East Orange, NJ Local Taxes & Fees: Vacancy Tax (2026)

East Orange has no ordinance titled a vacancy tax. What the City of East Orange has instead is a registration-and-fee program for vacant property, Chapter 159, Article XXV, Maintenance of Vacant Properties, Registration Requirements and Fees. Section 159-237 requires the owner of any vacant property, defined in § 159-236 as a residential building that is not legally occupied and cannot be reoccupied without repair, to file a registration statement with the Public Officer within 60 days after the building becomes vacant, or 30 days after taking ownership of an already-vacant building, whichever is later, and to renew that registration every year the property stays vacant.

Section 159-239, last amended December 19, 2022 by Ordinance No. 36-2022, sets the fee ladder that functions as the City's financial deterrent against long-term vacancy: $500 for the initial registration, $1,500 for the first renewal, $3,000 for the second renewal, and $5,000 for every renewal after that, so an owner who lets a property sit vacant for four years is paying $10,000 in registration fees alone by the fourth year. Section 159-238 also requires the registration to name a New Jersey-based agent for service of process, and out-of-state mortgage creditors in foreclosure face the same registration duty under P.L.

2014, c. 35. The program is administered by the Public Officer within the Department of Policy, Planning and Development, not by the tax assessor, and the fees are separate from and in addition to ordinary property taxes owed on the parcel.