Rent control in Montclair, NJ

2 rules apply — the local one first, then the county and state rules that bind alongside it.

4% on any building the owner does not live in, from two units up
Montclairhigh confidence

Verified on 2026-08-17.

Montclair caps an annual increase at 4.00% of the base rent, at 2.5% where at least one tenant is 65 or over, and allows a one-time 6% where the landlord has collected no increase on an existing tenant since 1 May 2020. Chapter 257's exemption is owner-occupancy, not size: a building of three or fewer units the owner lives in.

The widely reported "fewer than four units" threshold is not what the chapter says: §257-2B(1) exempts units in buildings the owner resides in that contain three or fewer residential units, and §257-2B(7) exempts single-family homes and single condominium and co-operative units. A non-owner-occupied two- or three-family is covered.

The figure circulating in press accounts is 4.25%; the codified cap is 4.00%. The chapter in force was adopted on 19 April 2022 and repealed the litigated 2020 ordinance outright, and it was amended again on 23 May 2024 — an amendment two years on is good evidence that it is operative. No substantial-rehabilitation exemption appears in §257-2B.

Exemptions

  • Units in buildings the owner resides in that contain three or fewer residential units.
  • Single-family homes, single condominium units and single co-operative units.
  • Dwelling units rented for the first time after the chapter's adoption — the initial rent only, with every subsequent rent controlled.
  • Income-determined units, and units exempted by state or federal law.
  • Motels, hotels and transient premises, commercial floor space, and state-licensed rooming houses.
  • School and college-owned student housing.
Annual cap
4%
Vacancy decontrol
Yes — rent resets on vacancy
Unit counts
2+ units
Owner-occupied exemption
Yes

Sources

  • Montclair Township Code Chapter 257 — Rent RegulationAdopted 19 April 2022 by Ord. O-22-05, repealing the 2020 chapter; §§257-9, 257-12 and 257-17 amended 23 May 2024 by Ord. O-24-13. No uncodified amendments were pending.
  • 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.
  • Montclair Rent Control Office — Montclair Rent Control Office, (973) 509-4956
Rent control is municipal, and 120 of the 564 towns have it
New Jerseymedium confidence

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

  • NJ DCA — 2026 Rent Control Survey — New Jersey Department of Community Affairs, 2026 Rent Control Survey — every municipality, with its rent board, ordinance link, unit threshold, increase limit and exceptions.The department's own caveat: the survey is only as current as the published municipal codes, and the stated percentage may differ from the increase actually permitted. Rent control ordinances are adopted by each municipality, not by the state.
  • NJ DCA — Landlord-Tenant Information

Every rule for Montclair, NJ