Perth Amboy, NJ Rental Property Rules: Repairs & Habitability (2026)

Section 337-4 of Chapter 337, Property Registration, is the habitability step for rentals in the City of Perth Amboy, and it works through a certificate rather than a checklist printed in the chapter itself. Two things must happen before the owner is entitled to the certificate: the owner files a completed registration form, and the necessary inspections are successfully completed. The initial certificate of habitability is valid for a period of one year from the date of issue.

The paperwork and the certificate are counted differently. A registration form is required for each unit, but the certificate issues to the owner for each property containing units, and it specifies the number and type of units in the property. Each condominium unit is treated as a separate and distinct rental unit.

What the inspection measures comes from § 337-3, which requires each unit to be inspected at least once a year for compliance with the Property Maintenance Code of the City of Perth Amboy, found in Chapter 335. An owner who fails to correct all Property Maintenance Code violations within the time prescribed by the appropriate officials is in violation of Chapter 337. Section 337-8 requires every owner to give each occupant or tenant a copy of the registration form.

Chapter 335 also protects tenants displaced by code enforcement. Under § 335-5, added August 13, 2025 by Ord. No. 2254-2025, a tenant who receives an eviction notice resulting from zoning or code enforcement activity for an illegal occupancy, where correcting it is infeasible without removing the tenant, is a displaced person entitled to relocation assistance equal to six times the monthly rent. The owner-landlord is liable for it, and the City can impose a fine equal to the relocation costs after a hearing.