Newark, New Jersey: Rent Control

The ordinance covers most residential rental buildings, with exemptions for public housing, transient hotel and motel rooms, and newly constructed buildings, which are exempt for up to 30 years. Landlords must register every rental unit with the city's Office of Rent Control each year and obtain a certificate of habitability before renting, and no increase is allowed unless the building is code-compliant and registered.

What is in force

In force today. Newark has controlled rents in covered buildings since September 4, 1985 under the current chapter, with earlier ordinances reaching back further; the chapter was readopted in 2017 and has been amended repeatedly since, most recently by a May 2026 registration-and-inspections overhaul and a June 2026 ordinance not yet folded into the published code. The codified law is Revised General Ordinances of Newark, Title XIX, Chapter 19:2.

The rent increase limit

Annual increases are limited to the change in the consumer price index measured from 15 months before to 3 months before the proposed increase, and in no case more than 4%. Increases are allowed only at lease expiration or termination, once per 12 months, and only if the building is registered and in substantial code compliance. On top of the base cap, the ordinance allows a property-tax surcharge, amortized major-improvement surcharges, utility surcharges capped by building size, and hardship increases to a fair return — but all increases for a tenant combined may not exceed 25% in any one year.

What housing is covered

All multiple dwellings as the chapter defines them. Exempt: public housing, transient hotel and motel rooms, commercial space, newly constructed buildings (exempt for the initial mortgage amortization period or 30 years, whichever is less, with Rent Control Board certification), qualifying rehabilitated vacant buildings, Rental Rehabilitation program units during program tenure, and agency-contract regulated units during the contract.

What happens on vacancy

No vacancy decontrol: the capped percentages apply per unit in any 12-month period regardless of tenant changes, ownership changes, or vacancy. Narrow exceptions exist for long-vacant buildings substantially rehabilitated (a five-year exemption) and a one-time increase of up to 10% for a vacant unit rehabilitated at a cost above 12 months' rent.

Eviction and termination rules

The chapter imposes no general eviction scheme (state law governs), but it bars reprisals against tenants who exercise rights under it and provides protected-tenancy processing for senior and disabled tenants in condominium conversions.

Registration and filings

Every rental unit, including short-term rentals, must be registered with the city annually with tenancy data, the prior rent, the index percentage used, and the actual increase. Renting without registration and a certificate of habitability is prohibited, inspections run every three years or on occupancy change, and no rent increase is allowed unless registration is current. Annual fees are $50 per building plus $10 per unit, with late and inspection fees on top.

Other requirements

Landlords must give the tenant and the city's Rent Regulation Officer 30 days' notice of any increase with the amounts and percentages. Parking fees tied to the tenancy are registered and controlled like rent. Tenants share in property-tax decreases and 75% of successful tax appeals, excess rent is refundable up to two years back, and service reductions can lower rent on a fixed schedule. Violations carry fines up to $2,000 per offense counted per unit and per demand, and the ordinance must be posted in English and Spanish.

Notes and caveats

• Small owner-occupied buildings are not exempt from the cap — the chapter defines owner-occupied buildings of four or fewer units, but the current text gives them only an inspection-fee break — not an exemption from rent control. Guides claiming Newark exempts small owner-occupied buildings from rent control are describing another city's ordinance or an older text.
• The city computes the current percentage — the operative percentage each month comes from the federal consumer price index series the ordinance specifies, subject to the 4% ceiling; Newark's rent control office publishes the administrative figure, and the office is the authoritative source for the number to use in a notice.
• June 2026 amendment pending codification — an ordinance adopted June 17, 2026 (signed June 24, 2026) amends related housing-code provisions and had not yet been folded into the published chapter as of mid-August 2026.

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

Citations

• Rev. Gen. Ords. of Newark § 19:2-3.1 (CPI cap, 4% ceiling) (verified 2026) Official source
• Rev. Gen. Ords. of Newark § 19:2-3.2 (no vacancy decontrol; 30-day notice) (verified 2026) Official source
• Rev. Gen. Ords. of Newark § 19:2-18.1 (new-construction exemption) (a) (verified 2026) Official source
• Rev. Gen. Ords. of Newark § 19:2-22 (25% aggregate annual limit) (a) (verified 2026) Official source
• City of Newark — Division of Rent Control (verified 2026) Official source

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.