Short-term rentals in Franklin Township, Somerset County, explained properly.

Sec. 315-3B(3) permits one unit within a two-family dwelling where the other unit is the owner's principal residence. Sec. 315-3B(4) permits no more than one unit in a multifamily dwelling where one other unit is occupied by the owner as a principal residence. Sec. 315-3B(5) permits one or more rooms in a single-family dwelling that share the kitchen and bathroom with the occupant, with the rest of the dwelling the owner's principal residence. Sec. 315-3C(3) and (4) prohibit STRs in a two-family unit where the other unit is not owner-occupied and in two or more units of a multifamily dwelling where another unit is not owner-occupied. Sec. 315-3E limits dwelling units, or portions of them, to one STR at a time.

Sec. 315-3B(1) permits STRs in condominium units where the association bylaws or master deed permit an STR and the owner identifies the address as a principal residence. Sec. 315-3C(1) prohibits STRs in condominiums or townhomes where the bylaws, master deed, or condominium rules and regulations do not permit them. Sec. 315-5C requires a condominium or townhouse owner's application to be accompanied by a letter from the condominium association or homeowners' association about whether an STR is permitted under its documents.

Sec. 315-7B says all STRs shall be for a minimum of one overnight period and that no hourly rentals are permitted. Sec. 315-2 defines an STR by a ceiling of no more than 30 consecutive days.

Sec. 315-2 defines a short-term rental as the accessory use of a dwelling unit for occupancy by someone other than the owner or permanent resident for a period of no more than 30 consecutive days, where the unit is regularly used and kept open for lodging guests and advertised as a place regularly rented to transient occupants. The definition of short-term rental property says dwelling units rented to the same occupant for more than 30 continuous days, bed-and-breakfast establishments, licensed rooming or boarding houses, hotels and motels are not short-term rental property. The definition of prohibited short-term rental uses the wording a period of less than 30 consecutive days, so the two definitions differ for a stay of exactly 30 days; ask the Township how it treats that stay.

Sec. 315-7J says a tenant may not apply for an STR permit, nor may the property or any portion of it be sub-leased by the tenant on a short-term basis or operated as an STRP by the tenant, and that this regulation supersedes any conflicting provision in a private lease. A violation leads to enforcement action against the tenant, the owner, the STR agent and the responsible party, with a summons and fines or penalties. Sec. 315-2 defines owner as an individual or entity holding title by a legally recorded deed.

Sec. 315-5A requires an annual application to the Township Clerk, submitted under oath on the Township's form with the non-refundable fee. It must include the owner's contact details (and, for an entity, its shareholders, members, partners, officers or directors), the unit address, a copy of the owner's driver's license or state identification card, the sworn principal-residence acknowledgement, the STRP agent and responsible party with 24-hour contact details, the number and location of off-street parking spaces, and the owner's agreement to use best efforts to avoid disrupting the neighborhood. Where a booking service is used, the owner must give the listing URL or identifier and the booking service name for all existing listings. Sec. 315-5E also requires proof of ownership, proof of general liability insurance and written certifications from the owner, agent and responsible party. Sec. 315-6A requires the Township Clerk to issue the permit, or a written denial with reasons, within 10 business days once the application is complete with all required information, documentation and fees.

Sec. 315-4A sets initial minimum requirements for an application to be processed: the property must be current with all Township taxes and water charges and have no open violations from the Township, and for existing STRs the applicant must have had no more than two documented police calls for complaints, and no Chapter 169 or 183 violations, in the last two years. Sec. 315-7L requires the owner to be current with all tax, water and sewer charges before issuance, requires code violations relating to the STRP to be abated first, and requires open construction permits to be closed. Sec. 315-7M requires all Municipal Court fines for past code violations relating to the STRP, including penalties for failure to appear, to be satisfied in full before issuance. Sec. 315-5D requires a sworn statement of no prior revocations or suspensions of this or a similar license; if there are any, a permit is not issued, and the denial may be appealed.

Sec. 315-5E(2) requires, attached to and concurrent with the permit application, proof of general liability insurance in a minimum amount of $500,000, along with proof of current ownership (Sec. 315-5E(1)) and written certifications from the owner, agent and responsible party that they will perform their duties (Sec. 315-5E(3)).

Sec. 315-5B says the Township may but shall not be required to conduct annual inspections for the STRP's compliance with the Township's fire safety regulations and property maintenance code, and that each application may be subject to review to verify the STRP's eligibility for use as an STR and compliance with the chapter.

Sec. 315-6B gives an applicant whose permit is denied 10 business days to appeal, in writing, to the Office of the Township Manager. Sec. 315-6C requires the Township Manager or their designee to hear and decide the appeal within 30 days after receipt.

Sec. 315-5G says in no event shall an STRP be rented to anyone younger than 21 years of age, and that the primary occupant who signs the agreement must be over the age of 21 and must be the party who will actually occupy the property. The primary occupant may have guests under 21 who share the property. The occupant who signs and the owner are both liable for a violation where the property is not occupied by at least one adult over 21 during the stay. The section uses both younger than 21 and over the age of 21; ask the Township how it treats a renter who is exactly 21.

Sec. 315-7G. The application must name an STR agent and a responsible party, each with seven-day, 24-hour contact information (Sec. 315-5A(1)(e) and (f)). Sec. 315-2 defines the responsible party as both the owner and a person (property manager) designated by the owner to answer for the property and occupants and to accept service of legal process, and the agent as a New Jersey licensed real estate agent or other person charged with the permit application. If the owner is unreachable, the agent and responsible party must act to resolve complaints (Sec. 315-7F).

Sec. 315-4B and 315-7I. Advertising before the permit is issued is equivalent to operating without a permit and leads to enforcement action, a summons, and fines or penalties for the STRP owner, the STR agent and the responsible party. Sec. 315-5H says any STRP listed for public viewing without a permit is subject to fines and penalties, and cites Sec. 315-9, which is the occupancy section; the fines are in Sec. 315-10, so ask the Township which section applies.

Sec. 315-7C.

Sec. 315-5A(2). Sec. 315-8 separately makes it unlawful for a booking service to charge or collect a fee for an STR unless it has registered the listing with the Township Clerk to verify that the STR has a permit; see the booking service rule.

Sec. 315-8A requires the booking service to register annually with the official name, mailing address and a representative's contact details, and to pay the fee. Sec. 315-8B requires, for each listing, the listing URL or identifier, host name and physical address, which the Township Clerk checks against the permit, and requires reverification at least annually and whenever the data changes. Sec. 315-8C sets the fee at $100 per calendar year, applying only to the calendar year in which the registration is submitted.

Sec. 315-3I requires off-street parking and says the number of vehicles owned or operated by transient occupants shall not exceed the number of off-street parking spaces available on the STRP. Sec. 315-2 defines off-street parking as a storage area directly accessible to an aisle or driveway that does not use any public right-of-way and excludes grass or dirt areas; each parking area must be at least nine feet wide by 18 feet long, and indoor garage parking counts only if made available to the transient occupant. Sec. 315-5A(1)(h) requires the application to give the number and location of all off-street spaces. Sec. 315-7K makes the permit subject to revocation by the Township Manager or a designee after three substantiated complaints about excessive vehicles.

Sec. 315-9 makes it unlawful for any person, including the transient occupant, owner or agent, to allow a greater number of persons than the posted maximum number of occupants to sleep in or occupy an STRP, including all outdoor areas, pursuant to Sec. 183-22 of the Township Code. Sec. 315-7E(5) requires the maximum number of occupants permitted under Sec. 315-9 to be posted inside the STR. Chapter 183 (Property Maintenance) hasn't been reviewed yet, so confirm the maximum for an address with the Township.

Sec. 315-7E(1) to (7) requires this information to be posted in a prominent location within the STR.

Sec. 315-3F and 315-7D: failure of transient occupants to comply with Township ordinances subjects the occupants, the owner, the agent and the responsible party to fines or penalties and the possibility of revocation or suspension of the permit. Sec. 315-3H: transient occupants shall not sublease or otherwise charge others for use of the STRP or its pools or other accessory structures or parts of the land. Sec. 315-3G: no rooms within a dwelling unit used for STRs shall be equipped with key lock entry knobs.

Sec. 315-5F, citing N.J.S.A. 40:48F-1 et seq., says that when each STR ends or there is a change of occupancy the STRP owner, in addition to the state sales tax and state occupancy fee, is subject to a 3% municipal occupancy tax, and that the subsection applies only to STRs obtained through a transient space marketplace or a professionally managed unit. The State tax and fee rows on this page are inherited from the New Jersey layer. The Township's own tax pages and Chapter 180 (Fees) haven't been reviewed yet.

Sec. 315-10: a violation of any provision of Chapter 315 may subject the STRP owner, transient occupants, the short-term rental agent and the responsible party or their agents to these fines. Operating without a permit, or advertising before the permit is issued, leads to a summons and fines or penalties for the owner, agent and responsible party (Sec. 315-7I). A tenant who subleases is subject to a summons and fines along with the owner, agent and responsible party (Sec. 315-7J).

Sec. 315-7H: after revocation for two or more substantiated complaints the STRP may not submit a new permit application for one year from the date of revocation. Sec. 315-7K: three substantiated complaints about excessive vehicles make the permit subject to revocation by the Township Manager or a designee. Sec. 315-3F and 315-7D: occupants' failure to follow Township ordinances may lead to revocation or suspension. Sec. 315-4E: a new application and first-time registration fee are required for any STR whose permit was revoked or suspended. Sec. 315-5D: a permit is not issued where there was a prior revocation or suspension of this or a similar license.

The Division of Taxation page on hotel and motel occupancies says New Jersey imposes sales tax on hotel and motel occupancies at a current rate of 6.625% (page last updated 04/07/26, no effective date shown). The Division's Tax Topic Bulletin S&U-13 (rev. 3/23) says it does not address transient accommodations and points to a separate bulletin on them, which was not read for this layer. The Department of Community Affairs' Local Finance Notice 2026-09 (April 7, 2026) says P.L. 2018, c. 49 and P.L. 2019, c. 235 amended the hotel and motel occupancy fee law to implement sales tax and the State Occupancy Fee on a transient accommodation obtained through a transient space marketplace, or one that is a professionally managed unit. The notice defines a professionally managed unit as a unit that is directly or indirectly owned or controlled by a person offering for rent two or more other units during the calendar year. Because the rate for transient accommodations is not stated on a page that addresses them, this is marked for review. Booking-platform collection is covered in a separate row.

The Division of Taxation's State Occupancy Fee page says the fee is 5% of charges for the rental of hotel and motel rooms that are subject to sales tax, in addition to sales tax and any municipal occupancy tax, and is imposed at a lower rate in cities where hotel and motel occupancies are already subject to a local tax: 1% in Atlantic City, Elizabeth, Newark and Jersey City, and 3.15% in the three Wildwoods. The fee is imposed directly on the occupant and must be shown on the bill as "New Jersey State Occupancy Fee". It is not imposed on an occupancy of at least 90 consecutive days (the permanent resident exemption), on assembly space, or on qualifying government occupants. Bulletin S&U-13 (rev. 3/23) gives the same rates for hotels. The Department of Community Affairs' Local Finance Notice 2026-09 says the State Occupancy Fee applies to transient accommodations obtained through a transient space marketplace or that are professionally managed units; the fee page and bulletin read here describe hotel and motel rooms, so how the rates apply to a short-term rental is marked for review. The fee page was last updated 09/22/25 and shows no effective date for its rates.

The Department of Community Affairs' Local Finance Notice 2026-09 (April 7, 2026) says municipalities that allow short-term rental of transient accommodations are authorized to impose a municipal occupancy tax not to exceed 3% on those transactions, except Newark, Elizabeth, Jersey City, Paterson, Atlantic City, Wildwood, Wildwood Crest and North Wildwood, which are authorized to apply separate hotel or tourism-related statutory taxes to transient accommodation rentals. The notice says the municipal tax applies only to transient accommodations obtained through a transient space marketplace or that are professionally managed units, and that leases of real property with a term of at least 90 consecutive days are not transient accommodations. A new or amended ordinance must be transmitted to the Division of Taxation and does not take effect until 90 days after it is transmitted. The tax must be collected by the person collecting rent from the customer. Tax Topic Bulletin S&U-13 gives the same 3% ceiling and the same list of excluded cities for hotel occupancies. Each municipality's own tax is on its page.

Local Finance Notice 2026-09 (April 7, 2026) of the Department of Community Affairs, Division of Local Government Services, says rental of short-term transient accommodations is largely subject to municipal ordinance and quotes N.J.S.A. 40:52-1(n) as authorizing municipalities to issue licenses for rental of real property "for a term less than 175 consecutive days for residential purposes by a person having a permanent place of residence elsewhere". License amounts are to be adopted by the governing body as part of the municipal fee ordinance. The notice adds that many municipalities have adopted ordinances authorizing and regulating short-term rentals through online marketplaces such as Airbnb and VRBO. The statute itself was not read; its wording is taken from the notice. Each municipality's own rules are on its page.