Hoboken, NJ Short-Term Rentals: Occupancy Limits (2026)

Unlike neighboring Jersey City, which adopted a comprehensive STR ordinance (Jersey City Ch. 255) capping permitted units at 3 bedrooms and 6 guests, Hoboken has not enacted a dedicated short-term rental code chapter that sets a numeric guest cap or a 'two persons per bedroom plus two' formula. Instead, Hoboken regulates STRs through three overlapping mechanisms: (1) Chapter 155 (Rent Control), which under proposed and adopted amendments prohibits owners of rent-controlled units from listing those units on Airbnb, Vrbo, or similar transient platforms; (2) Chapter 196 (Zoning), which limits residential uses to permanent occupancy in residential R-1, R-2, and R-3 districts and treats transient lodging as a separate use category; and (3) Hoboken's annual property registration requirement administered through the SDL Portal and the Division of Housing Inspection. Because no STR permit pathway with a guest-cap field exists, the operative occupancy ceiling for any dwelling unit comes from the New Jersey Uniform Construction Code (N.J.A.C. 5:23) and the New Jersey Property Maintenance Code (N.J.A.C. 5:10), which set minimum sleeping-room square footage per occupant (typically 70 sq ft for the first occupant and 50 sq ft for each additional). Hudson County is one of the most densely populated counties in the United States, and Hoboken itself has roughly 60,000 residents on one square mile, which underlies the City's restrictive posture: the City Council has repeatedly considered tightening rather than loosening transient-use rules. State law does not preempt municipal STR limits, and tax obligations under N.J.S.A. 54:32D-1 (5% State Occupancy Fee), N.J.S.A. 54:32B-3 (6.625% Sales and Use Tax), and Hoboken's 3% Municipal Occupancy Tax presume a lawful rental and do not create a right to operate an STR.