Ocean County blight enforced municipally under NJ Abandoned Properties Rehabilitation Act (N.J.S.A. 55:19-78) and local property maintenance codes. Toms River Ch. 368 and vacant-property registration in Lakewood, Brick, Seaside Heights.
New Jersey's Abandoned Properties Rehabilitation Act (APRA, N.J.S.A. 55:19-78 et seq.) authorizes municipalities to identify and expedite redevelopment of abandoned properties. Ocean County still bears lingering Superstorm Sandy impacts (October 2012) — abandoned, damaged homes along the Barnegat Peninsula (Ortley Beach, Chadwick, Lavallette, Mantoloking), LBI, and Little Egg Harbor continue to draw blight enforcement. Toms River Ch. 368 Nuisances, Lakewood Ch. 16 Property Maintenance, and similar ordinances in Brick, Seaside Heights, Jackson, Berkeley, and Stafford address conditions like peeling paint, broken windows, accumulated junk, overgrown vegetation, unsecured doorways, and structural deterioration. Vacant Property Registration programs (Lakewood, Brick, Seaside Heights, Point Pleasant) require owners — including mortgagees in foreclosure — to register and maintain properties, typically with annual fees of $500 to $5,000 escalating by year of vacancy. Municipal abatement: the township may enter, clean up, board up, or demolish, and assess costs as a municipal lien against the property (N.J.S.A. 40:48-2.14).
Written notice with 10 to 30 day cure period. Non-compliance: fines up to $1,250 per day per violation under Toms River/municipal penalty schedules. Municipal abatement at owner cost; costs become a municipal lien (N.J.S.A. 40:48-2.14) senior to mortgages in some circumstances.
Ocean County, NJ
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See how Ocean County's property blight rules stack up against other locations.
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