New Brunswick rent control: maximum rent increase (2026)
Middlesex County — Chapter 5.80, Rent Control (Title 5, Business Licenses and Regulations). Full ordinance text ↗
Summary
- Cap formula
- The Northeast Region CPI-U change (September to August), but no less than 1% and no more than 4%, as the annual base rent increase adopted by the rent control board; limited to 50% of that if the unit has open violations older than three months.
- Frequency
- The base rent for a continuing tenant, including a revolving tenancy, may not be increased more than once during any 12-month period (§5.80.130(A)).
- Notice required
- 30 days — Any landlord seeking an increase in base rent shall, at least 30 days prior to the date the increase is to be effective, notify the continuing tenant in writing of the calculations involved in computing the increase (§5.80.150).
- Who's covered
- Residential rental units, 1 or more units
- Exemptions
- motels, hotels, public housing, licensed rooming houses
- fraternities/sororities registered by Rutgers University
- buildings owned/operated for living purposes by higher-education institutions
- units with income-based government-funded project-based assistance
- units in hospitals, convents, monasteries, extended-stay medical facilities, asylums, nursing homes, or assisted-living facilities
- owner-occupied 1-family houses (owner-occupant with 50%+ interest in title)
- owner-occupied 2-family properties
- units kept for secondary occupancy
- new multiple dwellings (lesser of 30 years post-construction or initial mortgage amortization period)
- new construction (30 yrs from certificate of occupancy, N.J.S.A. 2A:42-84.2)
- Vacancy decontrol
- Vacancy decontrol allowed once every 5 years if minimum property improvement requirements are met (until re-rented); maximum increase on vacancy is the standard allowable increase plus 4%.
- Registration
- Every dwelling that is rented or offered for rent (and not the owner's principal residence) must be registered as a rental unit with the New Brunswick Rent Control Office annually on or before April 1, on forms provided by the office; a new unit created after April 1 must be registered within 30 days of receiving a certificate of occupancy (§5.80.040). Registration information includes owner/agent identity, rent history, and a certification that the current rent complies with the chapter (§5.80.070); as of January 1, 2026 the registration fee is $50 per unit ($55 as of January 1, 2027) (§5.80.100).
- Surcharges
- Substantial rehabilitation adjustment, hardship, or capital improvement surcharges may be approved by the rent control board (exact formulas not independently verified).
- Penalties
- A violation of the chapter is subject to penalties under Chapter 1.08 of the municipal code; each violation affecting more than one dwelling unit, or occurring on more than one occasion, is a separate violation. The first offense within a 3-year period for failure to register rental property is $250 per unit with no court appearance required. A finding that a landlord charged rent exceeding the maximum allowable rent bars any base rent increase, vacancy adjustment, or market decontrol for that unit for 2 years (24 months for a month-to-month tenancy) from the next lease renewal/re-rental, and triggers random sampling of the landlord's other units at that address (§5.80.220).
- Status
- active
- Confidence
- high
- Last verified
- 2026-09-23
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Ordinance text
Effective January 1, 2024: At the expiration of a lease, whether written or oral, the base rent shall not be increased by a greater amount than the annual base rent increase percentage adopted by the rent control board unless the tenancy is vacated and the landlord complies with the regulations of this chapter regarding vacancy decontrol. Such increase shall not be less than one percent nor greater than four percent. [...] The annual base rent percentage increase for the succeeding year shall be equal to the percentage change in the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers for the North East Region from September of the preceding calendar year through August of the current calendar year pursuant to the minimum and maximum increases set forth in subsection 5.80.130(B).Chapter 5.80, Rent Control (Title 5, Business Licenses and Regulations) — https://library.municode.com/nj/new_brunswick/codes/municipal_code?nodeId=TIT5BULIRE_CH5.80RECO#TOPTITLE
State survey entry
- Increase limit
- At the expiration of a lease, base rent shall not be increased greater than the annual base rent increase percentage adopted by the rent control board. The annual base rent percentage increase for the succeeding year shall be equal to the percentage change of the CPI for All Urban Consumers from September of the preceding calendar year through August of current calendar year. Neither figure shall be less than 2.5% or exceed 5.5%. Request for "substantial rehabilitation adjustment" or hardship or capital improvement surcharge may be approved. For a vacancy adjustment upon the qualified vacation of a rental unit, maximum increase is the standard allowable increase plus 4%.
- Units covered
- 1+
- Exceptions
- Exception(s) - Motels, hotels, public housing, licensed rooming houses, fraternities/sororities registered by Rutgers University, and similar premises, buildings owner or operated for living purposes by higher educational institutions, units with income-based contracts with government-funded project-based assistance, units in any hospital, convent, monastery, extended stay medical care facility, asylum, licensed nursing home, or assisted living facility, owner-occupied 1-family houses where the owner-occupant has 50%+ interest in title, owner-occupied 2-family properties, and units kept for secondary occupancy. Owners of multiple dwellings may claim exemption for lesser of 30 years following completion of construction and period of amortization of any initial mortgage loan. Vacancy Decontrol allowed for unit every five years if minimum property improvement requirements are met (until re-rented). Maximum increase is standard allowable increase + 4%.
Source: NJ Department of Community Affairs, 2026 Rent Control Survey — nj.gov
Open questions
- Exact surcharge formulas (hardship/capital improvement/substantial rehabilitation) were only partially verified and are described generally.
- The state survey (DCA 2026) still lists bounds of 2.5%–5.5%; the ordinance as amended by Ord. O-082302 (8-16-23), effective January 1, 2024, sets 1%–4%. The ordinance governs.
- If the unit has open violations older than three months, the increase is limited to 50% of the allowable increase unless an approved remediation plan is on file (§5.80.130(B)(1)). Increases must be accompanied by a written attestation about open violations.
Rent board
Rent Control Office · (732) 745-5050 · https://www.cityofnewbrunswick.org/residents/departments/planning_development/rent_control/index.php
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