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

Under Chapter 13 of the Linden Municipal Code, no person may occupy any rental unit, and no owner may permit occupancy of any rental unit, that is not registered and licensed with the City. Each rental unit must be registered initially, annually, and with each change of occupancy, and a license is issued only after a satisfactory inspection by an inspector duly authorized and appointed by the City. The inspection checks compliance with the Linden Zoning Ordinance (Chapter 31), the Property Maintenance Code, the Housing Code in Chapter 10, Article II, and applicable Uniform Fire Code provisions. Because Linden has not enacted a separate short-term rental ordinance with its own headcount table, the lawful occupancy of an Airbnb or Vrbo unit is set by the Certificate of Occupancy issued under the Uniform Construction Code (N.J.A.C. 5:23) and by the New Jersey Bureau of Housing Inspection sleeping-room standards in N.J.A.C. 5:10, which require minimum sleeping-room area and floor-area-per-occupant in rented dwellings, plus the Hotel and Multiple Dwelling Law (N.J.S.A. 55:13A) for buildings that fall within its scope. Sleeping rooms must meet the room-area minimums in those rules, and renting non-bedroom spaces such as living rooms or basements as sleeping space is not authorized by the CO and exposes the host to housing inspection citations. Larger or commercial-style transient operations also implicate the Chapter 31 zoning treatment of transient occupancy uses, which are limited by district. STR operators in Linden are also taxable under 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) on transient accommodations.