Owning in Ocean City, NJ
Renting out your Ocean City home
Summer rentals help many Ocean City owners cover the cost of a shore home. Before the first guest arrives, here is what the city and the state expect from you.
Step one
Get the city's rental license
Ocean City requires a mercantile license, which the city also calls a rental registration, for every residential rental property. The city's licensing page has the rental registration form, the landlord certificate and the mercantile license packet. Questions go to the Licensing Office at 609-399-6111, ext. 9701, or Licensing@ocnj.us. Ask about fees, inspections and deadlines when you apply.
Taxes on rentals
How your rentals are booked decides what is taxed
Airbnb, Vrbo and other platforms
New Jersey sales tax and the state occupancy fee apply to stays booked through a platform, and the platform collects and sends them in. In July 2025 Ocean City also approved a 3% fee on platform bookings, paid by the guest. Airbnb has challenged the fee, so check its current status before you set your rates.
Booked directly with you
If you own fewer than three New Jersey rental units and book guests directly (repeat guests, referrals, your own ads or your own website), those rentals are generally exempt from the state's transient rental taxes and from the city's platform fee.
Booked through a real estate broker
Rentals handled by a licensed New Jersey broker are exempt from the state's transient rental taxes when the broker executes the rental, keys are picked up at the broker's office, the property is a private home and no hotel-style services are provided.
Income tax
Rental income is taxable. Keep records of rent, management fees, repairs and insurance, and talk with your accountant about how to report it.
Flood disclosure
When you owe renters a flood disclosure
New Jersey landlords must give tenants a written flood disclosure, including whether the property is in a FEMA flood zone and whether you know it has flooded, as a signed rider to the lease. Seasonal and vacation rentals of fewer than 120 days are exempt. So a summer week or month does not need one, but a September-to-June winter rental does.
How rentals work here
Summer weeks and winter leases
Many Ocean City owners rent by the week in summer and to a longer-term tenant from fall to spring, then use the house themselves for part of the season. What a home earns depends on its location, its size, a pool, parking and how close it is to the beach and the boardwalk. If you are buying with rentals in mind, ask us for the rental history on any home you are considering, and see our guide to what it costs to own a shore home.
Every rental must follow fair housing laws: advertise the home, not the kind of guest you want.
Let us run it
Shore Homes Management
Our own property management company, Shore Homes Management, can run your rental for you. Ask us what's included and what it would mean for your house.
FAQ
Renting your home: common questions
Do I need a license to rent my Ocean City, NJ home?
Yes. Ocean City requires a mercantile license, also called a rental registration, for every residential rental property. The forms are on the city's licensing page, and the Licensing Office is at 609-399-6111, ext. 9701, or Licensing@ocnj.us.
Are there taxes on Airbnb and Vrbo rentals in Ocean City?
Yes. New Jersey sales tax and the state occupancy fee apply to rentals booked through platforms such as Airbnb and Vrbo, and the platform collects them. In July 2025 Ocean City also approved a 3% fee on rentals booked through those platforms. Rentals booked directly with an owner of fewer than three units, or through a licensed real estate broker under the state's conditions, are generally exempt.
Do I have to give renters a flood disclosure?
For leases of 120 days or longer, yes: New Jersey landlords must give tenants a written flood disclosure. Seasonal and vacation rentals of fewer than 120 days are exempt, so a summer week does not need one, but a September-to-June winter lease does.
Buying a home to rent?
Tell us your budget and how you want to use the house, and we'll show you homes that fit, with their rental history.
Sources: City of Ocean City, mercantile licensing; NJ Division of Taxation, transient accommodations FAQ; Ocean City Sentinel, 3% fee on platform rentals; PhillyVoice, final vote and Airbnb challenge; Holland & Knight, flood disclosure for landlords. Updated October 2026. This page is general information, not legal or tax advice.