NJ Further Restricts Short-Term Rentals During Coronavirus

Carly Baldwin
Updated ·2 min read

In a decision that will particularly impact Jersey Shore towns and New Jersey vacation areas, Governor Phil Murphy announced Saturday he is imposing additional restrictions on short-term rentals in response to covid-19/the coronavirus pandemic.

Executive Order No. 108 gives New Jersey towns and counties the ability to impose additional restrictions on hotels, motels, guest houses or private residences to accept new guests or seasonal tenants after 8:00 p.m. on Sunday, April 5.

Hotels, motels and guests houses can stay open, but this order gives towns more power to curtail their business.

Not that many people in New Jersey are traveling at the moment anyway, but Gov. Murphy said the order was imposed after he heard "too many stories" of people trying to relocate to Jersey Shore vacation houses to ride out the quarantine. Many people are staying in private Jersey Shore summer homes during the pandemic.

Jersey Shore towns don't have the hospital resources should people get sick, the governor warned.

“We have heard too many stories, especially from our Shore communities, of people trying to relocate, for the time being, into their towns from impacted areas,” said Murphy on Saturday. “Many of our shore communities lack the health care infrastructure to accommodate an influx of part-time residents. New Jerseyans should stay at their primary place of residence for the duration of this emergency.”

“The only way we will flatten the curve is by continuing to practice social distancing and by traveling only when necessary,” said Colonel Patrick Callahan, Superintendent of the New Jersey State Police. “This administrative order will empower vulnerable communities, like Shore towns, allowing individual municipalities to impose restrictions, which will prevent people from relocating from more affected communities.”

The order takes effect at 8:00 p.m. on Sunday, April 5.

A copy of the Administrative Order can be found here.

This article originally appeared on the Middletown Patch