Lead-Safe Inspections in North Bergen, NJ

August 27, 2026

North Bergen requires a visual lead inspection for pre-1978 rentals, per the NJ DCA method list. The township mixes early-1900s frame houses on the hills with mid-century garden apartment complexes; most of both predate 1978.

Frame houses and garden apartments

North Bergen’s rental stock splits between 2-to-4-family frame houses on the slopes and garden apartment complexes from the 1950s and 60s. Both largely predate the ban: 75% of the township's housing units were built before 1980 (U.S. Census, ACS table B25034); mid-century buildings sometimes surprise owners who assume "not that old" means exempt. The cutoff is 1978, and a 1965 garden complex is covered.

Garden complexes have an advantage at inspection time: repetitive layouts inspect efficiently, and portfolio pricing applies across buildings in one complex.

How North Bergen runs it

North Bergen does not publish its municipal code online, and no local lead ordinance appears among the ordinances it does post. That means the rules here are the state ones on our law page, with no local layer on top: inspection every three years or at turnover, certificate valid two years, 30 days to cure, then up to $1,000 per week.

The township hires the work out. In 2024 North Bergen put Lead Paint Inspection, Testing and Other Related Services out to competitive bid, so the inspector who arrives works under a township contract rather than being a township employee. You can still hire your own DCA-licensed contractor: state law requires the township to allow it.

No published local fee. Unlike Hoboken, Jersey City, Bayonne or Union City, North Bergen publishes no lead inspection fee schedule. The one charge that is certain is the $20 per unit that every municipality collects for the state Lead Hazard Control Assistance Fund. Ask the housing office what the township bills before you book.

The township contracts the work out, so know what the state rule lets you do

North Bergen runs no lead article of its own and buys the inspections under contract, which makes one provision unusually important here: you are not obliged to wait for the township's contractor. N.J.A.C. 5:28A applies directly, and these are the parts that decide how your inspection actually goes.

You are not tied to the township's contractor. N.J.A.C. 5:28A-2.1(d) lets the owner hire any DCA-licensed lead evaluation contractor, and the municipality may refuse only in two narrow cases. When the township's own inspections are queued behind a contract, this is how you control the timing.

Your contractor files the copy, not you. N.J.A.C. 5:28A-2.4(a)2 puts the filing on the private contractor: the copy goes to the Bureau of Housing Inspectors when the certificate is issued.

The $20 is not collected twice. N.J.A.C. 5:28A-2.2(b) bars the township from charging the state fee if the DCA has already billed you for the same unit. The money funds the Lead Hazard Control Assistance Fund either way.

If you fixed hazards with interim controls, a dust wipe follows in 60 days. N.J.A.C. 5:28A-2.5(e)1 sets that clock. Garden complexes that stabilise paint across many units at once tend to run into this deadline as a batch, so schedule the follow-up when you schedule the work.

Abatement plus a clearance ends the cycle. N.J.A.C. 5:28A-2.5(e)2 moves a unit to lead-free after full abatement with a clearance certificate, with no periodic inspections after that.

At turnover you owe three separate things. N.J.A.C. 5:28A-3.1(a),(d) imposes three duties at once: the tenant gets evidence of the certificate, the lease carries a copy as an exhibit, and the township is notified. In a garden complex that runs per unit and per turnover, not once per building.

Where the certificate gets filed

Start with the township's Bureau of Housing Inspectors: 1116 43rd Street, second floor, Monday to Friday 9am to 4pm, (201) 392-2527 or (201) 392-2528. That office keeps a designated lead inspector on staff, and it is the right place to confirm where your certificate gets filed and what the township charges today. If we handle your inspection, filing is included.

North Bergen questions

A 1960s garden apartment is really covered?

Yes. The line is 1978. Mid-century buildings are squarely inside the law.

We manage a whole complex. How does scheduling work?

Block scheduling: multiple units per visit, one invoice, 48-hour SLA. See property manager terms.

Which fees apply in North Bergen?

The $20 state certificate fee. North Bergen publishes no local lead inspection fee, so ask the Bureau of Housing Inspectors what the township bills before you book. Check therequirements table.

How much does a lead paint inspection cost in North Bergen?

The township publishes no local inspection fee: you pay your private contractor's rate plus the $20 state certificate fee. Typical Hudson County contractor pricing is in the cost guide.