Union City, NJ — landlord and rental rules

5 rules across 4 topics, including the county and state rules that bind here. Last verified 2026-08-18.

Rent controlVacancy decontrolJust-cause evictionLead paint

Rent control

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Four or more units, capped at the lesser of CPI or 3%
Union Cityhigh confidence

Verified on 2026-08-18 — 44 days ago.

Union City's Chapter 334 permits the lesser of 3.0% or the increase in the CPI for the New York–Northern New Jersey metropolitan area over the twelve months before the notice of increase, and 2.0% for a qualified senior tenant. It does not apply to premises with fewer than four units.

Premises with fewer than four units are outside the chapter. Above that, owner occupancy matters and the conditions are unusually specific — see the exemptions.

A rented condominium or co-operative unit is not exempt, and neither the owner's residence elsewhere nor the number of units they own creates an exemption beyond the unit the owner occupies. Base rents run from those established on 1 March 1973. Hardship requires operating expenses of at least 75% of gross income, management fees capped at 6%, and eighteen months' ownership — so a new buyer cannot apply. Union City is in Hudson County and is not Union County: two different places whose names collide, and confusing them applies the wrong ordinance entirely. The current chapter has been read through its 2019 rewrite and subsequent amendments.

Exemptions

  • Units on premises with fewer than four units.
  • Owner-occupied four-family buildings — but only on an affidavit of residency filed with the registration, with the burden on the owner, effective only once a tenant who lived in a non-owner-occupied unit before the owner moved in has vacated, and with written notice of the exemption given to prospective tenants and recited in every lease.
  • Five- and six-unit buildings owner-occupied as at the date of the ordinance — a closed, non-transferable class that ends when the owner leaves the building.
  • First-time rentals, as to the initial rent only.
  • Dwellings constructed after 25 June 1987 and not for senior citizens, per N.J.S.A. 2A:42-84.1, for the amortisation period of the initial mortgage or 30 years, whichever is less, conditioned on the statutory filings.
Annual cap
3%
Unit counts
4+ units
Owner-occupied exemption
Yes

Sources

  • Union City Code Chapter 334 — Rent StabilizationCurrent codified chapter, amended in its entirety 6 November 2019 by Ord. 2019-26, with subsequent amendments through the current code.
  • 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.
  • Union City Rent Control Office — Union City Rent Control Office, (201) 348-5734
Rent control is municipal, and roughly 100 towns have it
New Jerseymedium confidence

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

Vacancy decontrol

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No general vacancy decontrol; vacant units remain registered
Union Cityhigh confidence

Verified on 2026-08-18 — 44 days ago.

Chapter 334 states no general market reset on turnover. A previously registered unit remains a regulated rental unit while vacant or used as the landlord's residence, and a newly created unit enters at the building's average calculated rent.

The current chapter was read end to end and contains no decontrol provision. Instead, §334-16 preserves registration during vacancy and §334-20 requires a four-or-more-unit owner to report a vacancy lasting 90 days, re-rent within 90 days absent an extension, and file the new rent with an inspection approval certificate.

Vacancy decontrol
No

Just-cause eviction

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Just cause is required on every tenancy
New Jerseyhigh confidence

Verified on 2026-08-01 — 61 days ago.

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.

Sources

Lead paint

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Pre-1978 one- and two-family rentals need a lead inspection
New Jerseyhigh confidence

Verified on 2026-08-01 — 61 days ago.

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.

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