Edison runs one of the more aggressive rental-inspection programs in Middlesex County: under Code Chapter 17, every rental unit must pass a Rental Re-Occupancy Inspection by the Edison Division of Health before each new tenant occupies it. Application is filed with the Division, the inspection occurs within seven working days (and not earlier than seven days before vacancy), and a Rental Certificate of Approval issues on substantial compliance. The certificate is unit-specific and tenant-specific; without it the unit may not lawfully be occupied. New construction of more than four rental units is exempt for two state licensing periods after the certificate of occupancy.
Edison's rental-inspection regime layers on top of the Chapter 17 Township Clerk rental-license framework. The Re-Occupancy Inspection is administered by the Edison Division of Health and is triggered by every new tenancy, not by a fixed periodic schedule. The chapter provides: 'before any new tenant moves into a rental unit, an application for a Rental Re-Occupancy Inspection must be filed with the Division of Health. The Edison Division of Health will conduct an inspection within seven (7) working days of receipt of the application but no earlier than seven (7) days prior to the expected date of vacancy. If substantial compliance with applicable codes, regulations, statutes and other ordinances is found, then a Rental Certificate of Approval will be issued immediately.' If approval is not issued the unit may not be occupied until a reinspection results in issuance of the certificate. The inspection form serves as a checklist against applicable codes, regulations, statutes, and ordinances - including the New Jersey State Housing Code at N.J.A.C. 5:10, the New Jersey Uniform Construction Code at N.J.A.C. 5:23, smoke and CO alarm requirements under the Uniform Fire Code, lead-based paint hazard standards for pre-1978 housing under N.J.S.A. 52:27D-437.1, and the Chapter 17 habitability requirements. Newly constructed apartments and dwelling units in excess of four rental units are exempt from the re-occupancy inspection for two state licensing periods after the certificate of occupancy is issued, provided no Building Department violations are on file - this is an inspection exemption only, not a license exemption, and the Chapter 17 registration with the Township Clerk remains required. The program runs alongside but is distinct from: (a) the state Hotel and Multiple Dwelling Law cyclical inspection at N.J.S.A. 55:13A-1 et seq., which inspects buildings of three or more units on a 5-year cycle through the NJ DCA Bureau of Housing Inspection; and (b) the New Jersey Lead-Safe Housing Law at N.J.S.A. 52:27D-437.1, which requires lead inspections of pre-1978 single-family and two-family rentals on a defined schedule. Edison has not adopted a separate periodic-inspection ordinance; the trigger is tenant turnover.
Operating a rental without a current Rental Certificate of Approval is a Chapter 17 violation enforceable in Edison Municipal Court with a $200 first-offense fine, a $500 second-offense fine, and the Chapter 1 Β§1-5 maximum thereafter, with each day of continued non-compliance chargeable as a separate offense. The Division of Health may also order vacate of the unit on observed life-safety violations and refer the matter to the Township Clerk for denial of license renewal at the next March 1 cycle. Tenants who occupy an uncertified unit may raise non-compliance as a defense or counterclaim in a Superior Court Landlord-Tenant eviction action under the Anti-Eviction Act, and may apply to the New Jersey DCA Bureau of Housing Inspection for parallel state-level enforcement if the building qualifies under the Hotel and Multiple Dwelling Law.
Edison, NJ
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