Short-term rental rules, town by town
West Amwell Township bans it hardest: renting a home there for 90 days or less is unlawful, the longest minimum stay any code in the county sets.
These answers paraphrase each town's own code as it read on August 8, 2026. Check with your town before you list a room or book a guest.
Hotels, motels and licensed bed-and-breakfasts are a separate category in every code here and are not what this page measures.
The minimum stay each banning town writes into its code
- West Amwell Township 90 days
- Clinton Township 45 days
- Raritan Township 30 days
In West Amwell Township and Raritan Township a stay of that length or shorter is unlawful; in Clinton Township a stay shorter than 45 days is. The other 22 towns with a readable code set no minimum stay for a short-term rental, and Stockton Borough publishes no code online.
Every town, and what its code says
- Short stays banned
Renting a dwelling for 90 days or less in exchange for money is unlawful, with two narrow exceptions.
Short-term rentals are effectively banned. It is unlawful for anyone with a possessory interest in a dwelling to accept compensation for renting a dwelling (or dwelling unit) for 90 days or less, with only two narrow exceptions: conditionally-permitted bed-and-breakfast uses, and pre-closing "use and occupancy" arrangements between a home buyer and seller. The chapter also separately bars renting out pools, hot tubs, decks, patios, yards, or camping/glamping/RV space for compensation.
Read August 8, 2026 · Checked against the code text again August 8, 2026
- Short stays banned
Rentals under 45 consecutive days are prohibited township-wide unless the dwelling is separately approved for transient occupancy.
Short-term rentals under 45 consecutive days are prohibited township-wide ("vacation rentals") unless the dwelling is separately approved for transient occupancy (hotels/motels/B&Bs are carved out); hosting platforms are also barred from facilitating noncompliant listings.
Read August 8, 2026 · Checked against the code text again August 8, 2026
- Short stays banned
Renting a dwelling, or any part of one, for 30 days or less is unlawful.
Short-term rentals are explicitly prohibited. It is unlawful to rent a dwelling unit (or any part of one) for 30 days or less; a minimum 30-day tenancy is required, room rentals and commercial/corporate rentals are separately prohibited, and unpaid house-guest stays by a member of the owner's household are exempted.
Adopted 12-19-2023 by Ord. No. 23-24, Chapter 360, Article I "Short-Term Rentals."
Read August 8, 2026 · Checked against the code text again August 8, 2026
- Permit required
Short-term rentals need a City permit and are limited to specific owner-occupancy arrangements.
Short-term rentals (adopted 2023, amended 2024) require a City permit and are restricted to specific ownership structures: individually/collectively owner-occupied single-family homes, one unit of an owner-occupied two-family home (with the other unit also short-term-rentable), or association units where governing documents allow it and the unit is the owner's principal residence. A non-owner-occupied STR may continue only if it was already registered as of the ordinance's adoption date and meets ongoing conditions (responsible party on call, compliance with the rest of the chapter). Rooming houses, dorms, assisted living, nursing homes, and similar institutional housing may not operate as STRs. Tenants cannot sublease as an STR.
Read August 8, 2026
- Unclear from the code
The town has a general rental ordinance that sets no minimum stay, so whether it reaches an Airbnb-length stay is not answerable from the text.
Operative language, § 187-1: "No person, firm or corporation shall rent or lease or suffer to allow any other person or persons to live in or inhabit as a tenant any dwelling house, apartment or dwelling in the Borough of Hampton unless said person, firm or corporation shall have first obtained from the Borough a permit to do so. A permit shall be obtained each time a new tenant occupies a rental unit." No minimum-stay length appears anywhere in the chapter, and the words "short-term," "transient," and "Airbnb" appear nowhere. The chapter's other eight sections are habitability machinery (Board of Health issues the permit at § 187-2, $25 fee plus $15 per reinspection at § 187-4, unfit-for-human-habitation findings at § 187-5). Not resolvable from the text; needs the Borough Clerk or Board of Health to say whether it is applied to stays under 30 days.
Read August 8, 2026 · Checked against the code text again August 8, 2026
- Unclear from the code
The town has a general rental ordinance that sets no minimum stay, so whether it reaches an Airbnb-length stay is not answerable from the text.
Operative definition: "RENTAL UNIT Any non-owner-occupied unit for the usage of which the occupant provides consideration to the owner." No minimum-stay length appears, so a whole-house Airbnb stay literally satisfies the definition. But the chapter's stated purpose is to compel "rental units to meet Borough and state life safety, health, fire and zoning codes" through "regular inspections," and the machinery is annual-registration-shaped (February 1 filing deadline, late fees, interest). The words "short-term," "transient," and "Airbnb" appear nowhere. Not resolvable from the text; needs the Borough to say whether it registers stays under 30 days.
Read August 8, 2026 · Checked against the code text again August 8, 2026
- Unclear from the code
Readington licenses hotels, motels and buildings with three or more rental units. Whether a single-family home rented short-term counts as a hotel under the state law the ordinance points to is not answerable from the text.
Readington licenses hotels, motels, and "residential rental housing having three or more rental units or apartments" (§ 135-1), requiring at least 85% of sleeping accommodations to go to transient occupants under the state's Hotel and Multiple Dwelling Law definitions. This licensing scheme is built for traditional hotels/motels/multi-unit rental buildings; it does not clearly reach a single-family home rented short-term (Airbnb-style), and no separate short-term-rental ordinance was found.
Operative language, § 135-1: it is unlawful to "establish, operate, maintain, occupy, offer for occupation or permit to be established, operated, maintained, occupied or offered for occupation upon any property owned or controlled or leased by him a motel, hotel or residential rental housing having three or more rental units or apartments without first having secured a license from the Township of Readington." A single-family whole-house short-term rental is plainly not "three or more rental units," but whether it is a "hotel" under the incorporated state definition is not answerable from the ordinance text. Needs the Township zoning officer.
§ 135-1 (License required); § 135-18 (Restrictions on types of occupancy)
Read August 8, 2026 · Checked against the code text again August 8, 2026
- No local rule found
The code was searched and no short-term-rental rule was found.
The code has no chapter or provision governing short-term/Airbnb-style rentals under 30 days.
Searched "short-term rental," "transient," "Airbnb." The only related use is "B-15 Guest Houses/Bed-and-Breakfast" (§ 115-22.B(15)), a conditional zoning use for a distinct commercial lodging structure, not general home-sharing of an existing dwelling.
Read the chapter this was checked against
Read August 8, 2026
- No local rule found
The code was searched and no short-term-rental rule was found.
No chapter or provision governs short-term/Airbnb-style rentals under 30 days.
Searched "short-term rental," "transient," "tourist home" across the code and the zoning chapter (Ch. 102). No matches beyond incidental "transient lodging facility" language in the sign-regulation section (menu-display signs), which is not a home-rental provision.
Read the chapter this was checked against
Read August 8, 2026
- No local rule found
The code was searched and no short-term-rental rule was found.
No chapter or provision governs short-term/Airbnb-style rentals under 30 days.
Searched "short-term rental," "transient," "bed and breakfast," "tourist home." The only lodging-related zoning use is "Motels" (§ 270-150), a commercial-district use governed by the state Hotel and Multiple Dwelling Law, not a home-sharing provision.
Read the chapter this was checked against
Read August 8, 2026
- No local rule found
The code was searched and no short-term-rental rule was found.
No chapter or provision governs short-term/Airbnb-style rentals under 30 days.
Searched "short-term rental," "transient," "tourist home," "bed and breakfast" across the Land Development title. No matches.
Read the chapter this was checked against
Read August 8, 2026
- No local rule found
The code was searched and no short-term-rental rule was found.
The town's rental-registration ordinance (landlord registration + rental certificate of occupancy) defines a "tenant" as someone who "resides in a dwelling unit on a continuous basis for more than 30 days", which implies stays of 30 days or less fall outside that chapter's registration scheme, but there is no separate rule permitting, prohibiting, or licensing short-term/Airbnb-style rentals.
Searched "short-term rental," "transient," "30 days" across Ch. 70 (Dwellings, Unit Rental of) and the zoning chapter. No dedicated STR provision found.
§ 70-1 (definition of "Tenant")
Read August 8, 2026
- No local rule found
The code was searched and no short-term-rental rule was found.
No short-term-rental/vacation-rental ordinance was found. The zoning code lists "bed-and-breakfast establishments" as a distinct conditional use in several zones, but that is a separate licensed-lodging category, not a regulation of whole-house Airbnb-style rentals under 30 days.
Searched Ch. 230 for "short-term," "transient," "vacation rental," "Airbnb"; only "bed-and-breakfast establishments" appears as a conditional use.
Read the chapter this was checked against
Read August 8, 2026
- No local rule found
The code was searched and no short-term-rental rule was found.
No short-term-rental/vacation-rental ordinance was found. The zoning code did once regulate bed-and-breakfast uses, but that provision was repealed in 2019 (Ord. No. 19-08) in at least the district where I found the cross-reference; one other district section still references a "Bed-and-breakfast uses" conditional-use cross-reference, so B&B treatment may be inconsistent across zones, but neither addresses whole-house short-term/Airbnb-style rentals.
Searched Ch. 92 (Zoning) for "short-term," "transient," "vacation rental," "Airbnb".
Read the chapter this was checked against
Read August 8, 2026
- No local rule found
The code was searched and no short-term-rental rule was found.
No short-term-rental/Airbnb ordinance was found. The zoning code permits "bed and breakfast accommodations" as a conditional use in some districts (max 6 guest rooms, no expansion of the existing dwelling, 1 parking space/room, food service to guests only, no in-room cooking, 30-day max guest residency), but that's a licensed lodging-business category, not a regulation of whole-house short-term rentals.
Ch. 26, Zoning, Bed and Breakfast conditional-use provision
Read August 8, 2026
- No local rule found
The code was searched and no short-term-rental rule was found.
Searched Land Use chapter definitions (§ 220-5) for "rental," "tourist," "boarding," "bed and breakfast". None found. No standalone STR/Airbnb chapter exists in the table of contents.
Read the chapter this was checked against
Read August 8, 2026
- No local rule found
The code was searched and no short-term-rental rule was found.
No short-term-rental/Airbnb zoning provision exists. The closest analogs: "Bed-and-breakfast inn" is a listed conditional use in the R-1 zone (§ 50-309), and Chapter 24 imposes a Hotel and Motel Room Occupancy Tax that follows the state sales-tax definition of "hotel" (which New Jersey has extended to transient/short-term rentals by statute), but neither is a direct STR zoning rule, so this doesn't answer whether a resident can rent their whole house on Airbnb.
Read the chapter this was checked against · second chapter
Read August 8, 2026
- No local rule found
The code was searched and no short-term-rental rule was found.
Chapter 134 (Rental Property and Business Registration, adopted 2023) requires registration for residential rental property generally (plus lead-paint inspection and business-insurance registration) but has no short-term/transient-rental-specific definition or rule. No Airbnb/STR provision exists anywhere else in the code.
Read the chapter this was checked against
Read August 8, 2026
- No local rule found
The code was searched and no short-term-rental rule was found.
No chapter or zoning use list addresses short-term/vacation rentals, tourist homes, or transient lodging.
Searched Ch. 100 Land Use (R-1/R-5, VR, MFR, COM district permitted/conditional/accessory use lists) and the full chapter table of contents.
eCode360 here runs through 12-02-2025, so a newer STR ordinance (if any) would not yet be reflected.
Read the chapter this was checked against
Read August 8, 2026
- No local rule found
The code was searched and no short-term-rental rule was found.
No chapter or zoning provision addresses short-term/vacation rentals, tourist homes, or transient lodging in residential zones; the AR-2, VR-1, and VR-2 permitted-use lists do not mention short-term rental as a use.
Searched Ch. 132 Art. III district regulations (AR-2, VR-1, VR-2 permitted/accessory/conditional use lists) and the full chapter table of contents.
Read the chapter this was checked against
Read August 8, 2026
- No local rule found
The code was searched and no short-term-rental rule was found.
No chapter, ordinance, or zoning use list addresses short-term/vacation rentals, tourist homes, or transient lodging.
Searched Ch. 165 district use lists and the Borough's full ordinance-PDF list.
Read the chapter this was checked against
Read August 8, 2026
- No local rule found
The code was searched and no short-term-rental rule was found.
The zoning and general-legislation chapters searched contain no short-term-rental/Airbnb-style provision (no permitted/prohibited/licensed treatment found). The Fire Prevention chapter's smoke-detector/CO certification article does define a "SEASONAL RENTAL UNIT" as a dwelling rented for not more than 125 consecutive days to someone with a permanent residence elsewhere, which implies short-term rentals occur and are subject to a safety-certification requirement before rental, but this is a life-safety rule, not a zoning-use rule.
Searched "short-term rental," "transient," "bed and breakfast," "rental," "Airbnb" in the Zoning chapter (Art. II), General Provisions (Ch. 1), and Licenses and Permits (Ch. 247). No zoning-level STR rule found.
§ 214-15 (Fire Prevention, Definitions, "Seasonal Rental Unit")
Read August 8, 2026
- No local rule found
The code was searched and no short-term-rental rule was found.
No short-term-rental/Airbnb-style provision was found in the Zoning chapter (General Provisions, the Rural Residential and R-1 zone articles, and Conditional Uses were all searched). The chapter defines "hotel" and "motel" generically (5+ rooms rented for sleeping purposes) but has no rule addressing single-family/whole-house short-term rentals.
Searched "short-term rental," "transient," "bed and breakfast," "tourist," "Airbnb". Zero hits outside the generic hotel/motel definitions.
Read the chapter this was checked against · second chapter
Read August 8, 2026
- No local rule found
The code was searched and no short-term-rental rule was found.
No short-term-rental, transient-rental, or Airbnb-specific ordinance was found in either the general code or the zoning/Development Code.
Searched "short-term rental," "transient rental," "Airbnb," and "short-term" across the Business Licenses title (no such chapter) and the full Zoning Provisions article, the only "short-term" hit was an unrelated definition of a temporary sign.
Read the chapter this was checked against · second chapter
Read August 8, 2026
- No local rule found
The code was searched and no short-term-rental rule was found.
No provision for short-term or transient rentals found.
Searched "short-term rental," "short term rental," "Airbnb," "VRBO," and "transient" across the full Land Use chapter (30) and General Licensing chapter (4). Zero hits.
Read the chapter this was checked against · second chapter
Read August 8, 2026
- Code not online
The code is not published online, so this could not be checked.
Borough Clerk, (609) 397-0070, 2 S. Main St., PO Box M, Stockton NJ 08559.
Read August 8, 2026
How this was checked
Every answer comes from the town's own code text, read on August 8, 2026, with each town searched for "short-term rental", "transient", "vacation rental" and "Airbnb" before anything was recorded. In Hampton Borough and High Bridge Borough a general rental ordinance sets no minimum stay for a short-term rental. In Readington Township the chapter licenses hotels, motels and buildings with three or more rental units. Licensed bed-and-breakfast and hotel rules were treated as a separate use and do not count as a short-term-rental rule, except where a code's hotel definition is broad enough that it might reach a private home, which is why Readington is marked unclear. Stockton Borough publishes no code online, so the Borough Clerk is the only route to an answer.
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