Perth Amboy, NJ Rental Property Rules: Rent Control (2026)

Chapter 353, Rent Control, was adopted by the Perth Amboy Council on 10-18-1983 as Ord. No. 337-83, and an editor's note records that Ord. No. 389-85 extended it so that it ends only by an ordinance terminating rent control in the City of Perth Amboy. Section 353-1 defines a covered dwelling as any building or structure rented or offered for rent to one (1) or more tenants or family units, including rooming houses and resident hotels. Motels, hotels and housing units of three (3) units or less in which the owner of the premises resides are excluded. Buildings that convert to condominiums or cooperatives stay subject to the chapter for tenants residing there after conversion.

The cap is in § 353-3, amended 10-12-2022 by Ord. No. 2056-2022. At the expiration of a lease or at the termination of the lease of a periodic tenant, no landlord can request or receive an increase greater than three percent (3%) for tenants whose rent includes a charge for water service, or greater than two and one-half percent (2.5%) for tenants whose rental charge does not cover water service. A periodic tenant whose lease term is less than one (1) year pays no increase until the periodic lease exceeds twelve (12) months, and the increase is then measured on the rent paid in the twelfth month. Under § 353-4, any increase at another time, and any increase above the authorized amount, is prohibited and void.

Section 353-2, amended 10-9-2024 by Ord. No. 2199-2024, sets the lawful base rent as the rent agreed for the initial rental period and decontrols a unit when the tenant vacates, but only if the landlord notifies the Rent Leveling Board in writing within 60 days, stating the rent paid by the vacating tenant, the rent for the new tenant and why the prior tenant left. If the Board finds the landlord harassed the former tenant into leaving, it can return the unit to rent control and order the rent decreased to the maximum allowable amount. Missing the notice nullifies the increase.

The Rent Leveling Board has seven members plus one alternate, appointed by the Mayor with City Council approval, on two-year terms without compensation, with four members forming a quorum (§ 353-5). It must decide any application or petition within forty-five (45) days of filing and hears tenant complaints about unlawful increases, with power to require reimbursement (§ 353-6). A landlord whose reasonable operating expenses exceed sixty percent (60%) of rental income can apply for a hardship increase (§ 353-8). Landlords of single and two-unit dwellings that are not owner occupied pay a $10 landlord identity fee (§ 353-9.1).