## Facts

- A commercial tenant leased premises from a New Jersey corporate landlord under a five-year lease ending October 31, 1976.
- After expiration, the tenant held over and became a month-to-month tenant on the same terms by operation of N.J.S.A. 46:8-10.
- On November 16, 1976, during a monthly rental period, the tenant gave written notice stating it would vacate on November 30, 1976.
- The tenant vacated by no later than the end of the first week of December 1976.
- The landlord did not relet the premises until April 1977 and sued for rent for December 1976 and January–March 1977.
- The tenant conceded liability for December rent but contested liability for rent thereafter.

## Issues

1. Whether a month-to-month commercial tenant’s notice to quit given mid-month, purporting to end the tenancy at that month’s end, is wholly ineffective.
2. If not wholly ineffective, whether the late notice operates as a valid notice terminating the tenancy at the end of the next monthly rental period, limiting rent liability accordingly.

## Decision

- The Appellate Division reversed the trial court’s award of rent for January–March 1977.
- The court held that a late mid-month notice to quit is not void; it is effective as notice terminating the tenancy at the end of the next monthly period.
- Applying that rule, the tenant’s rent liability terminated on December 31, 1976; the tenant owed December rent but not rent for January, February, or March 1977.

## Legal Principles

- After a fixed-term lease expires and the tenant holds over, the tenancy becomes month-to-month on the same terms as the prior lease under N.J.S.A. 46:8-10.
- A month-to-month tenant must provide at least one full month’s notice to terminate the tenancy.
- A notice to quit that is given late (during a monthly period and attempting to terminate at that period’s end) is treated as effective to terminate at the end of the following rental month, rather than being treated as a nullity that extends liability until reletting.

## Conclusion

The court limited a holdover commercial tenant’s rent obligation after a late notice to quit to the end of the next monthly rental period, rejecting the rule that a defective notice is void and that rent continues until the landlord relets.


S.D.G. v. Inventory Control Co., 178 N.J. Super. 411, 429 A.2d 394 (App. Div. 1981)