Passaic, NJ Short-Term Rentals: Host Presence Rule (2026)

Section 317-16H(10) narrows Passaic's short-term rental market to two owner-connected formats defined in § 317-10 and § 100-1. A 'hosted partial-home short-term rental' is a unit in which the homeowner rents a portion of the home, a spare bedroom or an accessory dwelling unit, while sharing the property with the guests during their stay. An 'unhosted owner-occupied short-term rental' is different: the homeowner rents the entire home to tenants but only while away periodically, such as during a vacation, and the property remains the owner's principal residence the rest of the year.

What the ordinance excludes matters as much as what it allows: a non-owner-occupied whole-house rental run as a standing investment property, with no owner living there at all, does not fit either defined category and cannot qualify for a Short-Term Rental Registration Certificate under § 100-15. The rule works together with § 317-16H(1), which limits eligible properties to single-family homes, townhouses, or condominiums, and § 317-16H(4), which requires the certificate holder to be the actual owner, a tenant cannot register or sublease a unit as a short-term rental. Together these provisions keep Passaic's short-term rental supply tied to owner-occupants rather than absentee investors operating units as de facto hotels.