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Last verified: · Confidence: medium
When is rental registration or license renewal due in Elizabeth?
Short answer
Rent control registration with the Fair Rental Housing Board every year by March 1
When: Every year by March 1 (window opens January 1)
Register each rent-controlled building with Elizabeth's Fair Rental Housing Board (Bureau of Rent Control) every year. Registration reports are as of January 1, filing opens January 1, and completed forms are due by March 1. You may not charge or collect a rent increase unless the building is registered.
"All dwellings subject to this chapter shall be registered annually with the board." elizabethnj.org
"All registration reports shall be as of January 1 of each year." elizabethnj.org
"All completed registration forms must be filed by March 1, and every subsequent twelve (12) months." elizabethnj.org
Rent control registration with the Fair Rental Housing Board every year by March 1 Verified
Deadline: Every year by March 1 (window opens January 1)
Register each rent-controlled building with Elizabeth's Fair Rental Housing Board (Bureau of Rent Control) every year. Registration reports are as of January 1, filing opens January 1, and completed forms are due by March 1. You may not charge or collect a rent increase unless the building is registered.
Who it covers: Rent-controlled dwellings under City Code Chapter 5.70: generally non-owner-occupied buildings with 3 or more units (the city's January 2026 registration notice lists non-owner-occupied properties built before 1996 with three or more units). Exempt: buildings with 2 units or fewer, owner-occupied 3- and 4-unit buildings, hotels, motels and rooming houses; newer construction may be exempt. Owners of owner-occupied buildings are asked to file a proof-of-residence affidavit with the Rent Control office.
"All dwellings subject to this chapter shall be registered annually with the board." elizabethnj.org
"All registration reports shall be as of January 1 of each year." elizabethnj.org
"All completed registration forms must be filed by March 1, and every subsequent twelve (12) months." elizabethnj.org
"No increase in rent in any dwelling shall be charged or collected unless the landlord of the dwelling shall have complied with Section 5.70.050(A) and (B)." elizabethnj.org
"ALL properties that are non-owner-occupied and built before 1996 with three (3) or more residential units." elizabethnj.org
"Exempt from this chapter are motels, hotels, rooming houses and similar type buildings, housing units of two (2) units or less, housing units of three (3) are owner-occupied and housing units of four (4) which are owner-occupied." elizabethnj.org
Notes: Elizabeth City Code 5.70.050 (master document effective 12-12-2024) and the Bureau of Rent Control's January 2026 registration notice (registration opens January 1). Chapter 5.70.250 sets an expiration date (December 31, 2026 in the codified text); the city's ordinance list includes Ordinance No. 6328 (passed October 13, 2026), titled as extending it to December 31, 2027. That ordinance is a scanned PDF, read by a person but not machine-checkable, so it is not quoted.
Last verified 2026-10-23 · Confidence: medium · Status: verified · Report a correction
File before renting (no eviction allowed while unregistered); amend within 20 days after any change; notify tenants within 7 days of filing an amendment