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

Township Code § 472-2 governs how a rent increase must be communicated under Irvington's rent control chapter. Any landlord raising rent under § 472-1 must give tenants 60 days' written notice of the increase "by any reasonable means," but the ordinance builds in a real proof requirement: if the notice isn't mailed to the tenant's residence, delivery isn't considered accomplished unless a signed receipt is obtained from the tenant or a representative. If the landlord instead uses ordinary mail rather than certified or registered mail, the landlord or the landlord's representative must certify in writing that the notice was actually mailed, and that certification has to be kept on file for three years.

Section 472-2B adds a separate trigger tied to the Township's registration system: rent increases for every unit in a property are prohibited for the entire calendar year if the landlord failed to timely file the property's rent registration. The increase the notice announces is itself capped under § 472-1: 4% of the prior year's rent where the landlord supplies heat, 3% where the landlord doesn't, and 2% annually for a sole tenant or household of tenants all age 65 or older, regardless of who pays for heat.

No tenant can be made to pay more than one increase in any twelve-month period, and no tax surcharge is allowed on account of higher municipal property taxes. The rent control chapter does not reach every rental in Irvington: § 472-3 exempts motels and hotels, dwellings of two units or fewer, and three- or four-unit dwellings where an owner occupies at least one unit. A landlord who wants more than the capped increase must instead apply to the Rent Leveling Officer for a hardship or major capital improvement surcharge under § 472-4, which carries its own notice-to-tenants requirement (posted in the building's lobby or entranceway and mailed at least two weeks before the first hearing) separate from the routine § 472-2 notice.