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

The City of Long Branch regulates rental occupancy through Chapter 271 (Rental Property) and Chapter 165 (Property Maintenance), supplemented by the State Housing Code adopted under the Hotels and Multiple Dwellings Law (N.J.S.A. 55:13A-1 et seq.). Chapter 271 defines a 'seasonal rental' as any rental of residential accommodations for a term of less than one year that includes any part of the period extending from May 15 to September 15 - the same period that captures most short-term rentals on the Monmouth County oceanfront. Chapter 271 does not contain a separate guests-per-bedroom multiplier; instead, every dwelling unit must be inspected and issued a Certificate of Occupancy by the Bureau of Construction Code Enforcement before any change in tenancy or re-occupancy. The Certificate establishes the lawful occupancy of the unit by reference to the New Jersey State Housing Code (N.J.A.C. 5:28), which generally requires every habitable room used for sleeping to have at least 70 square feet of floor area for the first occupant and not less than 50 additional square feet for each additional occupant, plus minimum ceiling height (7 feet), light, and ventilation. Chapter 271 requires every landlord to register each rental unit with the City Clerk, identify the operator and a 24-hour emergency contact, and renew or amend the registration within 20 days of any change of ownership; no unit may be rented unless the registration is current. Chapter 271 also imposes seasonal-rental landlord obligations including a bond requirement tied to substantiated complaints about disorderly conduct at seasonal rental premises. Because Long Branch is a Hotel and Multiple Dwellings Law jurisdiction in many of its multifamily and oceanfront properties, the State Bureau of Housing Inspection may also exercise concurrent occupancy enforcement on units of three or more rental dwellings.