East Brunswick rent control: maximum rent increase (2026)
Middlesex County — Chapter 169, Rent Control. Full ordinance text ↗
Maximum rent increase
100% of the CPI change
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.
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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
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