Landlord Atlas

Jersey City, New Jersey: Rent Control

Verified August 13, 2026 Updated September 27, 2026 All New Jersey topics →

Jersey City limits rent increases in covered buildings to the lesser of 4 percent or the change in the regional consumer price index, with no more than one increase in any 12-month period.

Cited to Code of Jersey City § 260-3 (cap; increase timing; vacancy) and 5 more sources · Verified August 13, 2026

The ordinance generally applies to rental buildings with five or more units; buildings with four or fewer units are exempt, and qualifying newly constructed buildings can be exempt for up to 30 years under state law. Landlords must register covered and exempt multi-unit buildings with the city each year, and as of a May 2026 amendment, utility charges billed to tenants through ratio utility billing systems count as rent under the cap.

What is in force

In force today. The current chapter was adopted February 7, 1986, continuing an earlier regime, and stays in force until the City Council determines by ordinance that rent control is no longer necessary. It is codified as Code of Jersey City Chapter 260, published through Supplement 52 (May 2025 ordinances). The most recent amendment, Ordinance 26-028 (adopted May 20, 2026, approved May 21, 2026), brings utility charges billed through ratio utility billing systems under the definition of rent; it had not yet been folded into the published code as of mid-August 2026.

The rent increase limit

Annual increases are limited to 4% or the change in the consumer price index, whichever is less, with at most one cost-of-living increase in any 12-month period. Increases may take effect only at lease expiration or termination; an increase at any other time is void. The city publishes the allowable percentage month by month, and in mid-2026 the computed index change repeatedly exceeded 4%, so the 4% ceiling governed. Board-approved capital-improvement surcharges (up to 15% of the legal rent in the first year) and hardship increases to a fair return can add to the base cap.

What housing is covered

Rented housing space in buildings of five or more units, with exemptions for dwellings of four or fewer units, hotels and motels, commercial and industrial space, public housing, newly constructed buildings of 25 or more units in council-approved redevelopment areas, and qualifying new construction under New Jersey's state exemption law (up to 30 years), which since a September 2025 amendment exempts a building only from the chapter's limits on periodic rent increases, only where the owner made every filing and tenant notice the state law requires, and never retroactively for increases taken before compliance. The first rent of a newly constructed or newly rented unit is unrestricted if the unit is registered; buildings certified vacant as of July 1, 1998 are permanently exempt.

What happens on vacancy

No general vacancy decontrol: base rent carries over to the next tenant. On a vacancy the landlord may exceed the cost-of-living increase only through documented capital improvements to the unit, at fixed dollar-per-$100-spent rates with a re-registration fee.

Eviction and termination rules

The chapter defines just cause for eviction by reference to state law and adds no independent eviction restrictions. Its harassment section sets a fine of up to $1,000, up to 90 days' imprisonment, or up to 90 days of community service. Since an October 2025 amendment, every violation of the chapter is also subject to a mandatory fine of $100 to $2,000, counted separately for each tenant affected, for each day the violation continues and for each provision violated.

Registration and filings

Annual registration between January 1 and March 3 for every building of five or more units, whether or not any unit is exempt, plus registration within 7 days of a purchase after April 1, at $10 per housing space. A separate registration applies to non-occupant owners of one-to-four-unit rentals. A current rent roll registration is a precondition to any increase.

Other requirements

Late-rent and returned-check charges are capped at $35. Landlords must give 30 days' notice of an increase with the index calculation, and tenants have six months to contest an increase; if no rental statement was served, the two-year limit on refund claims does not run. Under Ordinance 25-098, adopted September 24, 2025 and approved by the Mayor the next day, every lease and every written notice of a rent increase must come with the landlord's sworn statement, made under penalty of perjury, that no one paid for a rent-setting service in connection with that rent and that the increase did not use shared nonpublic competitor data. An earlier 2025 ordinance, 25-057, makes it unlawful for a landlord or its agent to pay for a service that pools landlords' nonpublic data to recommend rents, with fines of $100 to $2,000 for repeat violations, each day counting separately, and a right for an injured person to sue (Code of Jersey City § 218-12). Buildings must disclose the prior tenant's rent within 10 days of a request. As of the May 2026 amendment, utility fees billed to tenants through ratio utility billing systems count as rent under the cap. The Office of Landlord/Tenant Relations administers the ordinance and the Rent Leveling Board meets monthly.

Notes and caveats

Cite this page: "Landlord Atlas, Jersey City, New Jersey: Rent Control (verified August 13, 2026), landlordatlas.com/laws/new-jersey/jersey-city/" — free to cite and quote with a link (how these records are verified).

Changes since last full verification

The Verified date above (August 13, 2026) marks the last time every figure on this page was verified end-to-end against official sources. The changes below were published since then, each verified against the official source it names (what these dates mean).

Citations

This page records local law. Statewide laws — 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.