2 rules apply — the local one first, then the county and state rules that bind alongside it.
Verified on 2026-08-17.
At the expiration of a lease or a periodic tenancy Trenton permits no increase greater than 4%, and 2% for a senior citizen or disabled tenant. Chapter 222 defines a dwelling as any building rented to one or more individuals or households, so there is no unit-count threshold at all.
There is no unit-count threshold in the chapter: a single rented unit is covered. What takes a small building out is owner-occupancy, and only up to two units.
Rents were rolled back to the levels in existence on 31 December 1996, with controls retroactive to 1 January 1997. The chapter was substantially amended on 9 May 2024. Beyond the 4% there are separate routes for tax, sewer and water surcharges, hardship, capital improvements and a staged below-market catch-up — and a tenant is entitled to half of any tax reduction.
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