Short-term rentals on the Jersey Shore

The Jersey Shore stretches from Sandy Hook to Cape May, and it is really a string of distinct beach towns: Asbury Park, Belmar and Spring Lake in Monmouth County; Point Pleasant, Seaside and Long Beach Island along Ocean County's barrier islands; then the Wildwoods and Victorian Cape May at the southern tip. Renting a house for a summer week is a tradition going back generations, fed by families from North Jersey, New York and Philadelphia. The season runs from Memorial Day to Labor Day, with September a prized shoulder.

State tax, municipal licenses

New Jersey has no statewide short-term rental license, but it does tax these rentals. Since 2018, stays booked through a transient space marketplace, or professionally managed, carry the 6.625% sales tax and a 5% state occupancy fee (lower in a few places such as the Wildwoods), plus any municipal occupancy tax of up to 3%. A shore rental arranged the traditional way, through a broker licensed by the New Jersey Real Estate Commission, with keys picked up at the broker's office and no hotel-type services, is exempt. That is one reason many shore owners still rent through local agencies.

Licensing happens town by town. Most shore municipalities require a rental registration or mercantile license, a smoke, carbon monoxide and fire extinguisher certificate or a seasonal inspection, and posted occupancy limits. Some add minimum stays, weekly-only rentals in certain zones or rules on parking and trash. Towns closer to New York City tend to be far stricter than the beach towns.

Beach-town realities

• Flood zones and elevation drive insurance premiums and, since Superstorm Sandy, renovation rules.
• Beach badges, parking passes and bicycles are part of what guests expect.
• Saturday-to-Saturday changeovers squeeze cleaning into a few hours.
• Many condo and townhouse associations limit rentals to full weeks or longer.

Our advice

Decide early whether you will rent through a broker or through online platforms, because the tax treatment differs. Then check your town's license calendar: inspection slots are often booked out well before Memorial Day. We study every request and tell you honestly whether and how we can help.

From Sandy Hook to Cape May Point: town by town

The northern end of the Shore starts at Sandy Hook, part of Gateway National Recreation Area, with the Twin Lights overlooking it from the Highlands. Asbury Park has turned its music heritage into a steady draw: the Stone Pony and Convention Hall host concerts, and the Sea.Hear.Now festival brings surf and music fans to the beach each September. Monmouth Park in Oceanport adds summer racing weekends.

Further south, Island Beach State Park offers an undeveloped barrier island, and Barnegat Lighthouse stands at the northern tip of Long Beach Island. The Wildwoods have preserved their mid-century Doo Wop motels and a wide free beach. Cape May's appeal stretches into autumn thanks to hawk and monarch butterfly migrations at Cape May Point, which bring naturalists when summer families have gone.

What changes from one stretch to the next

• Arrival mode: NJ Transit's North Jersey Coast Line reaches Monmouth and northern Ocean County towns; the Cape May–Lewes Ferry connects the southern tip with Delaware.
• Guest profile: couples and concert-goers in Asbury Park, multigenerational families on Long Beach Island, birders and B&B lovers in Cape May.
• Equipment: beach badges, chairs and bicycles for the family towns; secure storage for surfboards and fishing gear on the islands.

A local point to watch: Route 72 and the Garden State Parkway back up badly on summer Saturdays, so staggered arrival times keep cleaning crews on schedule.