Landlord Atlas

Elizabeth, New Jersey: Rent Control and Stabilization

Verified August 17, 2026 All New Jersey topics →

Elizabeth limits how much rent can rise in covered buildings each year, and the limit is a fixed figure written into the ordinance rather than one recalculated from inflation.

Cited to Elizabeth City Code § 5.70.060 (3% limit on increases in base rent) and 9 more sources · Verified August 17, 2026

The published code allows 3%; an ordinance the City Council adopted in July 2025 adds that the increase may never exceed $20, making the limit 3% or $20, whichever is smaller, though the published code and the city's January 2026 letter to landlords still show only the 3%. The law covers most rental buildings but not motels, hotels and rooming houses, buildings of two units or fewer, or owner-occupied three- and four-unit buildings, and newly built multiple dwellings are outside the cap for up to 30 years under state law. Rent can rise by up to 20% when a unit changes tenants, but a vacancy never removes a unit from the law. Every covered building must be registered with the city's Bureau of Rent Control by March 1 each year, and no increase may be charged unless that registration is current. The chapter expires on a set date unless the City Council renews it, which it has done repeatedly, most recently in July 2025.

What is in force

In force today. Elizabeth caps rent increases under Chapter 5.70 of the city code, called Rent Control and Stabilization, a law the City Council renews for a fixed term at a time and has extended repeatedly, most recently in December 2024 and again in July 2025. The chapter carries its own expiration date and dies automatically if the council does not extend it in time. The published code sets that date at December 31, 2026, and an ordinance the council adopted on July 28, 2025 moves it to December 31, 2027. Either way the chapter is in effect now. The most recent change is that same 2025 ordinance, No. 6160, which added a $20 ceiling to the annual increase; the published code has not caught up with it yet and still shows only the 3% figure.

The rent increase limit

The increase is a fixed percentage set in the ordinance, not a figure tied to inflation and not a number any board announces each year. The code allows up to 3% over the rent charged in the previous 12 months. Ordinance No. 6160, adopted July 28, 2025 and approved by the Mayor on August 8, 2025, adds that when 3% would come to more than $20, the increase may not exceed $20 — so the limit is 3% or $20, whichever is smaller. That $20 ceiling is not yet printed in the published code, and the city's own January 2026 letter to landlords still describes the limit as 3%, so anyone relying on this should confirm the current figure with the Bureau of Rent Control. An increase is allowed only when a lease expires, when a periodic tenancy ends, or on the building's anniversary date, and only once in any 12 months. No increase may be charged at all unless the landlord has filed the annual registration. There is no banking of skipped increases and no overall ceiling on rent plus surcharges.

What housing is covered

The chapter covers buildings, structures, trailers and trailer parks, and condominium and cooperative apartments that are rented out. Exempt are motels, hotels, rooming houses and similar buildings; buildings of two units or fewer; and owner-occupied buildings of three or four units. Newly built multiple dwellings are exempt from the rent cap for the period set by state law — the amortization period of the initial mortgage or 30 years after construction is finished, whichever is shorter. According to the council's own recital in Ordinance No. 5873, adopted July 25, 2023, the chapter had until then exempted buildings constructed after May 10, 1982 permanently; that ordinance removed the permanent exemption, so older buildings that had been outside the law came back under it and the exempt vintage now moves forward one year at a time. The city describes the buildings that must register as those that are not owner-occupied, have three or more homes, and were built before 1996. A vacant building that has been substantially rehabilitated is released from the chapter for one year. The chapter has no provisions for senior, disabled or subsidized housing.

What happens on vacancy

There is no vacancy decontrol. When a tenant leaves or is evicted, the landlord may raise the rent by up to 20% of the rent charged over the previous 12 months, for the first year only, and that 20% is the most the rent may rise that year rather than an amount added on top of the ordinary increase. Only one such increase is allowed in any 12 months for a given apartment, no matter how many times it turns over. The landlord must file a statement with the Fair Rental Housing Board confirming that the previous tenant left voluntarily or was evicted under state law and was not driven out by harassment, threats or reprisal. The city's form for this is titled a vacancy decontrol notice, but nothing in the chapter releases a unit from the rent cap when it becomes vacant.

Eviction and termination rules

State law governs evictions. The chapter adds no grounds for eviction, but it does bar harassment, threats and reprisals aimed at deterring anyone from claiming rights under it, and that bar applies to landlords, their agents and tenants alike. Three other rules protect tenants indirectly: no rent increase may be charged unless the building's registration is current, a landlord cannot claim the turnover increase without certifying that the previous tenant was not forced out, and a hardship increase cannot be collected until outstanding health and housing code violations are fixed.

Registration and filings

Every dwelling covered by the chapter must be registered each year with the Fair Rental Housing Board, through the city's Bureau of Rent Control. The registration reports conditions as of January 1 and is due by March 1 each year, listing the owner and any agent with contact details, the services provided, the units in the building, and the current base rent for each unit. Landlords can file through the city's online portal. No rent increase may be charged or collected unless the registration has been filed, and a landlord who willfully fails to file can be fined. The city warns that failing to register may bring a summons, and the Board has issued them. Owner-occupied properties must file an affidavit proving residence instead. The chapter sets no registration fee, though it does charge a fee for hardship, capital improvement and rehabilitation applications.

Other requirements

Landlords must give tenants at least 30 days' notice before an increase, hand new tenants the state Truth-in-Renting statement, and tell tenants each year about their rights, the landlord's duty to register, and how to reach the Board and the state Office of Landlord/Tenant Information. On top of the base increase the Board can approve a capital improvement or service surcharge, which stays separate from base rent, and a hardship increase for a landlord who shows that operating expenses exceed 60% of income, that the return on equity falls short of a fair rate, or that net operating income has fallen below a three-year baseline; hardship applications require 30 days' certified notice to every tenant and a public hearing. If a landlord wins a property tax appeal, tenants get 50% of the reduction after the landlord's costs, paid within 45 days and spread over 12 months, with notice posted in a common area for a year. Parking fees that were in place on September 1, 1987 cannot be raised at all for a household's first vehicle; a second vehicle's fee can rise 3% a year. Late fees are capped at $25 a month and cannot be charged until rent is more than five business days late. Buildings with 12 or more units need a superintendent on site around the clock. Deliberately holding units off the market is barred, with fines of up to $500 per unit per day. Tenants can recover overcharges going back two years, and complaints must be filed within three years. Willful violations carry fines from $250 to $2,000, up to 90 days in jail, or both, counted separately for each tenancy affected.

Notes and caveats

Cite this page: "Landlord Atlas, Elizabeth, New Jersey: Rent Control and Stabilization (verified August 17, 2026), landlordatlas.com/laws/new-jersey/elizabeth/" — free to cite and quote with a link (how these records are verified).

Citations

This page records local law. Statewide rules — deposits, notice periods, late fees, entry, evictions — live on the New Jersey hub, and the state-level position on local rent regulation appears there with its own citations and verification date.