# Short-term rental rules in Jersey City, NJ - Status: **HEAVILY REGULATED** - Last verified: 2026-07-18 (every legal claim checked against the official sources listed below) - Canonical page: https://strwatch.ai/jersey-city-nj/ ## Summary Jersey City defines a short-term rental (STR) as a rental of a residential dwelling for 28 or fewer consecutive days, regulated under Chapter 255 of the Municipal Code (adopted as Ordinance 19-077 on 6/25/2019, upheld by voter referendum 11/5/2019, and substantially amended by Ordinance 25-059 on 6/11/2025). A pure absentee investor who does not live in the building generally cannot legally operate: a permit is issued only to an owner who is a 'principal resident' of the STRP or of another unit on the same lot (residing there at least 275 days/year, per the 2025 amendment), and no owner or entity may hold more than 2 STR permits citywide. Where an owner does live on-site, whole-unit rentals of the unit they do NOT occupy are capped at 60 nights/year when the owner isn't present (each excess night is a separate violation), and are barred entirely in buildings of more than 4 units. Tenants (renters) can never operate an STR or sublease short-term. Every STR needs an annual permit from the Division of Housing Preservation ($250 initial, $200/year renewal), $500,000 minimum general liability insurance, a fire-safety/property-maintenance inspection (valid 3 years), a zoning determination letter, and proof of no outstanding city taxes, water/sewer charges, or municipal court fines. Guests must be 21+ to be the primary renter, and violations of Chapter 255 carry Municipal Court fines of $100-$2,000 per violation (minimum $100/violation/day the violation continues). On top of city rules, guests booking through a marketplace like Airbnb/Vrbo (or renting a 'professionally managed' unit) pay a combined 13.625% in state and local taxes: 6.625% NJ Sales Tax, 1% NJ State Occupancy Fee (reduced from the standard 5% because Jersey City has its own local tax), and 6% Jersey City Hotel and Transient Accommodation Occupancy Tax (Ordinance 20-027, effective 12/1/2021) -- all collected and remitted by the marketplace under NJ law. A federal court upheld Chapter 255's constitutionality against a regulatory-takings challenge (D.N.J., cited in legal commentary through 2024). ## At a glance - Unhosted whole-home rental: Conditional - Hosted rental (host present): Conditional - Primary residence required: Yes - Guest cap: none verified - Rules apply to stays under: 29 days Notes: STR permits are issued only to an owner (or a designated Responsible Party) who is the 'principal resident' of the short-term rental property itself or of another dwelling unit on the same lot/building -- defined since Ordinance 25-059 (6/11/2025) as residing there at least 275 days/year, evidenced by 2 of: vehicle registration, state ID, tax documents, or a utility bill. A pure absentee investor with no on-site residence cannot obtain a new permit (narrow exceptions in Ord. 19-077 for owners/tenants already operating non-owner-occupied STRs before 6/6/2019 were time-limited to 1/1/2021 and are closed to new entrants). Where the owner does live on the lot, the OTHER unit(s) may be rented whole-unit while the owner is away, capped at 60 nights/calendar year, and only in buildings of 4 units or fewer where at least one other unit is owner-occupied; that path is also capped at 2 total STR permits per owner/entity citywide (new in Ord. 25-059). Single-family homes and condos/co-ops (where the HOA/Master Deed permits STRs) may operate as STRs while owner-occupied; a bed-and-breakfast-style partial-home rental is capped at 1-3 rooms depending on bedroom count, each room capped at 2 adults + 2 minor children. Tenants/renters can never hold an STR permit or sublease short-term -- this supersedes any conflicting private lease clause. STR definition covers stays of 28 or fewer consecutive days; stays of 29+ consecutive days fall outside Chapter 255 entirely. No single citywide numeric max-guest figure was found for whole-unit rentals (only per-room caps for partial-home rentals); see needs_review. ## Requirements ### Short-Term Rental Permit (permit) - Authority: City of Jersey City, Division of Housing Preservation - Cost: $250 initial application; $200/year renewal - Renewal: Annual, on the anniversary of original issuance; renewal application due at least 30 days before expiration; permit expires automatically if the property changes ownership - Official source: https://cdnsm5-hosted.civiclive.com/UserFiles/Servers/Server_6189660/File/City%20Hall/Housing%20Economic%20Development/Tenant%20Landlord%20Relations/Ord.%2025-059%20(Chapter%20255%20-%20STR%20)%20.pdf - Notes: Required before renting or advertising any STR (including on MLS or any booking platform); the permit number must appear in every listing. A separate permit is required for every individual STR unit, even if commonly owned. No owner or entity may hold more than 2 STR permits citywide (Ord. 25-059, 6/11/2025). Application requires: owner/agent/responsible-party contact info available 24/7, driver's license/state ID proving principal residence, Owner's Affidavit, STRP Agent and Responsible Party certifications, 2 recent utility bills, proof of ownership, $500,000 liability insurance proof, zoning determination letter, fire-safety/property-maintenance inspection documentation (within 6 months for initial application), Municipal Court compliance certificate (no outstanding fines, no disturbing-the-peace/nuisance violations), and proof of no outstanding city taxes/water/sewer charges. Approval or written denial is due within 30 days; denials may be appealed within 10 business days to the Business Administrator. ### General Liability Insurance (insurance) - Authority: City of Jersey City, Division of Housing Preservation - Cost: not verified - Renewal: Proof required with every initial and renewal permit application - Official source: https://cdnsm5-hosted.civiclive.com/UserFiles/Servers/Server_6189660/File/City%20Hall/Housing%20Economic%20Development/Tenant%20Landlord%20Relations/Ord.%2025-059%20(Chapter%20255%20-%20STR%20)%20.pdf - Notes: Minimum $500,000 general liability insurance coverage required (not a flat fee -- actual premium cost varies by insurer/property). ### Fire Safety and Property Maintenance Code Inspection (inspection) - Authority: City of Jersey City -- Housing Code Enforcement and the Fire Official - Cost: not verified - Renewal: Initial application requires inspection within the past 6 months; renewals require inspection within the past 3 years - Official source: https://cdnsm5-hosted.civiclive.com/UserFiles/Servers/Server_6189660/File/City%20Hall/Housing%20Economic%20Development/Tenant%20Landlord%20Relations/Ord.%2025-059%20(Chapter%20255%20-%20STR%20)%20.pdf - Notes: Property Maintenance Code is Chapter 254 of the Jersey City Municipal Code. The city retains the right to re-inspect at any time on a substantiated complaint, regardless of permit status. No inspection fee amount was found on an official source (see needs_review). ### Zoning Determination Letter (other) - Authority: City of Jersey City, Division of Zoning Enforcement - Cost: not verified - Renewal: Required with initial applications only (not required for renewals if no information has changed) - Official source: https://www.jerseycitynj.gov/cityhall/housinganddevelopment/housingpreservation - Notes: Confirms the property is not occupied or used in violation of the City's Land Use Regulations and Zoning Ordinances. No fee amount was found on an official source (see needs_review). ## Taxes - **New Jersey Sales Tax**: 6.625% — applies to Rentals of transient accommodations (28 days or fewer) obtained through a transient space marketplace (e.g. Airbnb, Vrbo) or that are a 'professionally managed unit' (owner offers 2+ other units for rent); direct owner-to-renter rentals outside a marketplace, and rentals executed entirely by a licensed NJ real estate broker, are exempt; platform collects: yes. Source: https://www.nj.gov/treasury/taxation/pdf/pubs/tb/tb81r.pdf - **New Jersey State Occupancy Fee**: 1% (reduced from the standard statewide 5% because Jersey City imposes its own local hotel/transient-accommodation occupancy tax) — applies to Same transient accommodations subject to NJ Sales Tax (marketplace-booked or professionally-managed-unit rentals); platform collects: yes. Source: https://www.nj.gov/treasury/taxation/hotelfeeinfo.shtml - **Jersey City Hotel and Transient Accommodation Occupancy Tax**: 6% — applies to Charges for use/occupancy of transient accommodations and hotel rooms in Jersey City (Municipal Code Ch. 304, Art. V, adopted by Ordinance 20-027, effective for transient accommodations 12/1/2021); platform collects: yes. Source: https://cdnsm5-hosted.civiclive.com/UserFiles/Servers/Server_6189660/File/City%20Hall/Housing%20Economic%20Development/Tenant%20Landlord%20Relations/Ord.%2025-059%20(Chapter%20255%20-%20STR%20)%20.pdf ## Enforcement - Penalties: Under Chapter 255-7 (as amended by Ordinance 25-059, effective 6/11/2025), a violation subjects the STRP owner, transient occupant(s), short-term rental agent, responsible party, and/or intermediary (defined to include hosting platforms) to Municipal Court fines of $100 to $2,000 per violation, with a minimum of $100 per violation per day the violation continues; the violator has 30 days to cure and may request a Municipal Court hearing within that period. Renting a non-owner-present unit beyond the 60-night/year cap makes each excess night a separate violation. Advertising or operating without a valid permit, or advertising without publishing the permit number, is a separate violation per day the ad/listing appears. A permit may be suspended or revoked by the Director of Housing Preservation for unabated property-maintenance violations, an owner conviction for disturbing the peace/maintaining a nuisance, or 3+ substantiated complaints (1 substantiated complaint at the Director's discretion for serious cases); a revoked STRP cannot reapply for 1 year. - Platform liability: Ordinance 25-059 (6/11/2025) added 'intermediary' -- defined to include a broker or hosting platform that collects rent/taxes on an owner's behalf -- as a party subject to Chapter 255 fines for violations such as unpermitted advertising. Separately, under NJ Division of Taxation guidance (Technical Bulletin TB-81R2), a 'transient space marketplace' (e.g. Airbnb, Vrbo) is legally required to collect and remit NJ Sales Tax, the State Occupancy Fee, and any applicable local occupancy tax (including Jersey City's 6% tax) whenever a rental is booked and paid for through the marketplace. - Notes: A federal district court (D.N.J.) upheld Chapter 255 against a constitutional regulatory-takings challenge; legal commentary describes the ruling as finding owners retain economically viable uses (long-term rental, personal occupancy, or sale) even where STR use is restricted. Full case citation was not independently verified against a primary court-opinion source this session (see needs_review). ## Not yet verified (we say so instead of guessing) - Chapter 255 as amended by Ordinance 25-059 is provided as a legislative redline (struck-through old text / underlined new text) rather than a clean codified version, and the city's own Municode-hosted Chapter 255 page (library.municode.com) returned a JavaScript/CAPTCHA bot-wall on every attempt this session and could not be used to cross-check the fully consolidated text. The interplay between the single-family-home room-rental cap (added by Ord. 25-059: 'no more than two rooms... provided the residence contains four or more bedrooms') and the pre-existing 60-night/year whole-unit-while-owner-away rule is not fully unambiguous in the redline text -- specifically whether a single-family homeowner can still rent the ENTIRE home for up to 60 nights/year while away, or whether Ord. 25-059 restricted single-family STRs to room-only rentals. This profile assumes both provisions coexist (room rental while resident, OR whole-home rental capped at 60 nights/year while away) based on the plain text of both sections, but this could not be independently confirmed against a clean consolidated code. - No official source found stating a single citywide maximum-guest-count number for whole-unit STR rentals (only per-room caps of 2 adults + 2 minor children apply, and only to partial-home/bed-and-breakfast-style rentals). `legality.max_guests` is set to null rather than guessed. - No fee amount was found on an official source for the Fire Safety/Property Maintenance Code inspection or the Zoning Determination Letter (both may be bundled into general city inspection/certificate fee schedules not located this session); `requirements[].cost` for both is set to null rather than guessed. - The federal district court decision upholding Chapter 255 against a regulatory-takings challenge is referenced only through secondary legal-commentary sources (TAPinto news article and MROD Law firm blog); the primary court opinion (case name, docket number, exact holding date) was not independently located and fetched this session, so the case citation in `enforcement.notes` is not sourced to a primary judicial record. - NJ Treasury's own 'Municipal Occupancy Tax List' spreadsheet (munitaxlist.pdf) shows a conflicting figure for Jersey City -- it lists a 'Transient Accommodations tax rate' of 3% effective 12/1/2021 in a column distinct from the (blank) 'Hotel/Motel tax rate' column. This conflicts with the explicit, detailed 6% figure stated in NJ Treasury's own TB-81R2 technical bulletin (with a worked calculation example naming Jersey City specifically) and with the City of Jersey City's own Ordinance 20-027 text (which sets the rate at 6% and was fetched and read directly from the city's CDN). This profile uses the 6% figure as primary because it is corroborated by two independent official sources including the taxing authority's own ordinance text, but the discrepant 3% entry in the state's spreadsheet was not resolved and should be checked with NJ Division of Taxation or Jersey City's Division of Collections before high-stakes use. ## Sources - Ordinance 25-059 -- An Ordinance Amending and Supplementing Chapter 255 (Short-Term Rentals), adopted 6/11/2025 (full text, hosted on City of Jersey City's own CDN) (official, accessed 2026-07-18): https://cdnsm5-hosted.civiclive.com/UserFiles/Servers/Server_6189660/File/City%20Hall/Housing%20Economic%20Development/Tenant%20Landlord%20Relations/Ord.%2025-059%20(Chapter%20255%20-%20STR%20)%20.pdf - Ordinance 20-027 -- An Ordinance Amending Chapter 304 (Taxation), Article V (Hotel Occupancy Tax) to Include Transient Accommodations (6% tax; full text, City of Jersey City CDN) (official, accessed 2026-07-18): https://cdnsm5-hosted.civiclive.com/UserFiles/Servers/Server_6189660/File/City%20Hall/Housing%20Economic%20Development/Tenant%20Landlord%20Relations/Ord.%2025-059%20(Chapter%20255%20-%20STR%20)%20.pdf - Short-term Rentals Frequently Asked Questions -- City of Jersey City, Division of Housing Preservation (dated 12/4/2019, City of Jersey City CDN) (official, accessed 2026-07-18): https://cdnsm5-hosted.civiclive.com/UserFiles/Servers/Server_6189660/Image/City%20Hall/Housing%20Economic%20Development/HousingPreservation/FAQ%20-%2012-4-19.pdf - Housing Preservation -- City of Jersey City (STR permit program page: application process, Tyler portal, contact info) (official, accessed 2026-07-18): https://www.jerseycitynj.gov/cityhall/housinganddevelopment/housingpreservation - TB-81R2: Taxes Imposed on the Rental of Transient Accommodations -- NJ Division of Taxation (Sales Tax, State Occupancy Fee, Jersey City's 6% local tax, marketplace collection duty, worked example: 13.625% total for Jersey City) (official, accessed 2026-07-18): https://www.nj.gov/treasury/taxation/pdf/pubs/tb/tb81r.pdf - New Jersey Hotel/Motel and State Occupancy Fee Information -- NJ Division of Taxation (1% reduced rate for Jersey City) (official, accessed 2026-07-18): https://www.nj.gov/treasury/taxation/hotelfeeinfo.shtml - Hotels and Motels Occupancy Fee and Municipal Occupancy Tax -- NJ Division of Taxation (official, accessed 2026-07-18): https://www.nj.gov/treasury/taxation/hotelmotel.shtml - Municipal Occupancy Tax / Transient Accommodations Tax List by Municipality -- NJ Division of Taxation (spreadsheet, updated 5/14/2026) (official, accessed 2026-07-18): https://www.nj.gov/treasury/taxation/pdf/munitaxlist.pdf - New Jersey Hotel and Motel Occupancy Fee Information - Municipal Occupancy Tax -- NJ Division of Taxation (confirms Jersey City is barred from the standard Municipal Occupancy Tax because it has its own local hotel/transient tax) (official, accessed 2026-07-18): https://www.nj.gov/treasury/taxation/hotelfee.shtml - NJ Division of Taxation - Transient Accommodations FAQ (marketplace collection duty, host registration thresholds) (official, accessed 2026-07-18): https://www.nj.gov/treasury/taxation/transientaccommodationsfaq.shtml - Ballotpedia -- Jersey City, New Jersey, Municipal Question 1, Short-Term Rental Property Regulations and Permit Requirements Measure (November 2019) (news, accessed 2026-07-18): https://ballotpedia.org/Jersey_City,_New_Jersey,_Municipal_Question_1,_Short-Term_Rental_Property_Regulations_and_Permit_Requirements_Measure_(November_2019) - Court Upholds Jersey City Ordinance Aimed at AirBNB, Short Term Rentals -- TAPinto Jersey City (news, accessed 2026-07-18): https://www.tapinto.net/towns/jersey-city/articles/court-upholds-jersey-city-ordinance-aimed-at-airbnb-short-term-rentals - Jersey City Short Term Rental Regulation Not a Regulatory Taking -- MROD Law (news, accessed 2026-07-18): https://www.mrod.law/2024/06/05/jersey-city-short-term-rental-regulation-not-a-regulatory-taking/ --- Educational information, not legal advice. Published by STRWatch (Laniakea Technologies LLC).