Linden, NJ Short-Term Rentals: Insurance Requirements (2026)

New Jersey's Business and Rental Unit Liability Insurance law, P.L. 2022, c.92 (effective August 5, 2022 and codified at N.J.S.A. 40A:10A-1), requires every owner of a rental unit to maintain liability insurance for negligent acts and omissions in an amount of no less than $500,000 for combined property damage and bodily injury or death of one or more persons in any one accident or occurrence. An owner of a multifamily home of four or fewer units, one of which is owner-occupied, may instead carry no less than $300,000 in liability coverage. The owner must annually register the certificate of insurance with the municipal clerk, and Linden has codified that registration framework in its rental-property and registration provisions through eCode360. Linden also imposes its standard Chapter 13 rental-property registration: every rental unit must be registered with the City Clerk initially, annually, and at each change of occupancy, and a license is issued only after a satisfactory inspection. Because Linden has not adopted a separate short-term rental chapter, an Airbnb, Vrbo, or other STR operating in Linden is treated as a rental unit under both Chapter 13 and N.J.S.A. 40A:10A-1, so the same $500,000 / $300,000 liability minimums and annual certificate-of-insurance filing apply. Standard New Jersey homeowners and condominium policies frequently exclude or limit transient or commercial short-term rental activity, so most hosts need either a short-term rental endorsement or a commercial-style STR liability policy that names the property and the rental use to satisfy N.J.S.A. 40A:10A-1 and produce a usable certificate of insurance. Platform-provided protections such as Airbnb's AirCover and Vrbo's Liability Insurance operate as secondary coverage subject to platform terms and exclusions, and do not replace the primary general liability certificate New Jersey law and Linden require to be on file. Beyond the insurance and rental-license requirements, transient accommodations rented through a marketplace or by a professionally managed operator are also subject to the New Jersey 5% State Occupancy Fee (N.J.S.A. 54:32D-1) and 6.625% Sales Tax (N.J.S.A. 54:32B), which are separate obligations from the Chapter 13 license and the liability-insurance filing.