East Brunswick, NJ Short-Term Rentals: Host Platform Liability (2026)
Key Facts
- Registration fee
- $100 per calendar year, for the year submitted
- Register with
- Township Zoning Officer, every year
- Per-listing data
- URL or listing identifier, host name, physical address
- Reverification
- Annually at minimum, and whenever data changes
- Host permit fee
- $250 annual application fee under § 182-4
- Added by
- Ord. No. 25-34, adopted 10-13-2025
Summary
In East Brunswick Township, a booking service cannot charge, collect or receive a fee for a short-term rental unless it has registered the listing with the Zoning Officer to verify that the host holds the necessary permit. Registration is annual and costs $100 per calendar year under § 182-8, added by Ord. No. 25-34 on 10-13-2025.
A. It shall be unlawful for a booking service to charge, collect or receive a fee from a person in connection with a short-term rental of a dwelling unit unless such booking service has registered the listing with the Zoning Officer to verify that the STR has obtained the necessary permit. ... B. For each listing of an STR using the booking service within the Township of East Brunswick, the booking service shall provide the Zoning Officer with the uniform resource locator or listing identifier being used to offer the STR, the host name, and physical address information of the dwelling unit provided by the host to the booking service. ... C. There shall be an annual booking service registration fee of $100 per calendar year, with said fee only applying to the calendar year within which the registration is submitted.
Full Breakdown
Section 182-2 defines a booking service as a person or entity that facilitates the booking of a short-term rental unit. The Code's own examples in § 182-5 are web services such as Airbnb, VRBO and Booking.com. The Township Council added § 182-8 to Chapter 182 on 10-13-2025, and the same ordinance renumbered the old violations section as § 182-10.
Two duties run to the booking service. First, it registers with the Township every year by giving the Zoning Officer its official name, mailing address, and the name and direct contact information of a booking service representative, and by paying the requisite fee. Second, for each listing within East Brunswick Township it gives the Zoning Officer the URL or listing identifier, the host name, and the physical address of the dwelling unit that the host supplied. The Zoning Officer, a designee or another authorized representative then checks that the full legal name of the host and the full physical address on the permit match what the platform reported. The service must reconfirm a registration any time it knows or should have known that data used in the verification has changed, and must reverify every active registration at least annually.
The platform duty sits on top of the host's own duties. Under § 182-4 the owner needs a short-term rental permit from the Department of Planning & Engineering before renting or advertising, with a $250 annual application fee. Section 182-5(F) requires the permit number in every online or print advertisement. Section 182-5(A)(12) makes a host who uses a booking service disclose the listing URL or identifier and the service name for every existing listing, and report any later listing before it is used to make an agreement for a short-term rental property. Section 182-3(E) caps rentals at 90 total nights per calendar year, except for owner-occupied rentals.
Violations & Fines
A booking service that charges, collects or receives a fee for a short-term rental without a registered listing violates § 182-8. Section 182-10 sets Court-assessed fines for a violation of any provision of Chapter 182: $250 per day for a first offense, $1,000 per day with a mandatory court appearance for a second offense, and $2,000 per day with a mandatory court appearance for each subsequent offense. That section names the owner, transient occupants, the agent and the responsible party or their agents, and does not name booking services.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who has to register under East Brunswick Township's booking service rule?
What does the platform send the Township for each listing?
How much does registration cost and how often is it renewed?
Does a host on a booking platform still need a Township permit?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in East Brunswick
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