NJ Landlord Registration & Certificate of Occupancy Directory

Renting out a property in New Jersey means two things have to be handled before your tenant moves in: registering as a landlord and, in most towns, getting a certificate of occupancy (CO) or passing a rental inspection. The registration rule is statewide and the same everywhere. The CO/inspection rule is set locally, so it varies town by town.

Why it's local: N.J.S.A. 40:48-2.12a and 40:48-2.12m authorize municipalities to require a certificate of inspection or occupancy for residential rental property prior to a new occupancy. This is why the requirement exists town-by-town rather than as one statewide process.

This directory gives you a page for every one of New Jersey's 564 municipalities. Each page explains the statewide registration steps that apply to your property, points you to where to file, and tells you what we've confirmed about that town's certificate-of-occupancy requirement. For towns we haven't verified yet, the page is upfront about that and points you to the right local office instead of guessing.