East Orange, NJ Short-Term Rentals: Night Caps (2026)

East Orange City Code § 228-2.E sets the city's core cap on non-owner-present short-term rentals: rentals of any dwelling unit where the owner/operator of the STRP is not present shall be conducted no more than 60 total nights per calendar year, and the same subsection makes clear that each night in excess of this limit shall be considered a separate violation. The cap only reaches unhosted stays; an STR where the owner or a designated on-site resident is present, such as the owner-occupied bed-and-breakfast rooms allowed under § 228-2.B(5), is not subject to the 60-night ceiling.

Section 228-2.F adds a companion restriction: unhosted STR use is prohibited outright, regardless of night count, in any multiple dwelling containing more than four separate units, and both renting and advertising such a unit is itself a violation. The only relief from the 60-night rule is the narrow § 228-2.H grandfather clause for an owner who was already running two STRs before the June 10, 2024 effective date of the ordinance; that owner may keep one non-owner-occupied unit operating, subject to the same on-site responsible-party requirement as every other STR.

Because the ordinance treats each excess night as a discrete violation rather than a single overage, the East Orange Municipal Court can stack fines under § 228-7 for every night an operator exceeds 60, up to $2,000 per violation per day the noncompliance continues.