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

Section 132-79, Article X of the Housing Code, requires the nonoccupant owner of any structure let or rented to another for living purposes to register that rental structure on a form provided by the Department of Inspections. The annual, nonrefundable fee is $110 per structure plus $35 for each dwelling unit inside it, and covers the annual registration permit and the required inspections. Owners must disclose their home and business addresses, day and evening phone numbers, Social Security number, driver's license number and state of issuance, and date of birth; if an agent is designated to accept service of process or act on the owner's behalf, the same information is required for that agent, and the daytime contact number must be equipped with an answering service or device.

Where the owner is a corporation or other entity, the same personal information is required for every officer and the registered agent. Registration is due by March 1 each year and is not prorated for partial-year filings. Section 132-79C exempts structures occupied by a defined family member of the owner (children, parents, siblings, grandparents/grandchildren, and their in-law equivalents), provided the owner files a sworn affidavit identifying the occupant and the relationship by March 1 each year. The current version of the section, amended in November 2025, expressly aligns with the New Jersey Superior Court's Timber Glen Phase III, LLC v. Township of Hamilton decision.