Perth Amboy, NJ Property Maintenance: Vacant Lot Maintenance (2026)

Section 243-8 of the Perth Amboy City Code puts two duties on every owner of a vacant lot. The premises must be free from garbage, refuse, rubbish and litter, and any fencing material surrounding the lot must be kept in good repair and free from missing parts, rot and rust.

Section 243-14.1(A) adds a removal duty for lands within the corporate limits of the City. The owner or tenant must remove any cut grass, brush, leaves, weeds, dead and dying trees, stumps, roots, obnoxious growth, filth, garbage, trash and debris within 10 days after receipt of written notice or summons. The notice can be served personally or by certified mail under § 243-14.2. When it goes by certified mail, the ten-day period runs from the date of the return receipt. Every notice must warn that failure to remove the material within the stated time results in removal under the direction of the issuing department, carried out by the Department of Public Works.

The cost is then charged to the owner or tenant and is payable to the City within 30 days after the charges are submitted. If it goes unpaid, Public Works notifies the Law Director to place a lien on the lands. Under § 243-14.3, the certified cost is examined by the governing body, becomes a lien on the lands, is added to the taxes next assessed and levied, and bears interest at the same rate as taxes, collected in the same manner as taxes.

Yard waste on a lot has its own limit: § 243-14.1(C) bars placing containerized yard waste at the curb or along the street closer than 10 feet from any storm drain inlet.