Newark rent control: maximum rent increase (2026)
Essex County — Chapter 19:2, Rent Control Regulations; Rent Control Board. Full ordinance text ↗
Summary
- Cap formula
- The increase equals the percentage change in the CPI-U (New York-Northern NJ-Long Island area) from 15 months to 3 months before the proposed increase, capped at 4%. For properties not otherwise covered by rent control, increases from all sources exceeding 25% in one year are deemed excessive and unconscionable and are not allowed. Substandard buildings with 3+ units may also be brought under rent control by the Public Officer.
- Frequency
- once per lease term
- Notice required
- 30 days — Landlord must give the Rent Regulation Officer and the affected tenant written notice of the proposed increase at least 30 days in advance.
- Who's covered
- Buildings with 3 or more apartments (also extends to buildings of 3+ units determined "substandard" by the Public Officer)
- Exemptions
- public housing
- owner-occupied housing with 4 units or less
- motels, hotels
- buildings rented for commercial use
- units rehabilitated by HUD, NJ DCA, or NJHMFA that will receive Section 8 subsidies or federal vouchers
- newly constructed multiple dwellings
- new construction (30 yrs from certificate of occupancy, N.J.S.A. 2A:42-84.2)
- Vacancy decontrol
- Vacancy decontrol applies to dwellings that remain vacant for 18 months (exempt for 5 years), subject to Rent Control Board review and completion of rehabilitation exceeding 50% of the unit's value.
- Registration
- No unrented unit may be rented unless registered and issued a certificate of habitability; no rent increase is approved for a landlord who has not complied with all registration provisions; the dwelling must be free of State and Newark health, safety, building, property-maintenance, and fire-safety code violations.
- Surcharges
- Landlords may petition for property-tax and utility-cost surcharges and for major-improvement or hardship increases, each requiring Rent Control Board approval and separate notice procedures.
- Penalties
- Violation of any provision of the chapter, or misrepresentation of facts before a Rent Control Board hearing, is punished under N.J.S.A. §40:49-5 by a fine of not less than $100 nor more than $2,000, imprisonment for not more than 90 days, or both; a violation affecting more than one housing space is a separate violation as to each housing space. The Municipal Court may additionally impose a monetary penalty not to exceed $2,000 for each violation, calculated separately from any §19:2-19(a) fine. A repeat offender convicted of violating the rental registration component within one year of a prior fined violation is subject to an additional fine (§19:2-19).
- Status
- active
- Confidence
- high
- Last verified
- 2026-09-23
Calculate your maximum increase
Ordinance text
At the expiration of a lease or at the termination of the lease of a periodic tenant, no landlord may request or receive an increase greater than the percentage increase in the Consumer Price Index (CPI) from the CPI 15 months prior to the month of the proposed rent increase to the CPI three months prior to the month of the proposed rent increase. In no case shall the allowable rent increase exceed 4%.Chapter 19:2, Rent Control Regulations; Rent Control Board — https://ecode360.com/36623772
State survey entry
- Increase limit
- No greater than the percentage increase in the CPI for the NY - Northern NJ - Long Island NY-NJ area from the CPI 15 months prior to the month of the proposed increase to the CPI 3 months prior to the month of the proposed increase, not to exceed 4%. Surcharge for property tax or utility cost increase or an increase for major new improvement(s) or hardship may be approved. Rent control also imposed for buildings with 3 or more apartments determined to be "substandard" by the Public Officer and have failed to complete repairs or improvements. For properties not already covered by the City's rent control regulations, rental increases more than 25% in any one year period that bear considerable financial harm to renters are considered excessive and unconscionable and are not allowed.
- Units covered
- 3+
- Exceptions
- Exception(s) - Public housing, owner-occupied housing with 4 units or less, motels, hotels, buildings rented for commercial use, units rehabilitated by HUD, NJ DCA, or NJ Housing Mortgage Finance Agency that will be receiving Section 8 subsidies or federal vouchers, and newly constructed multiple dwellings.
Vacancy Decontrol for dwellings that remain vacant for 18 months (exempt for 5 years), subject to Rent Control Board review and completion of rehabilitation that exceeds 50% of value.
Source: NJ Department of Community Affairs, 2026 Rent Control Survey — nj.gov
Rent board
Office of Rent Control · 973-733-3675 · https://www.newarknj.gov/255/Division-of-Rent-Control
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