Middlesex County, NJ Short-Term Rentals: Permit Requirements (2026)

Short-term rental regulation in Middlesex County operates on three layers, none of them at the county level. State tax layer: P.L. 2018 c. 49 (effective October 1, 2018) extended NJ Sales Tax (currently 6.625%) and the State Occupancy Fee (5% statewide, but only 1% in Newark, Jersey City, Elizabeth, and Atlantic City because those cities already impose their own local hotel taxes) to transient accommodations rented through a transient space marketplace or operated as a professionally managed unit. P.L. 2019 c. 235 narrowed the definition so that direct owner rentals of fewer than three units (booked without a marketplace and not professionally managed) are exempt from State Sales Tax and the State Occupancy Fee. Marketplaces such as Airbnb and Vrbo are required to collect and remit the tax on the host's behalf when used. Municipal tax layer: under N.J.S.A. 40:48F-1 et seq., NJ municipalities may impose a Municipal Occupancy Tax of up to 3% on transient accommodations. Permit/zoning layer: each Middlesex County municipality decides whether to require an STR permit, registration, or rental license. New Brunswick (home to Rutgers University) operates a long-standing rental-property registration program; Edison, Woodbridge, Perth Amboy, Piscataway, and Old Bridge each maintain their own rental-license or property-maintenance ordinances under N.J.S.A. 40:48-2.12a (the Hotel and Multiple Dwelling Law) and N.J.S.A. 40:55D. Middlesex County itself issues no STR permits.