Freehold Township, NJ Home Business: Zoning & Home Occupation Permits (2026)

Section 190-118 opens by stating its purpose: recognizing a trend toward home-based work while preserving the peace and tranquility of residential zoning districts, so the section is written to restrict rather than encourage expansive home business activity. The operative standards in Subsection B apply to every home office use in the township. At least one person working from the home office must be a bona fide resident of that home, and any other worker must either live there or be an immediate family member of a resident; in no case may more than two non-resident workers be employed there, whether full time or part time.

The physical footprint is capped too: a home office cannot occupy more than 10% of the home's gross habitable floor area, and in no event more than 300 square feet, with cellar, basement, attic and porch space excluded from that calculation. A separate provision, Section 190-117A(3), folds home office uses into the chapter's short list of otherwise-prohibited uses that are affirmatively allowed, meaning a resident does not need a use variance to run one as long as it fits within Section 190-118's limits. Garage conversion for a home office is barred outright on lots in the township's higher-density residential zones, defined as anything other than R-9, R-20, R-40, R-60, R-80, R-120 and RR.