Anna Mae Cashin v. Marisela Bello(073215)

The Anti-Eviction Act (the Act), N.J.S.A 2A:18-61.1 to -61.12 permits the “owner of a building of three residential units or less” to oust a tenant if the owner intends to “personally occupy a unit.” N.J.S.A. 2A:18-61.1(Z )(3). In this appeal, the Court determines whether that provision can be applied to remove a tenant from a two-story single-family house built in a converted garage by an owner who possesses a five-unit apartment building on the same parcel of land.

The question, in other words, is whether “building” denotes a single, unattached physical structure — an interpretation that…