East Brunswick, NJ Short-Term Rentals: Taxes & Fees (2026)

Section 182-4(C) of the East Brunswick Township Code requires the owner, or an agent acting for the owner, to submit the permit application to the Department of Planning & Engineering with an annual application and registration fee of $250. The fee is nonrefundable, including when the application is denied, and the permit, if granted, is valid for one year from issuance. Section 182-4(D) requires renewal every year on the anniversary of the original issuance, with a renewal application and a renewal registration fee of $250. Section 182-4(E) adds that the permit expires automatically on a change of ownership and that the new owner pays a new initial application and first-time registration fee. A rental whose permit was revoked or suspended must also file a new application and pay the first-time fee.

Booking platforms pay too. Section 182-8(C), added by Ord. No. 25-34 on 10-13-2025, sets an annual booking service registration fee of $100 per calendar year, applying only to the calendar year in which the registration is submitted, and § 182-8(A) makes it unlawful for a booking service to charge, collect or receive a fee in connection with a short-term rental unless it has registered the listing with the Zoning Officer.

The tax side sits in § 182-5(H). Pursuant to N.J.S.A. 40:48F-1 et seq., when each short-term rental ends or the occupancy changes, the owner, in addition to the state sales tax and state occupancy fee, is subject to a 3% municipal occupancy tax. That subsection applies only to rentals obtained through a transient space marketplace or a professionally managed unit.

Money owed to the Township can also block the permit. Section 182-4(A)(3) and § 182-7(M) require the owner to be current with all tax, water and sewer charges assessed to the property, and § 182-7(N) requires all Municipal Court fines for past code violations relating to the property, including penalties for failure to appear, to be satisfied in full before a permit issues.