Passaic, NJ — landlord and rental rules

Ordinance 2494-25, adopted 2 September 2025, cut Passaic's maximum rent increase to 3% once in any twelve-month period, running from the section's effective date to its sixth anniversary. On top of the 3% a landlord may pass through the tenant's pro rata share of a municipal property tax increase, apportioned by the floor area their unit occupies and separately itemised.

The current §231-1 definition was read: a one-family house and an owner-occupied two-family are exempt. A non-owner-occupied two-family is covered; owner-occupied coverage therefore begins at three units.

Two things travel with the 3%. The city's own Rent Leveling page still links only the superseded 6% ordinance, so the figure a landlord or a broker quotes may be a year out of date. And the increase is now gated on paperwork: §231-24 makes an annual tenant registration a precondition to any increase, and §231-25 requires 30 days' written notice itemising the previous base rent, the new rent, every surcharge, the effective date and the legal authority — carrying a certification that the registration is in order and a certification that the unit is in substantial compliance with the city's Property Maintenance Code.

Annual cap

3%

Vacancy decontrol

No

Unit counts

2+ units

Owner-occupied exemption

Yes

In effect since 2025-09-02.

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.

Ordinance 2494-25 §231-23A(2): "In the event that the unit becomes vacant, the rental increase limitations imposed by this ordinance will remain in effect." A turnover no longer lifts the cap.

This is the largest single change to any ordinance in this tranche and it runs against the buyer: a Passaic rent roll bought below market stays below market, and the 3% ceiling is what closes the gap. Any pro-forma, broker package or comparable sale from before September 2025 was built on decontrol that no longer exists — including the DCA survey, which still records Passaic as a vacancy-decontrol town.

Vacancy decontrol

No

In effect since 2025-09-02.

The New Jersey Anti-Eviction Act requires good cause for every residential eviction statewide, with no small-landlord exemption. A month-to-month tenant cannot be removed simply by ending the term.

Practical effect for a buyer: an occupied unit conveys with its tenant, and a business plan that depends on delivering the building vacant needs a lawful cause for each unit before it is a plan.

Section 231-24 requires every landlord subject to Chapter 231 to file complete tenant registrations for all dwelling units and to submit copies of the filed registrations to the Rent Leveling Board annually. No rent increase is permissible unless the landlord has complied.

Chapter 185 was read with §231-24: the owner and tenant or prospective tenant jointly file the registration information, including the tenancy and rent data, within 15 days of occupancy, and annual copies go to the Rent Leveling Board. The 30-day increase notice must certify both registration and substantial Property Maintenance Code compliance. Chapter 231A separately charges a rental-property registration fee of $25 per unit for one- and two-family property and $10 per unit for other multiple dwellings; it is not represented as a Chapter 185 tenant-registration fee.

In effect since 2025-09-02.

Pre-1978 one- and two-family rentals must be inspected for lead-based paint hazards at tenant turnover or every three years, whichever comes first. The certificate is valid for two years.

Budget the inspection and any remediation into the turnover cost of every pre-1978 unit, not into a one-off line at closing.

Construction

Built before 1978

In effect since 2022-07-22.