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Jersey City, NJ Animal Ordinances: Pet Limits (2026)

Significant Restrictions
Compiled from the official code textEditor Martyn O'NeillLast verified September 2026

Key Facts

Governing section
Jersey City Code § 90-2
Enforcing agency
Division of Health
Trigger
Finding of a public-health nuisance
Remedy
Ordered abatement / animal removal
Cost recovery authority
N.J.S.A. 26:3-54 civil action

Summary

Jersey City lets the Division of Health order the owner of any dwelling, structure or outdoor area to abate a public-health nuisance created by animals, and to remove the animals if the owner doesn't comply within a set deadline: the tool the city uses against hoarding and unsanitary multi-animal conditions.

No person may keep an animal, whether licensed or exempted from licensing, in any dwelling unit, structure or outdoor area if the Division of Health finds that such animals or the conditions in such facilities constitute a public health nuisance. Whenever the Division of Health finds that any animals kept on private property constitute a nuisance to public health, it may direct the owner or persons responsible for the property or animals to abate the nuisance within a specified time.

Source: Jersey City Animal ControlView official code

Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 52).

Full Breakdown

Section 90-2, Animals and animal facilities constituting nuisances, added in 1988 and amended in 2000, is the operative provision. Subsection A bars anyone from keeping an animal, licensed or exempt from licensing, in any dwelling unit, structure or outdoor area if the Division of Health finds the animals or the conditions of the facility constitute a public-health nuisance, language broad enough to cover an excessive number of animals kept in unsanitary conditions rather than any single species or numeric cap. Subsection B empowers the Division, once it makes that nuisance finding, to direct the owner or responsible person to abate it within a specified time, including directing removal of one or more animals from the property or any other reasonably calculated corrective action.

A. A. 26:3-54 to recover its costs. Subsection D adds an emergency track for conditions posing an imminent danger to the animals or to public health, letting the Division act immediately, including abating the danger itself if the responsible person can't be found or won't act, followed by prompt notice.

Violations & Fines

Noncompliance with a Division of Health abatement order lets the city remove the animals directly and recover its abatement costs through civil action under N.J.S.A. 26:3-54; violations of Chapter 90 generally are punished under the citywide penalty provision, Chapter 1, § 1-25.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can the city remove animals from a hoarding situation in Jersey City?
Yes. Under § 90-2(B) and (C), once the Division of Health finds that animals kept on a property constitute a public-health nuisance, it can order the owner to abate the condition or remove animals, and if the owner doesn't comply in the time given, the Division can remove the animals itself.
Is there a maximum number of animals allowed per household?
Section 90-2 doesn't set a numeric cap on pets generally; it applies whenever the Division of Health determines the animals or their conditions constitute a public-health nuisance, which in practice reaches hoarding situations regardless of the exact count.
What happens in an emergency animal-nuisance situation?
Section 90-2(D) lets the Division of Health treat an imminent danger to animals or public health as an emergency, directing immediate abatement, and if the responsible person can't be reached or won't act, the Division can abate the danger itself and provide notice afterward.

Sources & Official References

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All Jersey City rules

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