Westwood Borough

Certificate of Occupancy Required

Zoning Certificate of Compliance for Residential Sale and Rental (CCO), combined with the Smoke Alarm and Carbon Monoxide Detector application · Borough of Westwood Office of Construction & Zoning (Building Department)

• Physical safety inspection plus a block and lot file review to confirm the home is used as designed under zoning (for example one-family vs. two-family status)
• Exterior: level sidewalks and walkways with no trip hazards; no debris or overgrowth; pool barrier with proper height and self-closing, outward-opening gate with lock 54 inches high; garage door opener plugged directly into an outlet
• Interior: all utilities on; no keyed bedroom locks; thumb-turn deadbolts inside; working GFCI outlets; sound fireplace firebox; furnace emergency switch at top of basement stairs; secure boiler/water heater flue; relief valve pipe within 6 inches of the floor; leak-free aboveground oil tanks; handrails on stairs with more than 4 risers and guards over 30 inches
• Smoke and carbon monoxide alarms to the Borough checklist (see fire certificate)
• Sump pumps must discharge to a storm sewer or street gutter line, not the sanitary sewer, roadway or sidewalk
• House numbers clearly visible from the street
• All building permits must be closed; the CCO inspection will not be scheduled with any open permits
• Rentals must attach a Lead Safe or Lead Free certificate

• Phone: 201-664-5900
• Timing: Fee depends on how far away the closing is when the form is submitted: over 2 weeks for the lower fee. The inspection is not scheduled until payment is received.
• Application: https://www.westwoodnj.gov/DocumentCenter/View/2800/Zoning-Certificate-of-Compliance-for-Residential-Sale-and-Rental-CCO--pdf

Smoke and CO alarm certificate Required

• Smoke alarms per build date: before 1977 sealed 10-year battery alarms on all levels; 1977 to 1978 electric on sleeping levels; 1978 to 1983 electric on sleeping and basement levels; 1983 to 1984 electric on all levels; 1984 to 1991 electric and interconnected; March 1991 to now electric, interconnected, with battery backup on all levels and inside each bedroom
• Battery alarms must be 10-year sealed; hardwired alarms cannot be replaced with battery alarms; no alarm older than 10 years; UL listed with a test button; not painted
• Smoke alarm near every bedroom door; basement and non-sleeping levels near the stairway up; two-family common halls and stairs need an alarm at each landing
• Carbon monoxide alarm on each sleeping level, in the hallway near every bedroom door, in homes with fuel-burning appliances or an attached garage
• Central station monitored systems need certification from a licensed NJ fire protection contractor before the Borough inspection