Kearny Town
Certificate of Occupancy
Required- Certificate
- Residential Certificate of Continued Occupancy (Certificate of Occupancy for resale), with a Zoning Permit
- Issued by
- Town of Kearny Construction Code Enforcement Department (Construction Official/Zoning Officer)
- Requirements
- Smoke alarms and CO alarms within 10 feet outside each bedroom; smoke alarms must be 10-year sealed units (CO alarms may be battery or plug-in); basement and first floor alarms usually on the ceiling within 3 feet of the stair opening
- Portable fire extinguisher, 2A:10B:C, no more than 10 lb, mounted within 10 feet of the kitchen in the path of egress (still listed on the Town package; see fire notes)
- Cover plates on all switches, outlets and junction boxes
- Handrail on any interior or exterior stair (including decks) with more than three risers, graspable and no wider than 2 5/8 inches
- Pressure relief discharge pipe on heating units and water heaters, ending 6 to 8 inches above the floor
- Faucets and toilets installed and working
- Attached or built-in garage keeps its fire rating; door into the house fire rated and self-closing; holes from repairs patched
- Sheds at least 3 feet from property lines and in good condition
- Exit doors open from inside without keys; no double cylinder deadbolts
- Gas piping strapped with shutoff valves near appliances, capped if an appliance was removed; no aluminum gas piping
- No broken, cracked or missing glass
- Guards/railings where the drop is 30 inches or more
- Sidewalks, stairs, driveways and walkways in good repair
- Yard clear of debris; grass, bushes and weeds cut
- House numbers at least 4 inches high and visible from the street; roof, leaders, exterior walls, fences, sheds and interior surfaces in good repair
- Fees
Residential certificate of continued occupancy, one-family dwelling (includes the smoke detector certificate) $60.00 Residential certificate of continued occupancy, two-family dwelling (includes the smoke detector certificate) $80.00 Residential certificate of continued occupancy, three-family or more, per dwelling unit (no smoke detector certificate needed) $40.00/dwelling unit Zoning Permit application (required before the certificate is issued); check or money order only, no cash $25.00 - Timing
- No fixed number of days is published. The Town says to allow significant time before the closing date, last-minute inspections just before closing cannot be accommodated, and the checklist recommends the inspection as soon as the sales contract is signed.
- Phone
- (201) 955-7880 ext. 3005
Smoke and CO alarm certificate
Required- Requirements
- Smoke alarms for resales must be 10-year sealed battery units (Town sheet says required as of January 22, 2019); A/C powered or interconnected alarms in homes built after January 1977 must be kept working
- Smoke alarm on each level and outside each sleeping area within 10 feet; CO alarm outside each sleeping area within 10 feet (battery, hard-wired or plug-in, UL 2034, 85 dBA)
- The Town's February 2024 package still requires a 2A:10B:C portable fire extinguisher, 10 lb or less, mounted within 10 feet of the kitchen in the path of egress and no higher than 5 feet (a 1A:10B:C unit is shown as not acceptable). The state removed the extinguisher from its requirement in February 2025 (P.L.2025, c.19); no newer Town form was found.
Last checked September 30, 2026
Sources
- https://web.archive.org/web/20221130040423/https://www.kearnynj.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/Land-Use-Regualtion-Chapter-36-38.pdf
- https://web.archive.org/web/20241219062139/https://www.kearnynj.org/construction-code-enforcement/
- https://web.archive.org/web/20240724210929/https://www.kearnynj.org/forms/
- https://web.archive.org/web/20240718123420/https://www.kearnynj.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Residential-CO.pdf
- https://web.archive.org/web/20240720052151/https://www.kearnynj.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/Zoning-Permit-2023.pdf