New Jersey heat law, both sides of the lease
In New Jersey buildings with three or more units, heat season runs October 1 through May 15: at least 68°F from 6:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m. and 65°F overnight, under N.J.A.C. 5:10-14.4. One- and two-family rentals follow the State Housing Code and the town's own ordinance. This page gives owners the fix path and tenants the complaint path, with the actual code sections and phone numbers.
Last updated September 13, 2026. LA Trusted Partners routes owner and landlord repair requests to an independent HVACR provider after your consent — it is not the contractor and does not perform, price, or guarantee the work. This page is general information drawn from the cited state code and agency sources, not legal advice; the DCA bulletin itself says to consult an attorney for legal advice.
A furnace or boiler that stops working is a code problem. A rotten-egg smell, a hissing sound at the meter, or a carbon monoxide alarm is an emergency, and every New Jersey gas utility says the same thing about it: leave the building, do not touch switches or phones on the way out, and call from outside. PSE&G's gas safety page puts it in one sentence: if you smell gas, leave the building and call 1-800-880-7734 or 911.
Carbon monoxide has no smell. The CDC lists headache, dizziness, weakness, upset stomach, vomiting, chest pain, and confusion as the common symptoms, and tells you to get to fresh air and call emergency services if the alarm sounds. A cracked heat exchanger on an old furnace is one of the ways CO gets into a house, which is why the cost guide linked below treats that repair differently from every other one.
Two things not to do while the heat is out: do not run the oven with the door open, which the CDC warns against directly, and do not bring in a kerosene or propane heater. N.J.A.C. 5:28-1.8 prohibits unvented portable space heaters that burn solid, liquid, or gaseous fuels in New Jersey dwellings.
| Gas utility | Gas leak line | What the utility says to do |
|---|---|---|
| PSE&G | 1-800-880-7734 or 911 | Leave the building first, then call from outside. |
| New Jersey Natural Gas | 800-GAS-LEAK (800-427-5325) | Toll-free natural gas leak emergency line. |
| Elizabethtown Gas | 1-800-492-4009 or 1-844-571-LEAK | Leave immediately, call 911 and the utility. No switches, matches, flashlights, cars, or phones inside. |
| South Jersey Gas | 1-800-582-7060 or 1-844-570-LEAK | Call once you are safely away from the area. The utility shuts service at the meter. |
Numbers checked on the utilities' own safety pages on September 13, 2026: PSE&G, New Jersey Natural Gas, Elizabethtown Gas, South Jersey Gas.
Search results for this question disagree with each other because they are quoting different rules. The one most people mean is N.J.A.C. 5:10-14.4, the minimum temperature section of the Hotel and Multiple Dwelling regulations: from October 1 through May 15, every dwelling unit must be kept at least 68°F between 6:00 a.m. and 11:00 p.m. and at least 65°F between 11:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m. The owner supplies the fuel and keeps the equipment working, and is not responsible for a temperature drop caused by tenants opening windows or doors to the outside.
The second rule is the State Housing Code, N.J.A.C. 5:28-1.8. It has no calendar. It requires heating equipment that can safely hold 68°F in every habitable room and bathroom when it is 0°F outside, read three feet above the floor at the center of the room, and it is the section that bans unvented fuel-burning portable heaters. It is the standard your town's inspector reaches for in a one- or two-family rental.
The third is whatever your municipality adopted. Trenton's winter ordinance shifts the day window to 7:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m. and lets one- and two-unit rentals drop to 60°F overnight, while three-or-more-unit buildings stay at 65°F. Your town's figures are on its code enforcement page.
| Rule | Heat season | Day | Night | Applies to |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| N.J.A.C. 5:10-14.4 (Hotels and Multiple Dwellings) | October 1 – May 15 | 68°F, 6:00 a.m. – 11:00 p.m. | 65°F, 11:00 p.m. – 6:00 a.m. | Buildings with three or more units, registered with the Bureau of Housing Inspection |
| N.J.A.C. 5:28-1.8 (State Housing Code) | No dates; a capacity standard | 68°F when it is 0°F outside, read three feet above the floor at room center | Same standard, no separate night figure | Dwellings generally, including one- and two-family rentals; unvented portable fuel-burning heaters prohibited |
| NJ 211 summary of the state rule | October 1 – May 1 | 68°F, 6:00 a.m. – 11:00 p.m. | 65°F, 11:00 p.m. – 6:00 a.m. | Plain-language summary used by the state helpline; the code itself runs to May 15 |
| Trenton winter ordinance (local example) | October 1 – May 1 | 68°F, 7:00 a.m. – 11:00 p.m. (all rentals) | 60°F for one- and two-unit rentals; 65°F for three or more units, 11:00 p.m. – 7:00 a.m. | Rentals inside the City of Trenton; your town may set its own figures |
Why other pages say May 1, May 15, or May 31: NJ 211's summary and Trenton's ordinance use May 1, the state multiple-dwelling code runs to May 15, and one boiler-rental company page that ranks for this search lists May 31 with a 62°F night figure. Neither May 31 nor 62°F appears in the New Jersey Administrative Code sections linked above.
Covered by the Hotel and Multiple Dwelling regulations, including the October 1 to May 15 rule. These buildings must be registered with and are inspected by the Bureau of Housing Inspection, which the DCA habitability bulletin names as the enforcement agency for housing code violations in buildings with three or more rental units. Condominiums, co-ops, and mutual housing count.
Outside the Bureau's jurisdiction. The DCA habitability bulletin says these buildings must comply with applicable local ordinances and register with the municipal clerk, and that the local health agency should be called for lack of heat and hot water. The State Housing Code's 68°F-at-0°F standard applies.
No state registration is required for an owner-occupied two-family house, per the same bulletin. The lease and the implied warranty of habitability still apply to the rented unit, and the local ordinance still sets the temperature. In practice the owner and the tenant share the same broken boiler, which makes the fix path below the fastest answer for both.
One exception to know on both sides: the multiple-dwelling code lets the occupant supply their own heat only when they have agreed to it in writing, the equipment serves only their unit, and the fuel is billed separately. A verbal arrangement does not move the duty off the owner.
None of the pages that rank for this search are written for the person who has to fix the boiler. Here is what the state's own materials mean for an owner on the day a tenant reports no heat.
Lack of heat is named in the DCA bulletin as a defect to a vital facility, the category that unlocks the tenant's repair-and-deduct remedy under Marini v. Ireland, rent abatement, rent withholding, and constructive eviction, once the tenant has given written notice and adequate time. The bulletin also says that when heating equipment fails and the landlord does not act after proper notice, the local board of health may act as the landlord's agent and order the repair. In other words, if you do not choose the contractor, the town or the tenant eventually will, at a price you did not negotiate.
The cheapest version of this problem is the one where a licensed HVACR contractor is diagnosing the system on the first day, the tenants have a written update, and the file has receipts. The steps on the right are that version.
The request below goes to LA Trusted Partners, which matches New Jersey owners and managers with independent HVACR providers. LA Trusted does not perform the repair, set the price, or promise a response time; the provider who calls you back owns the diagnosis and the quote. For what that quote should look like, see the furnace and boiler repair cost guide.
The order matters. Every remedy in the DCA habitability bulletin depends on three facts: the defect is to a vital facility (lack of heat is on the list), the tenant did not cause it, and the tenant notified the landlord and allowed adequate time to fix it. Written notice with a date is what proves the third one.
After that, the enforcer depends on the building. For three or more units, NJ 211 directs no-heat complaints to the Bureau of Housing Inspection at 609-633-6227 or BHIInspections@dca.nj.gov. For a one- or two-family rental, the bulletin says to call the local health agency. Several cities keep a dedicated heat line; those are in the table below.
The bulletin lists five remedies once the conditions are met: repair and deduct, constructive eviction (breaking the lease without penalty), rent abatement, withholding rent as a set-off, and rent receivership through the court. It also carries a warning worth repeating: not every defect is a breach of habitability, each case is judged on its facts, and any rent withheld should be saved in case the court orders it paid. A tenant attorney or the court's landlord-tenant self-help office can tell you which remedy fits.
If you own the unit, a condo for example, you are the owner in this story. Skip to the fix path and the request form.
| Where the rental is | Who to call | Number |
|---|---|---|
| Any building with three or more units, statewide | Bureau of Housing Inspection, Housing Code Enforcement | 609-633-6227 or BHIInspections@dca.nj.gov |
| Rooming or boarding house | Bureau of Rooming and Boarding House Standards | 609-984-1704 |
| One- or two-family rental, any town | Your municipal board of health or code enforcement office | Listed on your town's website; NJ 211 can look it up |
| East Orange | City heat hotline | 973-266-5320 |
| Jersey City | City heat hotline | 201-547-4900 |
| Newark | City heat hotline | 973-733-6471 |
| Orange Township | Township heat hotline | 973-266-4051 |
| Paterson | City heat hotline | 973-321-1277 |
| Trenton | Winter Emergency Hotline | 609-989-3560 |
Statewide and city numbers are from NJ 211's no-heat complaints page and Trenton's Winter Emergency Hotline page, checked September 13, 2026. NJ 211 notes Orange Township publishes separate evening and weekend numbers. If your town is not listed, dial 2-1-1 or search your municipality's site for code enforcement or board of health.
This is not a repair checklist, and LA Trusted does not diagnose systems. It is the list of things the HVACR technician will ask about in the first two minutes of the call, so an owner or superintendent can have the answers ready and the visit can start at the actual fault.
Two cautions: press the burner reset on an oil system once, not repeatedly, because each press pushes more unburned oil into the chamber, and never add water to a steam boiler that has run dry and is still hot.
LA Trusted publishes it so both sides of the lease can act from the actual code sections. It is not a law firm, an inspector, or a contractor, and it does not enforce anything on this page.
An owner or manager describes the building, the system, and what it is doing. Contact information goes to a matched independent HVACR provider only after the disclosure is accepted.
Diagnosis, pricing, the repair, permits, and any warranty come from the provider. Verify their HVACR license and registration on the State lookup before signing. Submitting a request commits you to nothing.
Tell us who you are and where the building is, then note whether it is a furnace, a boiler, or a heat pump, how many units are affected, and what you have already checked. We take it from there and an independent local HVACR provider calls you back.
Coverage depends on the town. LA Trusted does not do the work itself and does not promise a response time, so the diagnosis, pricing, and warranty come from the provider who calls you.
Tenants: the form is for the person who owns the system. Your path is the who-to-call table.
A heating failure rarely stays in its lane. These pages cover the pieces that usually travel with it.
New Jersey's codes set the temperature and the season, not a number of hours. Lack of heat is listed as a defect to a vital facility in the DCA habitability bulletin, and the bulletin's remedies open once the tenant has notified the landlord and allowed adequate time to fix it. Inspectors and courts read adequate time for no heat in winter as days at most, not weeks. Report it in writing the same day and call the enforcer for your building type if it is not being handled.
For buildings with three or more units, N.J.A.C. 5:10-14.4 requires at least 68°F from 6:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m. and at least 65°F from 11:00 p.m. to 6:00 a.m., from October 1 through May 15. The State Housing Code, N.J.A.C. 5:28-1.8, requires heating equipment capable of holding 68°F when it is 0°F outside, measured three feet above the floor at the center of the room. Towns may add their own ordinance; Trenton, for example, allows 60°F overnight in one- and two-unit rentals.
October 1 is the start of heat season under N.J.A.C. 5:10-14.4, and it ends May 15. NJ 211 summarizes the same rule as October 1 to May 1. Outside those dates the State Housing Code still requires working heating equipment, so a boiler that fails on a cold night in late September is still the owner's problem to fix.
The October 1 to May 15 rule in N.J.A.C. 5:10-14.4 is part of the Hotel and Multiple Dwelling regulations, which cover buildings with three or more units. A one- or two-family rental that is not owner-occupied falls under local ordinances and the State Housing Code, and the local board of health or code enforcement office handles complaints. Owner-occupied two-family houses do not have to register with the State at all. Check your town's ordinance for its exact figures.
Yes, in a specific case. N.J.A.C. 5:10-14.4 allows the occupant to supply their own heat when they have agreed in writing to do so, the equipment serves only that unit, and the fuel is billed separately. Without that written agreement, the owner supplies the fuel and keeps the equipment working. The owner is also not responsible for temperature drops caused by tenants opening windows or doors to the outside.
The Bureau of Housing Inspection in the Department of Community Affairs enforces the multiple-dwelling code for buildings with three or more units, at 609-633-6227 or BHIInspections@dca.nj.gov. For one- and two-family rentals, the DCA bulletin says the local health agency should be called for lack of heat and hot water. Several cities run their own heat hotlines, listed on this page.
Get the diagnosis in writing from a licensed HVACR contractor, tell tenants in writing what the timeline is, and supply code-compliant temporary heat in the meantime. The State Housing Code prohibits unvented portable heaters that burn fuel, so the practical option is listed electric heaters. The DCA bulletin notes that in emergencies created by the landlord's negligence, the landlord may have to cover a tenant's reasonable alternative housing costs, which is a strong reason to move on the first day.
All sources checked live and figures last verified September 13, 2026.
Start with one documented request. You stay in control of whether your information is shared with a matched independent HVACR provider, and you verify every provider directly before signing anything.
