Piscataway rent control: maximum rent increase (2026)
Middlesex County — Chapter 16, Housing and Rent Control. Full ordinance text ↗
Summary
- Cap formula
- The lesser of (1) the average CPI increase over the previous 12-month period, or (2) 6% of the rent in effect under the expiring lease.
- Frequency
- once per calendar year for month-to-month tenants; otherwise per lease expiration
- Notice required
- Landlord must notify the tenant by certified mail of the calculations involved in computing the increase, including the CPI at the date of entry of the lease, the CPI 60 days before the lease's expiration, the allowable percentage increase, and the allowable rental increase amount.
- Who's covered
- Buildings with 3 or more rental units
- Exemptions
- Motels, hotels, and similar premises
- Buildings in which up to 1/3 of occupied floor space is commercial
- Housing with 2 units or fewer
- First-time rentals (until re-rented)
- Section 8 participants
- new construction (30 yrs from certificate of occupancy, N.J.S.A. 2A:42-84.2)
- Vacancy decontrol
- When code violations occur, the landlord is prohibited from instituting any base rent increase, vacancy adjustment, or market decontrol for the unit in violation for 2 years, commencing at the next lease renewal or re-rental following the violation.
- Registration
- No landlord may permit a tenant to occupy a unit without an approved Landlord Registration Statement; annual renewal required by March 1, with a $125 filing fee per building.
- Surcharges
- Hardship increases: landlords unable to meet mortgage and maintenance costs may appeal to the Rent Leveling Board for relief; tenants must be given at least 5 days' prior notice, posted conspicuously. Capital improvement surcharges may not exceed 15% of the tenant's rent.
- Penalties
- Minimum penalty of $250 per violation. False registration information incurs escalating fines: $500 plus court costs for a first offense, $1,250 for a second, $2,500 for subsequent offenses.
- Status
- active
- Confidence
- high
- Last verified
- 2026-09-23
Calculate your maximum increase
Ordinance text
the lesser of the following: 1. The average of the Price Index over the previous twelve-month period; or 2. Six (6%) percent of the rent in effect under such lease at the expiration thereof.Chapter 16, Housing and Rent Control — https://ecode360.com/34884813
State survey entry
- Increase limit
- Lesser of CPI increase over 12 months and 6%.
- Units covered
- 3+
- Exceptions
- Exception(s) - Motels, hotels, similar premises, buildings in which up to 1/3 of occupied floor space is commercial, housing with 2 units or less, first-time rentals (until re-rented), and Section 8 participants.
Source: NJ Department of Community Affairs, 2026 Rent Control Survey — nj.gov
Open questions
- Exact number of notice-days before a rent increase (other than the CPI-measurement date of 60 days before lease expiration) was not stated in the retrieved excerpt.
Rent board
Rent Leveling Board · (732) 562-2300 · https://www.piscatawaynj.org/government/rent_leveling_board.php
Generate a rent increase notice
Fill in the tenant, unit, and rent details and get a printable, ordinance-cited rent increase notice for Piscataway — $9, pay by card.
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