2 rules apply — the local one first, then the county and state rules that bind alongside it.
Verified on 2026-08-17.
Elizabeth permits no increase in base rent above 3% over the base rent received for the previous twelve months, once in any twelve-month period. Chapter 5.70 exempts housing units of two or fewer, and three- and four-unit buildings where the owner occupies one — so five or more units are covered regardless.
One- and two-unit housing is exempt outright; a three- or four-unit building is exempt only where the owner occupies one of the units; five or more units are covered whoever lives there. So the same four-family is inside or outside the ordinance depending on where the owner sleeps.
The fact to diary: §5.70.250 sunsets the chapter on 31 December 2026 unless the governing body extends it, which it has done roughly every two years since 2000. A report dated near that boundary should not assume either outcome. The city's own January 2026 registration notice confirms the 3% and states that registration is required of all non-owner-occupied properties built before 1996 with three or more residential units.
Exemptions
Sources
Verified on 2026-08-17.
New Jersey has no statewide rent control. The Department of Community Affairs' 2026 survey of all 564 municipalities found 120 with an ordinance and 444 without, and their caps, unit thresholds, exemptions and vacancy rules differ town by town.
This municipality's ordinance has not been read into this knowledge base. Check the DCA's survey — it names every municipality and gives the unit threshold and the increase limit for each — and then read the ordinance itself or call the rent board, before assuming rents can be reset on purchase or turnover. One statewide limit does apply everywhere: N.J.S.A. 2A:42-84.5 keeps municipal rent control off housing completed after 25 June 1987 for 30 years from completion.
Sources