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

Lakewood Township is a year-round Orthodox Jewish community in Ocean County rather than a Jersey Shore vacation market, so the Township has not adopted a stand-alone short-term-rental ordinance comparable to those in Asbury Park or Cape May County beach towns. Any dwelling offered for rent, including bookings through Airbnb or Vrbo, must comply with Chapter 15 (Rental Housing) of the Township Code, which is administered by the Lakewood Department of Code Enforcement and Zoning. Chapter 15 requires the property owner to obtain a Rental Certificate of Occupancy before any unit is leased, subleased, rented, let, or sold; the inspection is to be completed and the Certificate or a violation notice issued within five days of application. At inspection, code-enforcement staff post a notice in a conspicuous place inside the unit stating the number of persons permitted to occupy that apartment or single-family dwelling, and Chapter 15 expressly states that residency in excess of the posted number may not be exceeded by either landlord or tenant. For purposes of counting occupants, anyone who sleeps on the premises or generally dwells there for more than two successive days or nights is considered a resident. The posted figure is derived from the New Jersey State Housing Code minimum sleeping-room floor-area standards (N.J.A.C. 5:28) which Chapter 15 incorporates by reference, rather than from a fixed two-per-bedroom formula. Owners who rent three or more units through a transient-space marketplace are also professionally managed lessors under N.J.S.A. 54:32D and must register with the New Jersey Division of Taxation and collect the 5 percent state occupancy fee plus the 6.625 percent sales tax.