Who Lives in Piscataway, and Why They Sell
Piscataway is a township of about 62,000 people on just under 19 square miles north of the Raritan, and Rutgers' Busch and Livingston campuses sit inside its borders. Close to two-thirds of its homes are owner-occupied, yet about one resident in eight had moved in within the previous year, and the median rent of $2,024 a month is above the county's $1,871. Whether you are leaving for a new job, finished with being a landlord, or settling a parent's estate, the township's rules for a sale are the same, and they start with one certificate.
- 62,253residents estimated for July 2025 (60,804 in the 2020 census)
- 63.8%share of homes occupied by the owner (ACS 2020–2024)
- $449,900midpoint value of owner-lived-in homes (ACS 2020–2024)
- $2,024median gross rent each month (ACS 2020–2024)
Numbers come from QuickFacts, published by the U.S. Census Bureau, for Piscataway township.
The Municipal Certificate of Continued Compliance
Since January 1, 2019, Piscataway has required a Municipal Certificate of Continued Compliance, known locally as the MCCC, whenever a home is sold or rented. The township treats it as a condition of continued occupancy: an inspector visits, confirms the dwelling remains fit to live in, and the township issues the certificate under Section 14-4 of its code. You file the application and fee with the MCCC office in the Public Works Center at 505 Sidney Road (732-562-2393). Inspectors come on weekdays between 8 a.m. and noon or 1:30 and 3:30 p.m., drive a township vehicle and carry photo identification.
| MCCC item | Township fee |
|---|---|
| Single-family home, condo or townhome | $150 per unit |
| Two-family home | $150 per unit ($300 total) |
| Temporary MCCC (after applying) | $125 per unit |
| Reinspection, third visit onward | $100 per unit |
Fees as posted by Piscataway Township's MCCC office, October 2026.
The rule that trips sellers up is about permits. If someone did work that required a permit and never got one, the township makes the owner obtain it and close it, along with any permit still open, before it will issue the MCCC. A deck, a basement finish, a replaced furnace or a converted garage from years back can turn a quick sale into weeks of contractor visits. A temporary certificate is available, but it still costs money and a plan to finish. When you sell to us, we take on the inspection, the permit file and any repairs, and our price already reflects them.
New Jersey's separate rule on smoke and CO alarm certification applies for one- and two-family sales, though a municipal resale inspection can be used to satisfy it. We check with Piscataway about who inspects the alarms at your address, then install whatever is needed so that piece never slows the closing.
Taxes, Fire Districts and the Sewer Bill
Piscataway splits property taxes into four installments, each due on the 1st of its quarter month, and allows ten grace days; for the fourth quarter of 2026, anything received after November 10 accrues interest. The tax collector's office is in the Administration Building at 455 Hoes Lane (732-562-2331), with a drop box out front for checks and money orders. The same office collects the township's sewer use charges, so taxes and sewer can be paid together online, where bank transfers carry no fee and card payments carry a 2.95% processing charge.
Two things make Piscataway's bill different. First, the township's own share is the smaller part: in 2025, almost three-quarters of what it collected went to the county, the school district, the library and four separate fire districts, each with its own rate. Second, its overall rate is low for the county. On the state's 2025 figures the general rate was 1.750 and the effective rate 1.708, among the lowest effective rates of the 25 Middlesex municipalities, and the two numbers sit close together, which means assessments track market value fairly well here.
Overdue balances still carry consequences. The township auctioned 2025 and earlier delinquent taxes and municipal charges online on October 8, 2026. If a certificate was sold against your property, its redemption figure comes out of the sale proceeds at settlement, and our tax lien guide explains the protections New Jersey added in 2024.
Sewer Laterals and Cleanouts
The township's Division of Sewers runs nine sanitary pumping stations and the gravity lines between them. It will clear a blocked lateral only when the blockage is on the township's side, found by a plumber's camera through a cleanout. If a house has no cleanout, the township installs one on request for $2,000, paid at once or in four semi-annual $500 installments added to the sewer use bill. If you agreed to that plan, the remaining installments show up in the payoff figures, and we simply account for them in the closing statement.
Rentals, Rent Control and Tenants
Piscataway has rent control. Chapter 16 of the township code, Housing and Rent Control, sets the allowable yearly increase, and for 2026 that figure is three percent for covered rentals; tenants can bring complaints to the Rent Leveling Board. The township also bars renting out individual rooms or running a boarding house without a zoning variance, which matters for owners who have been leasing rooms near the campuses. Renting a home out also requires an MCCC.
If your house is rented, you do not need it empty to sell to us. Leases continue after a sale under New Jersey law, a sale is not grounds for eviction, and the tenants' security deposits move to the new owner at closing. The statewide picture is on our New Jersey rental sale page, or selling when you are relocating if a job is taking you away.
What Selling to Us Looks Like
- Share the address plus a short note on condition, who lives there, and any work done without a permit.
- One visit from us, then a firm cash figure by email, normally within 24 hours.
- You review the contract with your attorney; if a licensee prepared it, New Jersey's three-business-day attorney review applies.
- We file the MCCC application, handle permits and alarms, and request the tax and sewer payoff.
- Settlement happens at a title office or by remote signing before a notary, on your chosen date.
Piscataway is in Middlesex County. We also buy next door in Edison and across the river in New Brunswick.
Central Jersey Legal Services answers Middlesex County intake calls at 732-249-7600. For older homeowners, the township has its own Department on Aging, and the county's Office of Aging and Disabled Services on Bayard Street answers at 732-745-3295. To open an estate, start with the Surrogate for Middlesex County in New Brunswick (75 Bayard St.; 732-745-3055).