Short-term rentals in Newark, explained properly.

Sec. 41:4-6-14(8). Sec. 18:14-2(b) ties each permitted class to the owner's principal residence; how the five-unit limit applies together with those classes is marked for review.

Sec. 18:14-2(b)(5) permits up to two rooms and Sec. 18:14-2(c)(5) prohibits three or more individual rooms within a single-family dwelling. Sec. 18:14-2(c)(4) also prohibits a room in a single-family, two-family or multi-family dwelling that shares kitchen and bathroom facilities with an occupant who is neither the owner nor identifies the rest of the dwelling as a principal residence.

Sec. 18:14-2(c). Sec. 18:14-2(d) separately says hotels, motels, studio hotels, rooming houses, dormitories, clubs, bed and breakfast inns, convalescent and rest homes, foster homes, halfway houses, transitional housing and certain institutional, religious, charitable or government housing do not qualify as privately-owned residential dwelling units and so do not need a short-term rental permit. Sec. 18:14-1(b) also excludes licensed bed and breakfast establishments, licensed rooming or boarding houses, hotels and motels from the definition of short-term rental property.

Sec. 18:14-2(b)(1) permits condominium units only where the Bylaws or Master Deed permit short-term rental and the owner identifies the address as a principal residence. Sec. 18:14-2(c)(1) prohibits short-term rental of condominiums or townhomes where the Bylaws, Master Deed or Rules and Regulations do not permit it. Sec. 18:14-4(c) requires the letter of approval with the application.

Sec. 18:14-6(j) says this regulation supersedes any conflicting provision in a private lease agreement permitting subleasing, and that a violation leads to enforcement action against the tenant, the owner, the Short-Term Rental Agent and the Responsible Party, including a summons and fines or penalties.

Sec. 41:4-6-14(10) of the zoning chapter.

Sec. 41:4-6-14(9). We haven't reviewed the Rent Control ordinance, so which units it covers and what it requires of a short-term rental agreement are not shown here.

Sec. 18:14-3(b) bars transfer or assignment and use at any other location or dwelling unit. Sec. 18:14-3(g) says the permit expires automatically on a change of ownership, and a new initial application and first-time registration fee are required if the new owner intends to use the property as a short-term rental. A new application and first-time fee are also required for any rental whose permit was revoked or suspended.

Sec. 18:14-3(a) lists the initial requirements (for existing short-term rentals: not more than two documented and verified instances in the last two years where the Newark Police were called to address complaints attributable to the rental, and no Noise Ordinance violation documented by the Municipal Court in the last two years; for all applicants: current with city taxes and water and sewage charges, and no open violations from Code Enforcement). Sec. 18:14-6(l)-(m) adds that code violations relating to the rental must be abated, open construction permits closed and fines or penalties from past code violations paid in full before issuance. Sec. 18:14-4(e) requires a sworn statement of no prior revocation or suspension of this or a similar license; a revocation under Sec. 18:14-6(h) bars a new application for one year. Sec. 41:4-6-14(4) adds that short-term rentals are not permitted in a unit with outstanding building code or fire code violations. An applicant that is denied has 10 business days to appeal in writing to the Business Administrator, who hears and decides the appeal within 30 days (Sec. 18:14-5(b)-(c)).

Sec. 18:14-3(e) requires the owner to apply for a rental Certificate of Code Compliance with the permit application, and Sec. 18:14-3(f) requires renewal each year with an inspection. Sec. 18:14-4(b) requires annual inspections for compliance with the City's fire safety regulations and property maintenance code, and Sec. 18:14-4(d) requires a Zoning Compliance Certificate stating that the premises are not being used in violation of the City's Land Use Regulations and Zoning Ordinance. Sec. 41:4-6-14(4) refers to a satisfactory inspection report from the Office of Code Enforcement and to a rental Certificate of Occupancy, and requires the inspection certificate to be framed and displayed in the unit on or near the entrance door; the two chapters name the certificate differently.

Sec. 18:14-4(f)(2). Sec. 41:4-6-14(4) of the zoning chapter separately calls for proof of current homeowners' or renters' insurance, as applicable.

Sec. 18:14-4(h). The primary occupant may have guests under 21 who share the property. Both the primary occupant and the owner are responsible and liable where at least one adult over 21 does not occupy the property during the rental.

Sec. 18:14-4(a)(9) lists the agreement as an application item, and Sec. 18:14-4(a)(8) requires the application to give the number and location of parking spaces. Three substantiated complaints about excessive vehicles make the permit subject to revocation (Sec. 18:14-6(k)). The posted notice must state the maximum number of onsite parking spaces (Sec. 18:14-6(e)(4)).

Sec. 18:14-6(b).

Sec. 18:14-6(c).

Sec. 18:14-4(g).

Sec. 18:14-6(e) requires the information to be posted in a prominent location within the rental.

Sec. 18:14-6(g). Sec. 18:14-6(f) makes the Responsible Party and the Agent responsible for resolving complaints if the owner is unreachable. The application must give the 24-hour contact information for the agent and the responsible party (Sec. 18:14-4(a)(5)-(6)).

Sec. 18:14-7, added December 20, 2023 by Ord. No. 6PSF-G. A booking service is a platform that lists or advertises short-term rentals, accepts offers or reserves or is paid for them, and charges or receives a fee; a platform that solely lists or advertises is not a booking service (Sec. 18:14-1(b)). The annual report covers each transaction's public listing URL, proof of rental receipts showing how many times the rental was booked and the revenue grossed in a year, and the City's confirmation. For a failure to report, the penalty is assessed once per reporting period for each transaction not reported and does not exceed $2,000 or the total fees collected during the preceding year for the property, renter or registration number.

Sec. 18:14-3(c) and (f). A new initial application and first-time registration fee is required after a change of ownership or a revoked or suspended permit (Sec. 18:14-3(g)). The fee is set in the chapter, which shows its adoption on September 5, 2019 (Ord. 6PSF-B) with no separate fee-schedule date. Sec. 41:4-6-14(5) says the Department of Engineering, Office of Code Enforcement shall develop a fee schedule for registration and inspection certification, and we haven't seen that schedule, so the fee is marked for review.

Sec. 41:4-6-14(6) states the tax liability. The Code title page lists Chapter 10:20, Hotel Occupancy and Transient Accommodation Tax, but we haven't reviewed that chapter, so its rate and how it applies to a short-term rental are not shown here. The State layer for New Jersey is inherited on this page; this page does not total State and local taxes.

Sec. 18:14-8 applies to the short-term rental owner, transient occupants, the Short-Term Property Rental Agent and the Responsible Party or their agents. Operating or advertising without a permit leads to enforcement action and a summons (Sec. 18:14-6(i)). The booking service penalty is in Sec. 18:14-7(c).

Sec. 18:14-6(h) and (k). Sec. 18:14-6(d) also says that failure of transient occupants to comply with city ordinances, including noise and nuisance rules, can lead to fines or penalties and the possibility of revocation or suspension of the permit. A new application and first-time fee are required after a revocation or suspension (Sec. 18:14-3(g)).

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.