East Brunswick rent control: maximum rent increase (2026)
Middlesex County — Chapter 169, Rent Control. Full ordinance text ↗
Summary
- Cap formula
- Rent may be increased by no more than the percentage increase in the CPI (all items except real estate taxes) for the New York/Northeastern New Jersey region over the most recent 12-month period.
- Frequency
- once per 12 months, or pro-rated fraction thereof for shorter leases
- Notice required
- 30 days — No increase may become effective less than 30 days nor more than 60 days after notice is given to the tenant by certified mail, including the calculations behind the increase.
- Who's covered
- All rental housing (units: 1+) except as exempted
- Exemptions
- Motels, hotels, and similar-type buildings
- Buildings in which up to 1/3 of occupied floor space is commercial
- First-time rentals
- Newly constructed multiple dwellings, for the lesser of 30 years or the period of amortization of the mortgage
- new construction (30 yrs from certificate of occupancy, N.J.S.A. 2A:42-84.2)
- Vacancy decontrol
- The ordinance does not apply to the lease/rental agreement between the landlord and the initial or first tenant; subsequent rent increases to that tenant become subject to the chapter.
- Registration
- Landlords must provide rental unit information to the Rent Leveling Board upon request (§169-21); no separate mandatory annual registration process was found in the retrieved text.
- Surcharges
- Capital improvement surcharge requires a filed application and Board hearing (§169-16, tenants get ≥10 days' notice); hardship surcharge available via Fair Rate of Return analysis with 3 years of financials (§169-17); property tax surcharge passed through per square foot (§169-9); a garbage/solid-waste surcharge allows 40% of state-mandated fee increases to be passed through (§169-33).
- Penalties
- Willful violations are punishable under §1-15 of the Township Code (§169-29); specific fine amounts not stated in the retrieved text.
- Status
- active
- Confidence
- high
- Last verified
- 2026-09-23
Calculate your maximum increase
Ordinance text
Rents may be increased no more than the percentage increase in the Consumer Price Index for all items except real estate taxes for New York/Northeastern New Jersey over the most recent twelve (12) month period.Chapter 169, Rent Control — https://www.eastbrunswick.org/DocumentCenter/View/1228/Rent-Control-Ordinance-PDF
State survey entry
- Increase limit
- Urban Consumer NY/Northeast NJ CPI except real estate taxes
- Units covered
- 1+
- Exceptions
- Exception(s) - Motels, hotels, similar-type buildings in which up to 1/3 of occupied floor space is commercial, first-time rentals, and newly constructed multiple dwellings after the lesser of 30 years and period of amortization of mortgage. Vacancy Decontrol.
Source: NJ Department of Community Affairs, 2026 Rent Control Survey — nj.gov
Open questions
- Exact penalty fine/imprisonment amounts under Township Code §1-15 were not in the retrieved excerpt.
Rent board
Rent Leveling Board · (732) 390-6816 · https://www.eastbrunswick.org/350/Rent-Leveling-Board
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Fill in the tenant, unit, and rent details and get a printable, ordinance-cited rent increase notice for East Brunswick — $9, pay by card.
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