Bloomfield, NJ Rental Property Rules: Rent Increase Notice (2026)

Section 435-2(B)(3) of the Bloomfield Township Code controls how a rent increase reaches a tenant in the Township of Bloomfield, Essex County. The landlord serves notice of the annual increase by certified mail or by personal service. The notice must carry four items: the monthly base rent before the increase, the monthly base rent after the increase, the effective date, and a landlord certification that the affected dwelling and units are in substantial compliance with the health, safety and housing laws, codes and regulations of the Township and applicable Federal, State and Township laws. The subsection lists what the notice must say and how it is delivered; it does not print a number of days of advance notice.

Timing is fixed by § 435-2(B)(4): an increase at any time other than the expiration of a lease or the termination of a periodic tenancy is null and void. A landlord also cannot raise rent while out of compliance with Chapter 435 and with N.J.S.A. 46:8-28 et seq. and 46:8-27 et seq. (§ 435-2(B)(5)), and must furnish satisfactory evidence of compliance in the form the Board prescribes.

The tenant's response window is in § 435-2(C)(1). An objection goes to the Rent Leveling Board within 30 calendar days of notification of the proposed increase, and the Board meets within 30 calendar days to hold a hearing. The Board Secretary notifies tenant and landlord of the hearing date in writing. Under § 435-2(D), every lease must conspicuously state the name and address of the Rent Leveling Board, the maximum rent allowable, the tenant's right to object, the right to a hearing and the right to appeal to the Township Council. That notice of tenant's rights is given at the start of every lease and annually on renewals, and for a periodic tenant at the inception and at each anniversary of the tenancy.