Plainfield, NJ Rental Property Rules: Rental Registration (2026)

Section 6:5-2 bars any lease, rental, letting, occupancy, sale or transfer of a building, structure or premises, including a dwelling unit or rooming unit, until the Director of the Division of Inspections issues a certificate of compliance. It applies to commercial and residential property, whether the arrangement is temporary, seasonal or permanent and whether or not money changes hands. Former Article 7, Registration and Inspection of Residential Rental Properties, was repealed in its entirety by Ordinance No. 2006-19 and now reads Reserved, so the certificate is the instrument that governs each rental.

The owner or operator files an application on forms prescribed by the Director before possession is delivered, and consents to entry for inspection (§ 6:5-5). The application lists the street address and apartment number, the applicant, the owner, the tenant, anyone authorized to manage the property, and the total number of persons permitted to occupy it. Every lease must expressly state that the owner, operator or transferor is responsible for complying with the article (§ 6:5-4).

The Division inspects against the Plainfield Property Maintenance Code, the Uniform Construction Code if applicable, and the Plainfield Zoning Ordinance (§ 6:5-3). The certificate goes to the owner with the tenant named on it and is not transferable. It stays valid until the earliest of a sale or transfer, the named tenant vacating, or the property falling out of full compliance (§ 6:5-8).

Residential fees are $50 for the first dwelling unit and $25 per dwelling unit after that, commercial and industrial property pays $300, and vacant land pays $75 per lot (§ 6:5-6). A temporary certificate runs up to 45 days with one 45-day extension and never beyond 90 days, after which all use and occupancy must cease (§ 6:5-11). A certificate of occupancy issued by the Construction Official 90 days before the transfer or occupancy exempts the property (§ 6:5-12).