East Orange, NJ Short-Term Rentals: Primary-Residence-Only Rule (2026)
Key Facts
- Governing chapter
- Chapter 228, Short-Term Rentals (adopted 6-10-2024)
- Principal residence test
- Nonworking-time address, domestic-life center, driver's license address
- Owner-occupied categories
- Single-family, one unit of two-family or four-unit dwelling
- Grandfather exception
- One pre-2024 non-owner-occupied STR under § 228-2.H
- Enforcing agency
- East Orange Short-Term Rental Subdivision
- Penalty range
- $100 to $2,000 per violation per day
Summary
In the City of East Orange, a short-term rental must be the owner's principal residence in nearly every permitted category: single-family STRs must be owner-occupied, two-family STRs need one owner-occupied unit, and four-unit multi-dwellings need another unit owner-occupied. The East Orange Short-Term Rental Subdivision verifies principal residence with a driver's license and utility bills before issuing a Chapter 228 permit.
PRINCIPAL RESIDENCE A. ... The address: (1) Where at least one of the property owners spends the majority of his or her nonworking time. (2) Which is most clearly the center of his or her domestic life. (3) Which is identified on his or her driver's license or state identification card as being his or her legal address. B. All the above requirements must be met in order for an address to constitute the principal residence for the purposes of this chapter. ... (2) Individually or collectively owner-occupied single-family residences.
Full Breakdown
East Orange City Code Chapter 228 defines PRINCIPAL RESIDENCE as the address where at least one owner spends the majority of nonworking time, is the center of domestic life, and is listed as the legal address on a driver's license or state ID; all three elements must be met under § 228-1. That definition drives who may run a short-term rental: under § 228-2.B, STR use is limited to condo or co-op units whose governing documents allow it and whose owner identifies the unit as a principal residence, individually or collectively owner-occupied single-family homes, one owner-occupied unit of a two-family dwelling, one owner-occupied unit in a four-unit multiple dwelling, and up to three rooms of an owner-occupied single-family home run as a bed-and-breakfast.
Section 228-2.H carves out a narrow grandfather exception: an owner already running two STRs when the ordinance took effect on June 10, 2024 may keep one non-owner-occupied property, but only if a designated individual still resides on-site and is on call for the property. To prove principal residence at application, § 228-4.A(3) and (4) require a copy of the owner's driver's license or state ID and a sworn acknowledgement that the STRP is the owner's principal residence, backed by two utility bills less than 30 days old under § 228-4.A(6).
The East Orange Short-Term Rental Subdivision reviews this documentation before issuing any Chapter 228 permit, and a false certification exposes the owner to the same $100-to-$2,000 per-violation fines set out in § 228-7 for other chapter violations.
Violations & Fines
Operating or misrepresenting a non-owner-occupied unit as an STR outside the § 228-2.B categories or the § 228-2.H grandfather exception is a Chapter 228 violation, punishable in East Orange Municipal Court under § 228-7 by a fine of not less than $100 and up to $2,000 per violation per day the violation continues. Owners get 30 days to cure before a court date, and unresolved violations draw the maximum fine at the end of the compliance period.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I rent out my East Orange home as an STR if I don't live there?
How does the city prove a property is my principal residence?
What happens if I falsely claim a rental is my principal residence?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in East Orange
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