{"id":26096,"date":"2026-04-02T03:49:27","date_gmt":"2026-04-02T07:49:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/shorebeat.com\/brick\/?p=26096"},"modified":"2026-04-02T03:49:27","modified_gmt":"2026-04-02T07:49:27","slug":"brick-passes-new-requirement-for-annual-inspections-of-rental-properties-targets-overcrowding","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/shorebeat.com\/brick\/2026\/04\/brick-passes-new-requirement-for-annual-inspections-of-rental-properties-targets-overcrowding\/","title":{"rendered":"Brick Passes New Requirement for Annual Inspections of Rental Properties, Targets Overcrowding"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"A<\/a>

A \u2018For Rent\u2019 sign. (File Photo)<\/p><\/div>\n

The Brick Township council has adopted an ordinance requiring annual inspections of rental properties, with officials saying the ordinance was inspired by concerns of overcrowding and safety hazards that go unaddressed under the current inspection regime.<\/p>\n

The council passed the ordinance on second reading last week, following a public hearing at which one landlord objected to annual inspections. As it currently stands, rental units are only inspected when a new tenant moves in, meaning properties could conceivably go years without being inspected again. Business Administrator Joanne Bergin said the ordinance revision to require annual inspections was prompted by complaints from neighboring residents who have identified overcrowding scenarios and other fire hazards that develop after the initial inspection. Code enforcement officers, she said, are not authorized to enter the premises under the current ordinance in many cases.<\/p>\n

One landlord called the annual inspection \u201cexcessive,\u201d stating that the township would likely have to hire additional inspectors. Officials, however, said the inspection fee of $100 would cover the cost.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think it\u2019s a little excessive to go from \u2018once and done\u2019 to once every year,\u201d said landlord Christopher Alino. \u201cThere are no exceptions for multi-family or apartment complexes. They are already inspected by DCA [state Department of Community Affairs] every four to five years.\u201d<\/p>\n

Bergin said the annual inspections represent an abbreviated version of the initial inspection, which will still be required, to ensure that no hazards have cropped up since the initial inspection.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe get a lot of complaints that properties are overcrowded, creating a lot of problems in the neighborhood, and it can be frustrating living next to these places,\u201d said Bergin. \u201cWe can\u2019t see if there are mattresses on the floor that shouldn\u2019t be there, or if they are exceeding occupancy.\u201d<\/p>\n

Councilman Gregory Cohen, who has served as a volunteer firefighter, said his experience led him to support the adoption of the ordinance.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat we\u2019re hearing and what we\u2019re seeing in town really makes this ordinance extremely important in order to keep the quality of life for residents where it should be,\u201d he said. \u201cWhile I do understand where the landlords are coming from, I believe this ordinance is in the best interest of most of the residents of Brick Township.\u201d<\/p>\n

Bergin said the issue is the source of many calls to code enforcement officers each year, but they are not empowered to re-inspect properties under the current system.<\/p>\n

\u201cOnce we issue it and go away, we don\u2019t know what goes on,\u201d she said. \u201cBut we do know there is a problem, and this is going to help our code enforcement officers address this problem.\u201d<\/p>\n

Under the new ordinance requirements, landlords would be required to apply for and receive an annual Rental Certificate of Occupancy each year, pending an inspection. The inspections would ensure the units are \u201csafe, habitable and code-compliant.\u201d The rental certificate must be issued for identified tenants and cannot be transferred to new tenants, the ordinance states. In addition to the annual inspection, an inspection would still have to be performed when tenants change. Landlords would be charged $100 per inspection, per unit. If a unit fails the inspection, the landlord would be required to pay a $50 fee for a re-inspection.<\/p>\n

Homes or units that are rented seasonally, by the week or month, will require an annual inspection before the rental season begins, but will not have to be re-inspected between tenants.<\/p>\n

The ordinance passed unanimously, and will be implemented in the coming months.<\/p>\n

<\/div><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Brick Township council has adopted an ordinance requiring annual inspections of rental properties, with officials saying the ordinance was inspired by concerns of overcrowding and safety hazards that go unaddressed under the current inspection regime. The council passed the ordinance on second reading last week, following a public hearing at which one landlord objected […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":26097,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[2],"tags":[24,4484,5154],"class_list":["post-26096","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-government","tag-brick-nj-news","tag-featured","tag-rental-inspection"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/shorebeat.com\/brick\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/for_rent.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pgt2Ft-6MU","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/shorebeat.com\/brick\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26096","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/shorebeat.com\/brick\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/shorebeat.com\/brick\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shorebeat.com\/brick\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shorebeat.com\/brick\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=26096"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/shorebeat.com\/brick\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26096\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":26098,"href":"https:\/\/shorebeat.com\/brick\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26096\/revisions\/26098"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shorebeat.com\/brick\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/26097"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/shorebeat.com\/brick\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=26096"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shorebeat.com\/brick\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=26096"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shorebeat.com\/brick\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=26096"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}