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

East Orange has operated municipal rent control since the 1970s, and Chapter 218, rewritten in its entirety in 2015, still centers on the Rent Control Board created by § 218-1A. The Board seats three landlord members and three tenant members, plus a seventh homeowner member whose own property is not subject to the chapter; the Mayor appoints each for a three-year term with City Council confirmation, and a member who misses three or more meetings or hearings in a calendar year can be removed by the Mayor (§ 218-1C).

Under § 218-2, the Board issues implementing rules filed with the City Clerk, adjudicates landlord applications for additional rent and tenant complaints, and administers the state Senior Citizens and Disabled Protected Tenancy Act for conversions. Day-to-day administration runs through a separate Rent Regulation Officer created by § 218-3, who accepts tenant complaints, orders rent rebates or increases, and whose determinations are final unless appealed to the Board within 30 days. Coverage is not universal: § 218-8A exempts dwellings with three or fewer separate living units, motels, hotels, licensed rooming houses, HUD-subsidized or HUD-insured developments, and newly constructed units on their very first rental (after that first rental, the unit loses its exemption).

For covered units, § 218-10 caps annual increases at 4% for existing tenants (2% for a qualified senior tenant at least 65 years old identified on the lease) and limits new-tenant increases to 5% or the CPI change, whichever is less, under § 218-8B. Landlords must also register an annual rent roll with the Department of Property Maintenance and pay a $100 annual filing fee under § 218-14, with late fees escalating from $300 to $1,000 by December.