East Orange, NJ Building Safety: Door Locking Hardware (2026)

East Orange's multi-family door hardware standard sits in § 159-101 of Chapter 159, Housing Standards, and was substantially expanded by Ordinance No. 3-2018. Subsection D requires every entrance door to a multiple-dwelling unit to carry a medium-duty deadlatching lockset meeting Series 160, FF-H-106a specifications (an 11/16 inch by 1/2 inch latchbolt with a 1/2 inch minimum throw and an automatic deadlocking plunger), or, as an alternative, a deadbolt lock installed separately from the door's regular latch set. Subsection E requires each unit's entrance door to be self-closing, and Subsection F requires a chain door lock that lets an occupant open the door partway, together with a viewing device (peephole) so the occupant can see who is outside before opening.

Subsection G, added by the same 2018 ordinance, separately bars deadbolt and key locks on interior bathroom and bedroom doors in any one-family or multiple-dwelling building, permitting only privacy locks there so occupants cannot be trapped inside during an emergency. These entrance-door requirements build on § 159-101A through C, which already required self-locking, self-closing exterior building doors, or, in smaller wood-frame buildings, an alternative of a keyed main door, a peephole or a doorman. All locks, closers and control systems must be kept in good, operable condition under § 159-101C, and the enforcing Department of Policy, Planning and Development's Public Officer can order repairs under the standard Chapter 159 notice process.