Rent control in North Bergen, NJ
2 rules apply — the local one first, then the county and state rules that bind alongside it.
Verified on 2026-08-18 — 44 days ago.
North Bergen limits an increase to the change in the price index over the lease term and, notwithstanding that, to no more than 2.5% of the last prior base rent in any calendar year. The only small-building exemption requires the dwelling to have fewer than four units and one of them to be owner-occupied — both, not either.
The two conditions are cumulative: exempt are dwellings containing fewer than four units of housing space *in which one such unit is owner-occupied*. A three-unit building that is not owner-occupied is covered, and there is no free-standing small-building exemption. A sitting tenant whose tenancy began before the dwelling qualified for the exemption stays covered for the term of that tenancy.
2.5% is the tightest ceiling in this tranche, and it is a ceiling on the index term rather than a floor under it: in a low-inflation year the permitted increase is lower still. The increase is not self-executing — it requires an application to the Rent Leveling Board — and the landlord must give each new tenant a written rental statement naming the previous tenant, that tenant's rent, the date and amount of the last increase and the base rent, filed with the Board within ten days. Neither the DCA survey nor the sections read here records a vacancy-decontrol provision, which is evidence and not proof: confirm with the rent board before modelling a reset to market on turnover.
Exemptions
- Dwellings containing fewer than four units of housing space in which one such unit is owner-occupied — except for units occupied by tenants whose tenancy began before the dwelling qualified.
- Units in hotels and motels occupied by transient guests.
- Any unit accepted into a government affordable-housing programme under which the owner receives a grant, a subsidised loan or funds to rehabilitate the unit or subsidise the rent.
- Annual cap
- 2.5%
- Unit counts
- 1+ units
- Owner-occupied exemption
- Yes
Sources
- North Bergen Township — Rent Leveling Ordinance 467-93Township-hosted and read directly; it repealed all prior rent control ordinances. Whether it has been amended since 1993 was not established.
- 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.
- North Bergen Rent Control Office — North Bergen Rent Control Office, (201) 392-2047
Verified on 2026-08-01 — 61 days ago.
New Jersey has no statewide rent control. Roughly 100 municipalities impose their own, with caps, exemptions and vacancy rules that differ town by town.
This municipality has not been researched. Read the municipal code — or call the clerk — before assuming rents can be reset on purchase or turnover.
Sources
- NJ Department of Community Affairs — Landlord/Tenant InformationRent control ordinances are published by each municipality, not by the state.