Irvington caps an annual increase at 4% of the prior year's rent where the landlord supplies heat and 3% where the tenant pays for it, and at 2% where the tenant or all adult tenants are 65 or over. Chapter 472 exempts dwellings of two units or fewer, and owner-occupied three- and four-unit dwellings.
Dwellings of two units or fewer are exempt, and a three- or four-unit dwelling with at least one owner in occupation is exempt as well — so an absentee-owned three-family is the smallest building covered, and an owner moving in takes a four-family out of the chapter.
Who pays for heat is a term of the lease and it moves the cap by a full point, so the rent roll and the utility arrangement have to be read together. Two things this chapter does not have, and buyers assume it does: there is no new-construction exemption — the old one was repealed on 9 April 1985 — and no substantial-rehabilitation exemption. The chapter was amended in its entirety on 23 January 2023 and further amended on 9 March 2026.
Exemptions
- Dwellings of two units or fewer.
- Three- and four-unit dwellings, at least one unit of which is occupied by an owner.
- Motels, hotels and similar dwellings.
- Dwellings under state or federal rent control or stabilisation.
- Annual cap
- 4%
- Unit counts
- 3+ units
- Owner-occupied exemption
- Yes
Sources
- Irvington Township Code Chapter 472 — Rent ControlAdopted 14 July 1981, amended in its entirety 23 January 2023 by Ord. MC 3811, further amended 9 March 2026 by Ord. MC 3934. §472-1 is the cap, §472-3 the exceptions, §472-9 registration.
- NJ DCA — 2026 Rent Control Survey — New Jersey Department of Community Affairs, 2026 Rent Control Survey (spreadsheet, linked from the DCA Landlord-Tenant Information page; last revised 20 May 2026). The department's own caveat: the survey is only as current as the published codes, and the stated percentage may differ from the increase actually permitted.
- Irvington Rent Leveling Board — Irvington Rent Leveling Board, (973) 399-6761