West New York, NJ Short-Term Rentals: Taxes & Fees (2026)

Chapter 380A, Vacation Rentals, Short-Term (Ord. No. 35/17, adopted 1-18-2018), treats short-term renting in the Town of West New York as an activity its own preamble describes as prohibited by local law. A "vacation rental" is the rental of any dwelling unit, accessory building or structure, garage, attic or basement, in whole or in part, for exclusive transient use of 30 consecutive days or less, whether or not a permanent resident is on site, where the unit is approved only for permanent residential occupancy. Units in Town-approved hotels, motels and bed-and-breakfasts are carved out of the definition.

On fees, § 380A-3 gives the Board of Commissioners two powers. Subsection A lets it promulgate regulations that can include permit conditions, reporting requirements, inspection frequencies, enforcement procedures, advertising restrictions, disclosure requirements or insurance requirements, and no person may fail to comply with them. Subsection B lets it establish and set all fees and charges necessary to effectuate the purpose of the chapter. Chapter 380A itself prints no fee amount, so the figure depends on what the Board of Commissioners sets.

The Town's printed occupancy tax sits in Chapter 364, Article III (Ord. No. 43/24, adopted 12-18-2024): a uniform 3% on charges of rent for every occupancy of a hotel and/or motel. Section 364-24 defines "hotel and/or motel" to include an apartment hotel, a motel, inn and rooming or boarding house or club, and excludes a transient accommodation. The same article defines a "professionally managed unit" as a unit directly or indirectly owned or controlled by a person offering for rent two or more other units during the calendar year, but the operative tax section, § 364-25, does not use that term or mention vacation rentals.

Section 380A-2 separately bars any person, including a hosting platform operator, from undertaking, maintaining, authorizing, aiding, facilitating or advertising a vacation rental activity that does not comply with the Code.