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

Section 369-2B of the Perth Amboy City Code sets the property classifications where a short-term rental is permitted, and most of them turn on an owner-occupied unit. Two dwelling units within a two-family residential dwelling qualify where one unit is owner-occupied. Two dwelling units in a multiple dwelling qualify when the building sits outside any condominium, homeowner or cooperative association, holds three or fewer units (or exactly four), and another dwelling unit is owner-occupied.

Section 369-2F closes the door for absent owners in larger buildings. Rentals of any dwelling unit where the owner/operator is not present are prohibited in dwelling units located in any multiple dwellings that contain more than four separate dwelling units, and the code makes it a violation both to rent and to advertise such properties. Section 369-2G adds that the person offering the unit must be the owner, so a tenant cannot apply for a permit or sub-lease on a short-term basis.

The code also plans for the times the owner is away. Under § 369-1 the RESPONSIBLE PARTY is the owner or a property manager designated to be called upon at all times during the rental, to answer for maintenance and the conduct of occupants, and, for a manager, to accept legal process for the owner. Section 369-6H requires the owner, the short-term rental agent or the responsible party to be available 24 hours per day, seven days per week to respond within two hours to complaints. If the owner cannot be reached, § 369-6G makes the responsible party and the agent listed on the permit application answerable for resolving the complaint.

The one exception to owner occupancy is § 369-2H: an owner already operating two short-term rentals when Chapter 369 was adopted can keep one non-owner-occupied property if an individual designated by the owner resides there and treats it as his or her principal residence, and the property complies with the rest of the chapter. Applications under that exception must include documentary proof, under § 369-4A(12), that the property was in use as a short-term rental at the time of adoption.