South Hackensack rent control: no local ordinance (2026)

Bergen County — no local rent control ordinance on file.

What this means for a rent increase

New Jersey has no statewide cap on rent increases. Without a local rent-control ordinance, South Hackensack has no percentage cap either — but a rent increase still isn't unlimited:

• Unconscionable-increase standard: for units covered by the Anti-Eviction Act (N.J.S.A. 2A:18-61.1 et seq.), a court can strike down an increase so large it would "shock the conscience of a fair and honest person" (Fromet Properties, Inc. v. Buel, 294 N.J. Super. 601 (App. Div. 1996)), weighing the size of the increase, the landlord's expenses, comparable-area rents, and the parties' relative bargaining position. The landlord bears the burden of proving the increase is not unconscionable.
• Owner-occupied, 2 or fewer rental units: the Anti-Eviction Act's notice-to-quit/unconscionability mechanics don't apply the same way to an owner-occupied building with 2 or fewer rental units — a different, less protective notice-period scheme governs instead (N.J.S.A. 2A:18-61.1's opening clause).
• Notice required: a rent increase must terminate the current tenancy and offer a new one at the higher rent, with at least one full month's notice before the increase takes effect (N.J.S.A. 2A:18-61.1(f), 2A:18-61.2) — delivered by personal delivery, by leaving a copy at the tenant's usual place of abode with a household member age 14 or older, or by certified mail (regular mail to follow if unclaimed). It can't take effect mid-term on a fixed-term lease.
• New construction is separately exempt from any local rent control for 30 years from the certificate of occupancy (N.J.S.A. 2A:42-84.2) — moot here since there's no local ordinance to be exempt from, but relevant if South Hackensack adopts one later.
• Pending bills, not law: statewide rent-cap and unconscionability-codifying bills (e.g. S452/A751, A5432) remain pending in the Legislature as of September 2026 — none is currently enacted.

Checklist for raising rent in South Hackensack

1. Confirm the unit isn't in an owner-occupied building with 2 or fewer rental units — those fall under a different, less protective notice-period scheme instead of the rules below.
2. Set the new rent. There's no percentage cap here, but it must not be "unconscionable" under Fromet Properties, Inc. v. Buel — be ready to justify it against your costs and comparable rents nearby; the burden is on the landlord.
3. Write a notice that terminates the current tenancy and offers a new one at the higher rent — a notice that just states a new number doesn't fit the statutory structure.
4. Give at least one full month's notice before the increase takes effect (N.J.S.A. 2A:18-61.1(f), 2A:18-61.2), and never mid-term on a fixed-term lease.
5. Deliver it by personal delivery, by leaving a copy with a household member age 14 or older, or by certified mail (regular mail to follow if unclaimed).
6. If the unit was built before 1978, confirm its lead-safe certificate (method: visual assessment here) is current before or at the next turnover.

Bergen County towns that do have rent control

26 of 70 municipalities in Bergen County currently have a local rent control ordinance on file:

• Bergenfield — A flat 4% increase in base rent is allowed at lease expiration (or annually on the tenancy anniversary for month-to-month tenants).
• Cliffside Park — Standard annual increase capped at 5% of the prior base rent; reduced to 3% of prior base rent for qualified senior citizens and tenants with disabilities under the Senior Citizens and Disabled Protected Tenancy Act.
• Dumont — The greater of 1.5% of the current rent or the average 12-month CPI increase for the NY–Northeastern NJ area, with the total increase never exceeding 5% in any 12-month period.
• East Rutherford — Rent may increase by at most 5.5% at lease expiration or termination of tenancy, no more than once every 12 months for periodic tenancies under a year; higher hardship or capital-improvement increases require Board approval (capital-improvement increases capped at 15% of the tenant's rent).
• Edgewater — Maximum annual increase is 5% where the landlord supplies heat, 3.5% where the tenant supplies heat, and 3.5% for qualified senior citizen and disabled tenants; additional minimum dollar-amount floors apply for hardship increases.
• Elmwood Park — Rent may increase by at most 2.5% per calendar year; property-tax and capital-improvement surcharges (the latter capped at 10% of the tenant's rent) may be added separately with Board approval.
• Englewood — Standard annual increase capped at 4% of base rent; months with an outstanding maintenance violation are excluded from the calculation. Hardship or capital-improvement increases may be approved by the Administrative Hearing Officer, and upon a non-coerced vacancy, base rent may be reset up to the highest base rent charged in the building for a unit with the same or fewer rooms.
• Fair Lawn — the lesser of 4% of the current rent or the percentage increase in the CPI for the New York–northeastern New Jersey region
• Fairview — A flat 10% annual increase on the anniversary date for standard tenancies; a reduced 7% cap applies for qualified senior citizens or disabled persons meeting the Borough's income test.
• Fort Lee — Standard annual increase capped at 5% of the prior base rent (not more than once per 12 months). For qualified senior or disabled tenants, a landlord may instead use the Maximum Allowable Percentage (MAP) formula: Class 1 dwellings = Operating Cost Adjustment + Tax Adjustment + Utilities Adjustment + Prior Year Carryover, capped at 6.5%; Class 2 dwellings = Operating Cost Adjustment + Tax Adjustment + Prior Year Carryover, capped at 5%.
• Hackensack — 5% where the landlord supplies heat, 4.5% where the tenant pays for heat; qualified senior tenants receive a 1-percentage-point discount off whichever rate applies (4% with landlord heat, 3.5% with tenant-paid heat).
• Hasbrouck Heights — Maximum annual increase is 5% (2.5% for qualified senior citizen tenants), inclusive of tax increases and maintenance costs but excluding capital improvements.
• Leonia — The increase is the lesser of 5% or the CPI change (3 months before lease end vs. 3 months before lease start) for the Leonia region, but never less than 3%.
• Little Ferry — the percentage change in CPI-U between 90 days before lease expiration and 90 days before lease commencement, with an overall cap of 10% in any one year including tax surcharge
• Lyndhurst — Flat annual cap of 5.5% on rent increases at lease expiration or tenancy renewal (a unit's first increase cannot occur until the tenant has rented for at least 12 months); landlords may also seek hardship, capital improvement, or tax base rent adjustment surcharges.
• Maywood — A flat 4.25% cap per 12-month period; months with outstanding maintenance-code violations do not count toward that 12-month waiting period. Hardship and capital-improvement surcharges may be separately approved.
• Moonachie — A park operator may apply annually for a base rent increase not more than the percentage increase in the CPI over the 12-month period ending 3 months before the application; the dollar increase is calculated separately for tenant-owned and park-owned mobile homes by applying the allowed percentage to the sum of base rents in each category and dividing by the number of homes in that category.
• New Milford — Rent may increase by up to 2% at lease expiration or anniversary, subject to Rent Leveling Board notice/approval process.
• North Arlington — Where the tenant supplies heat and hot water, the cap is 4%. Where the landlord supplies heat and hot water, the cap is tiered by current rent: 5% if $325 or under, 4.5% if between $325.01 and $499.99, and 4% if $500 or more. A qualified senior tenant's increase is capped at 2%, regardless of the above tiers.
• Palisades Park — A flat 4% annual increase on the base rent, once per consecutive 12-month period following the last rental increase.
• Ridgefield — Per the ordinance text as retrieved, the permitted annual increase is 2.5% where the tenant pays for heat and 3% where the landlord pays for heat. The DCA survey instead describes a CPI-U-based formula with floor/ceiling ranges of 2%–3.5% (tenant pays heat) and 2.5%–4% (landlord pays heat) — see open_questions.
• Ridgefield Park — Rent may increase by the CPI percentage change over the previous calendar year; where the tenant provides their own heat, the maximum is reduced to 3/4 (75%) of that CPI figure.
• River Edge — Flat 4% cap on rent increases for periodic and month-to-month tenancies.
• Rutherford — Standard annual increase up to 4%, compounded annually; reduced to 2.5% for tenants 65+ (or disabled) with combined gross household income of $50,000 or less.
• Teaneck — The fair rental may be increased by a maximum percentage equal to the percentage increase in the latest available CPI for the New York-Northern New Jersey Metropolitan Area over the 12-month period preceding the proposed increase; no more than one increase may be taken every 24 months.
• Wallington — For dwellings with fewer than 50 units, the increase equals the percentage change in the CPI between the date the lease was entered into and 90 days prior to lease expiration/termination, with no fixed ceiling. For dwellings with 50 or more units, the same CPI formula applies but is capped at a maximum of 6%.