Short-term rentals in Jersey City, explained properly.

Sec. 255-2B lists the classifications. (1) Dwelling units in a condominium, homeowners or cooperative association where the association's bylaws, master deed or other governing document permits short-term rentals and the owner legally identifies an address within the association as his or her principal residence. (2) Single-family residences, but no more than two rooms in a single-family residence that has four or more bedrooms, and no room rented as a short-term rental may be occupied by more than two adults and two minors. (3) Dwelling units in a two-, three- or four-unit dwelling, and one room in the dwelling unit of the principal resident, with these restrictions: a permit may be issued only for the whole unit that the owner does not actually occupy; permits for the dwelling occupied by the owner are subject to the 60-day limitation in Sec. 255-2E; a dwelling unit must have at least three bedrooms for a single-room permit; and only owner-occupied dwelling units with at least four bedrooms may have two single-room permits. All are subject to Sec. 255-2E. The City's FAQ lists the property types in different words (including a bed and breakfast of up to three rooms in an owner-occupied single-family home); this page follows the code.

Sec. 255-2C.

Sec. 255-2F says the person offering a dwelling unit for short-term rental use must be the owner of the dwelling or condominium unit. It says this regulation supersedes any conflicting provision in a private lease permitting sub-leasing for 28 days or fewer. Violation results in enforcement action against the tenant, the owner, the short-term rental agent and the responsible party, including a summons and fines or penalties. The clause contains the words "except as provided below"; the exception is marked for review.

Sec. 255-2G. A person or entity holding permits also may not serve on the board of, direct or control, or have an interest in any other entity holding permits such that the combined number exceeds two.

Sec. 255-1 defines a short-term rental as the accessory use of a dwelling unit for occupancy by someone other than the unit's owner or permanent resident for a period of 28 or fewer consecutive days, which dwelling unit is regularly used and kept open as such for the lodging of guests and is advertised or held out to the public as a place regularly rented to transient occupants.

Sec. 255-3A lists, for an initial application: owner name, address, telephone and email (and, for an entity, its partners, officers or directors); the address; a driver's license or State ID confirming the property as the principal residence; the Owner's Affidavit; the Short-term Rental Property Agent Certification and the Responsible Party Certification, each giving 24-hour, seven-day contact details; recent gas/electric and water bills; proof of current ownership; the number of on-site parking spaces; a Municipal Court Compliance Certificate showing no outstanding fines or penalties and no violations of City Code Sec. 242-11A or N.J.S.A. 2C:33-12(a) and (b); proof of no outstanding taxes, water and sewer charges; proof of general liability insurance of at least $500,000.00; the master deed and bylaws for a condominium, homeowners or cooperative association unit; the certificate of formation and operating agreement for a corporate owner; inspection documentation (see the inspections row); and a Zoning Determination Letter under Sec. 345-76(G). Open construction permits for the unit must be closed before issuance, though the Director may waive this if ongoing work will not adversely affect occupants' health and safety. The Director may obtain additional information. Under Sec. 255-3B a renewal application includes everything except the Owner's Affidavit, the agent and responsible-party certifications and the Zoning Determination Letter, provided the information has not changed.

Sec. 255-3A(12). The City's FAQ lists the same requirement among the documents needed. Under Sec. 255-3B the renewal application includes the items in Sec. 255-3A other than those listed as excluded.

Sec. 255-3A(15). The City may also inspect a short-term rental property for compliance with fire safety regulations and the Code when it receives a substantiated complaint, regardless of the status of the permit application (Sec. 255-4C). The City's FAQ says that once the application is reviewed and documents verified, inspections must be scheduled with the Division of Housing Preservation and the Division of Fire.

Sec. 255-5A: once an application is submitted complete with all required information, documentation and fees, the Division of Housing Preservation, following any necessary investigation, shall either issue the permit or issue a written denial stating reasons within 30 days, so long as access to the property is provided by the owner or the owner's agent. Sec. 255-5B: a denied applicant has ten business days to appeal in writing to the Office of the Business Administrator and the Division, attaching all documentation needed to show entitlement to a permit.

Sec. 255-5C and Sec. 255-6I. Renewal requires a renewal registration fee (see the fees row). The permit expires automatically when the property changes ownership, and a new initial application and registration fee are then required; a new application is also required for any short-term rental whose permit was revoked (Sec. 255-6J).

Sec. 255-7E and Sec. 255-6J. After a change of ownership a new initial application and registration fee are required.

Sec. 255-6K and Sec. 255-7B. The owner also may not install signage or other advertising or identifying mechanisms, including lawn signage, identifying the property for rent as a short-term rental (Sec. 255-6B). The City's advertising and posting guidance (dated 2026-07-16 in its file name) repeats the permit-number requirement but cites different section numbers than the codified chapter; this page follows the code.

Sec. 255-7D.

Sec. 255-6D lists the items to be posted in a prominent location within the unit: (1) the owner's name (for an entity, a principal's name), email address and phone number; (2) names, emails and phone numbers of the responsible party and the short-term rental agent; (3) phone numbers for the Department of Public Safety, the Resident Response Center and the Division of Housing Preservation; (4) the maximum number of on-site parking spaces available for short-term rental use; (5) trash and recycling pick-up day and the applicable disposal and recycling rules; and (6) a notice that a guest, transient occupant, agent, responsible party or owner may be cited or fined for violations of applicable City ordinances. Under Sec. 255-6E, inaccurate posted information is a violation.

Sec. 255-6G. If complaints arrive and the owner cannot be reached, both the responsible party and the agent listed in the permit application must take the action needed to resolve them (Sec. 255-6F).

Sec. 255-6L.

Sec. 255-7C. Both the primary occupant and the owner are liable for a violation where the property is not occupied by at least one adult over 21 during the rental.

Sec. 255-3A(9). The number of on-site spaces available for short-term rental use must also be posted in the unit (Sec. 255-6D(4)).

Sec. 255-7A says a violation of any provision of the chapter may subject the owner, transient occupants, the short-term rental agent, the responsible party and the intermediary (and their agents) to those fines. Each night over the 60-night limit is a separate violation (Sec. 255-2E), and each day a listing without the permit number appears is a separate violation (Sec. 255-7B). Enforcement against tenants is in Sec. 255-2F.

Sec. 255-6A(1): the Director of the Division of Housing Preservation may suspend, revoke or deny a permit if the property has unabated violations of the property maintenance code, the owner has been convicted of violating State or municipal law prohibiting disturbing the peace or maintaining a nuisance, or the owner is the subject of a substantiated complaint related to the property or another Jersey City property charging a violation of State or municipal law. In deciding, the Director considers the threat to public safety, the impact on the community, how the owner rectified the violation, and the threat to occupants' health and safety (Sec. 255-6A(2)). Under Sec. 255-6H, when the Office of the Business Administrator or the Division receives notice of a civil or criminal complaint or code violation and the owner is unreachable or unresponsive, the Director or Business Administrator investigates and may issue a written notice of revocation or suspension, with reasons, within 30 days. The applicant has ten business days to appeal in writing, and the Business Administrator or designee decides the appeal within 30 days after that.

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.