

There are two sure fire cures to resolving the dispute.

1 = You can pay in full the tribute demanded by the landlord/collection scavenger.

2 = You can file a chapter 7 bankruptcy.

That's about all you've got at this point, mate.

 

[Georgia Mellis]

The answer you seek is hard to say with precision.

I'm trying to decipher:
Collection of Rents
16 years, generally. NJSA § 2A:14-4
Actions on lease, specialty, recognizance or award; 16 years; effect of payments; action on instrument under seal brought by merchant or financial institution; 6 years

Will this debt will be outstanding for 16 years as opposed to 6?

 

[adjusterjack]

The 16 year SOL in 2A:14-4 applies to "instruments under seal." The 6 year SOL in 2A:14-1 applies to "contracts not under seal."

Took me a while (you're welcome) but I found an explanation of sealed vs not sealed in Beneficial Finance Co. v. Dixon, 327 A. 2d 695 - NJ: Superior Court 1974.

The significant reference in our two statutes of limitations is the word "seal." If the instrument is not under seal, N.J.S.A. 2A:14-1, the six-year statute, controls; if the instrument is under seal, N.J.S.A. 2A:14-4, the 16-year statute, controls.

511*511 Under "Definitions and General Rules" of our statutes is N.J.S.A. 1:1-2.1, "Seal; Sealed": Every instrument, to which it is required or permitted by law that a seal be attached, shall be deemed to be sealed when there is affixed thereto, or printed, impressed, or marked thereon a scroll or other device by way of a seal, and no such instrument shall be impeached or questioned for lack of a wax seal. This section shall apply to sealings by corporations as well as individuals; but any sealing required or permitted by law of a public officer, board, body, or commission having an official seal shall be by the impress of such official seal.

Read more at:

Beneficial Finance Co. v. Dixon, 327 A. 2d 695 - NJ: Superior Court 1974 - Google Scholar

My guess is that your rental agreement is not "under seal" and is therefore subject to the 6 year SOL. Understand that the SOL is a time limit for filing a lawsuit. It has nothing to do with how long a negative item remains on your credit report which, in most cases, is seven years. It also has nothing to do with how long a creditor can keep sending you bills (forever) without actually suing you.

You don't say when, in 2012, you defaulted but, unless it was in the last 3 weeks of the year, you're probably safe from a lawsuit and the item should drop off your credit report some time in 2019.

 

[army judge]

My guess is that your rental agreement is not "under seal" and is therefore subject to the 6 year SOL.

Your reasoning is correct, sir.

 

[Georgia Mellis]

My guess is that your rental agreement is not "under seal" and is therefore subject to the 6 year SOL. Understand that the SOL is a time limit for filing a lawsuit. It has nothing to do with how long a negative item remains on your credit report which, in most cases, is seven years. It also has nothing to do with how long a creditor can keep sending you bills (forever) without actually suing you.

Thank you adjusterjack so very much! I just couldn't find out what the "under seal" meant.

I know I was a bit brief in my initial post, but this is bit of a weird case where they're not sending bills (only the initial one way back in 2012 from the apartment) - essentially the apartment sold it immediately to a debt collector, and they only sent 1 bill. I couldn't get a specific verification and any disputes were answered with "It's valid" even though I couldn't get an itemized list, i.e., what the specific "damages" were, what the "cleaning fees" entailed. The debt collector bought a total debt, which, yes, according to the apartment I owe, but I couldn't get specifics/itemization.

But throughout these disputes over the years (about 4 in total), they never sent an additional bill, nor initiated any court proceedings. I think they know if I took the time to get to the nitty-gritty with a legal challenge, they would lose, or at least realize there's an issue with this debt. But they also know if I did this, I would either open myself up to owing something and/or screw up the SoL. It's like a catch-22.

But, thanks again adjusterjack - you've been a great help!

 

[adjusterjack]

Collection agencies (like the Spanish Inquisition) rely on fear to wring money out of people. Fear and surprise, etc (you know the rest if you are a Monty Python fan).

Anyway, you handled it right by ignoring it at this point.