3. a. A landlord shall provide a receipt, either printed or emailed, to a tenant for each cash payment made to the landlord for any amount due to the landlord pursuant to a residential lease, renewal, or extension agreement. The receipt shall accurately indicate the amount of the payment, the purpose of the payment, when the payment was received, the printed or typed names of both the landlord and tenant, and who accepted the payment.

b. A landlord who violates this section shall be subject to the penalty provisions of section 5 of P.L.1975, c.310 (C. 46:8-47), except that the penalty shall be $100 more for a second violation by a landlord within a five-year period, and the penalty shall be $200 more for each subsequent violation by a landlord within a five-year period.

c. It shall be a valid defense in any action or proceeding against a tenant to recover possession of real property for the nonpayment of rent that the landlord violated this section with respect to the months in which the violation or violations occurred.

L.2019, c.300, s.3.