New Brunswick, NJ Rental Inspections: Inspection Programs (2026)

Chapter 15.40 of the New Brunswick Municipal Code is the city's periodic rental inspection program. The city council found in Section 15.40.010 that rental units make up nearly seventy (70) percent of occupied housing in the city and that periodic inspection preserves that stock. Under Section 15.40.050.A every registered rental unit is inspected by the division of inspections against the housing and property maintenance rules of the title.

Scheduling runs on notices. When a unit is first registered, the city sends notice telling the owner to schedule an inspection within thirty (30) days for an occupied unit, or before occupancy for a vacant one. Before an inspection certificate expires, notice goes out at least thirty (30) days ahead and the owner again has thirty days to book. An owner who adjourns an inspection must supply a new date within ten (10) days of the original one. Section 15.40.060 issues a certificate valid for a three year period once the registration form is filed, the prescribed fee is paid and the inspection is satisfactory.

Fees under Section 15.40.080, effective January 1, 2021, are free for the inspection and free for the first reinspection, with $25.00 per occurrence for subsequent reinspections, paid not less than seventy-two (72) hours before the inspection. A fee unpaid thirty (30) days after its due date draws a twenty dollar ($20.00) late surcharge. Section 15.40.090.B requires the owner to post the maximum permitted occupancy in each unit on a city form.

The code enforcement officer can enter at reasonable times after presenting credentials and giving reasonable notice to the tenant. An occupant who refuses entry without a warrant or court order is not punished, and the official can seek a search warrant. A tenant or occupant can also request an inspection. Section 15.40.070 lets the property maintenance code board of appeals revoke or suspend a certificate for a conviction, a hearing finding, overoccupancy after thirty days notice, or a dangerous condition after thirty days notice. The housing inspector reinspects within ten days of a reinstatement application.