New Brunswick City

Certificate of Occupancy Required

Certificate of Code Compliance (owner-occupied 1-2 family sold to an owner-occupant: Letter of Exemption instead) · Bureau of Housing Inspections, Division of Community Services

• Inspection checks for Building, Zoning and Property Maintenance Code violations; the seller must fix any violations before the sale
• Required for all residential sales except owner-occupied 1-2 family homes
• Owner-occupied 1-2 family home sold to a buyer who will live there: apply for a no-fee Letter of Exemption with a notarized Seller's Affidavit and Buyer's Affidavit
• With the exemption, the buyer takes responsibility that all alterations, additions and renovations have zoning approval and valid construction permits; the seller must hand over those approvals and permits at closing
• The smoke alarm/CO certificate is still required even with a Letter of Exemption

• Phone: 732-745-5075
• Application: https://www.cityofnewbrunswick.org/Code%20Compliance%20Application%20with%20Fee%20-%20S%20Edit%202021-0908%20MASTER.pdf

Smoke and CO alarm certificate Required

• Smoke alarms no older than 10 years, on every level and within 10 feet of sleeping rooms; on the ceiling or on the wall within 6 inches of the ceiling, at least 3 feet from ceiling fan blades and heating/AC registers
• CO alarms no older than 7 years, on every level with sleeping rooms and within 10 feet of those rooms
• 10-year sealed battery smoke alarms required in 1-2 family homes; AC-powered (hard-wired) alarms may never be replaced with 10-year sealed battery alarms
• Failure to obtain the certificate carries a $500.00 penalty
• The City's April 2025 sheet still uses the older certificate name that includes a portable fire extinguisher, but it lists no extinguisher item