FLORHAM PARK NEW JERSEY MORRIS COUNTY DIVORCE MEDIATION

A couple with 3 young daughters does not have to forfeit six months' rent for breaking an apartment lease when a convicted sex offender moved in next door. The lease promised the tenants peaceful and quiet enjoyment, but this condition was breached when the landlord allowed a Level 3 sex offender to live in an adjacent apartment. Level 3 offenders are considered to be at the highest risk of committing future sex crimes. With no means of protecting their 3 daughters except to be at their side constantly when they were home, or to remove the family from the apartment altogether, the trial judge ruled that "the tenant had valid grounds to request an early termination of the lease."    Knudsen v. Lax, 07-27541, Watertown City Court, August 9, 2007