You will need to check with the municipality where the home is located. Some require that the Seller obtain the Certificate of Occupancy (CO) prior to closing and some don’t. There can be unique requirements, for example, Maplewood requires that the Buyer, not the Seller, obtain the CO. All municipalities require that the Seller obtain a CO in the case of new construction.

You don’t want to wait until the last minute to obtain a CO, because the municipality may require you to make certain repairs to the home before they’ll issue the CO. This will probably require a re inspection, and may take time. You can’t close on the property without a CO, if it’s required by the municipality.

If you have any questions, please call me.

Marty Eagan
Attorney at Law
Morristown, NJ
973-898-7300 x126