Newark, NJ Privacy & Surveillance: Security Camera Rules (2026)

Chapter 18:5, Article 2 of the Housing Code requires "all public and private housing buildings in the City of Newark" with a parking lot or garage sized for 30 or more vehicles to install video surveillance cameras and keep them in good repair and operating 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The cameras must be positioned to reasonably cover the entire lot or garage and all driveways and ramps, not just entrances. 6 requires the owner or operator to keep the recorded video on the premises for a period of 60 days, giving the City a window to pull footage during a police investigation or nuisance complaint.

The camera mandate sits alongside a separate armed-guard requirement in the same chapter for large residential buildings, showing Newark's approach to bigger complexes pairs physical security staffing with recorded surveillance rather than relying on either alone. The requirement applies regardless of whether the building is public or privately owned, and it is not tied to any particular tenant complaint or police request; it is a standing obligation triggered purely by the size of the parking facility.