East Brunswick, NJ Rental Property Rules: Rent Control (2026)

The cap sits in § 169-6. Rent between a landlord and a covered tenant is set by the chapter, and the index limit in subsection A applies to every increase a landlord seeks. Section 169-1 names the index: the Consumer Price Index for All Items for New York/Northeast New Jersey for All Urban Consumers, published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Under § 169-22, index changes are figured to the nearest one tenth of one percent and dollar amounts to the nearest cent. For a lease shorter than one year, § 169-6(C) prorates the cap: the landlord divides the months since the last increase by twelve and multiplies that fraction by the index increase for the previous twelve months.

Coverage is wide but has limits. A dwelling is any building rented to one or more tenants, and single, two-family, three-family and multi-family units all count. Hotels, motels and buildings with up to one-third commercial floor space are exempt, and § 169-23 exempts units in federal or state programs or receiving federal or state subsidies. Under § 169-8 the initial tenant's lease is outside the chapter, and so is a new tenant after a vacancy, with the landlord free to set that tenant's rent; later increases are controlled again. Section 169-32 limits how long multiple dwellings built after June 1987 stay covered: the amortization period of the initial mortgage or 30 years after completion, whichever is less.

The cap is not the only route to a higher payment. The chapter provides a property tax surcharge (§ 169-9), a capital improvement surcharge that needs a Board application before construction (§ 169-16), a hardship increase (§ 169-17) and a garbage and solid waste surcharge (§ 169-33). The Rent Leveling Board has seven members appointed by the Mayor with the advice and consent of the Township Council (§ 169-2). Either side can appeal a Board determination to the Township Council within twenty days (§ 169-27).