Every New Jersey landlord must register the rental. Under the Landlord Identity Law, N.J.S.A. 46:8-27 et seq., the owner files a certificate of registration with the municipal clerk — or with the state for larger multiple dwellings — naming the owner and managing agent.
Registration is a statewide duty, not a county one. The Landlord Identity Law requires the owner of a one- or two-unit non-owner-occupied rental to file a certificate of registration with the clerk of the municipality within 30 days, while the owner of a multiple dwelling registers with the Bureau of Housing Inspection in the Department of Community Affairs. The certificate names the record owner, the managing agent, and an emergency contact, and a copy must be given to the tenant. Somerset towns such as Hillsborough run their own rental-registration programs on top of this state floor. A landlord who has not registered can be barred from obtaining a judgment for possession until the certificate is filed.
A landlord who fails to register faces municipal fines and can be blocked from evicting a tenant, since courts withhold a judgment for possession from an owner who has not filed the certificate of registration.
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