Certificate of Approval for Occupancy and Fire Certificate - Residential/Commercial/Industrial

**PLEASE NOTE AS OF 3/1/2024 THE CERTIFICATE OF APPROVAL FOR OCCUPANCY AND FIRE CERTIFICATE HAVE CHANGED. PLEASE SEE BELOW FOR THE NEW FEES**

SALE OF SINGLE OR TWO FAMILY HOME:

TENANT CHANGE FOR ALL RESIDENTIAL DWELLINGS:

COMMERCIAL FOR RESALE, CHANGE OF OCCUPANCY AND CHANGE OF OWNER:

PLEASE NOTE OUR PROCESS FOR THE CERTIFICATE OF APPROVAL FOR OCCUPANCY AND FIRE CERTIFICATE (CALLED CCO IN THE PAST) FOR THE RESALE AND CHANGE OF OCCUPANCY FOR SINGLE AND MULTI FAMILY HOMES HAS CHANGED.

Please read below. Also see below links for printable versions of the below. 

For more detailed information regarding the Fire Certificate for both Residential and Commercial, please visit the Fire Prevention section of the of the Borough website. 

FOR RESALE OF A SINGLE FAMILY OR MULTI FAMILY HOME:

Certificate of Approval for Occupancy for Single and Multi Family Step By Step Process - RESALE 

Selling a home can be stressful, to help eliminate some of that stress below is a step by step process to obtain a Certificate of Approval for Occupancy for the Borough of Oakland. The purpose of a CAO is to ensure that the property meets basic safety requirements. Please note the time frames below are general time frames and can sometimes be longer or shorter depending on the home.

If you have not listed your house for sale yet, consider having your septic inspected and confirming all construction permits are closed on your property before listing to ensure no delays once under contract. Please note that septic repairs and replacements have the longest lead time and are most often the biggest delay in obtaining a CAO.

1. Submit a Certificate of Approval for Occupancy and Fire Certificate application form and fee to the Fire Prevention office.

The CAO application can be found on the Borough website www.oakland-nj.org by going to Departments > Fire Prevention > Certificate of Approval for Occupancy and Fire Certificate > CAO & Fire Cert Application Residential. The application should be submitted at least 30 days prior to closing and can be done as soon as the house has a buyer. The application can be submitted by the seller or buyer but it most often done by the seller.

**PLEASE MAKE SPECIAL NOTE FOR THE BELOW CHANGES TO THE ACCEPTANCE OF AN APPLICATION:

• Form must be filled out in its entirety. Forms will only be allowed to be missing certain information when the property is currently bank owned.
• Buyers MUST provide a secondary address that they will be receiving mail at until the CAO is complete and all sign offs have been completed.
• Telephone and email address MUST be provided for the Buyer and the Seller.

**ONCE THE FIRE CERTIFICATE IS GIVEN THE APPLICANT HAS 90 DAYS TO COMPLETE THE CAO BEFORE VIOLATIONS CAN BE ISSUED. PLEASE NOTE IF AN EXTENSION IS NEEDED PAST THIS 90 DAYS A WRITTEN LETTER MUST BE PROVIDED AND $30 FEE FOR A 30 DAY EXTENSION. PLEASE NOTE AN EXTENSION DOES NOT GRANT OCCUPANCY. **

2. Open Building Permits and Property Maintenance Violations

Once the Fire Prevention Department has the application they will check for any open building permits or property maintenance violations and will reach out to the property owners to get the permits and/or violations closed out. All violations and permits must be closed out before a CAO will be issued.

3. Board of Health Information for Sign off and approval

Once the Fire Prevention Office receives the application, it will be handed over immediately to the Board of Health office for the Health Inspectors to review. Board of Health must sign off before a CAO can be granted for the property. Board of Health will review a variety of information, including septic reports, sewer information, well water reports etc. Please ensure that all septic systems have been inspected and repaired and/or replaced as needed. Septic repairs and replacements have the longest lead time so the seller should start as quickly as possible to avoid possible delays in closings.

Below is some helpful information regarding Board of Health Sign off and frequently asked questions:

• What are the regulations for septic systems?
  • N.J.A.C. 7:9A standards for individual subsurface sewage disposal systems.
• How do I check the septic system information of a property, such as number of bedrooms, age of septic system, type of system?
  • Review the Health Department’s file. You can do so by filling out an OPRA request through the Borough Clerk Office.
• What do I do about my current septic system when selling my house?
  • 2012 Septic Code requires cesspool to be updated at REALTY TRANSFER. If you are not sure about the current status of your septic system you may have a septic inspection performed by a private company to confirm the status of your septic system.
• Where do the septic plans get submitted?
  • Submit all septic plans to the Oakland Board of Health Office.
• I have building plans/permit application that need to be submitted for my septic system, where do I submit?
  • All building plans and permit application need to be submitted to both the Construction department and the Oakland Board of Health. Please note that the same documentation is required for both offices and additional fees may be required.

- If you have a well on your property you will need to have the well tested in accordance with the Private Well Testing Act Regulations NJAC 7:9E at REALTY TRANSFER. The results then need to be sent to the Oakland Board of Health Department at health@oakland-nj.org and the Health Inspector at septics@co.bergen.nj.us .

- Please note that if you had your septic system inspected and received a non-complaint letter from the Bergen County Department of Health Services you will need to do as the letter advises which will be:

• ALTERATION – if marked alteration you will need to contact a septic engineer to correct.
• REPAIR – If repair is marked you will need to contact a licensed septic contractor to correct. (Check the Borough website for licensed contractors in Oakland or email health@oakland-nj.org.)

- If a new system is being installed the final sign off by the Board of Health will be given once all permits are pulled, all inspections are performed and passed, and the engineer provides the As-Built and Certificate of Compliance to the Oakland Board of Health Office.

- If you would like a status update on plans that were submitted to the Board of Health Office please note that:

• All plans are reviewed in the order in which they are received.
• By code, the department has 30 days to review septic plans.
• Plan review expediting cannot be granted under any circumstances.
• You can email health@oakland-nj.org.

4. Fire Certificate and what is looked for during Fire Inspection

The Fire Certificate is for SETTLEMENT PURPOSES ONLY and does not allow occupancy of the premise. The complete Certificate of Approval for Occupancy will be needed to occupy the premise. Please see pages 4 through 6 for more details.

Below is what is looked at during a fire inspection:

SMOKE DETECTORS –

Smoke detectors must be installed on each level of the dwelling, including the basement, and within ten (10) feet of each separate sleeping area. The detectors much be hardwired in or ten-year sealed battery-powered. More detail on page 5-6.

CARBON MONOXIDE DETECTORS –

Carbon Monoxide detectors must be installed within ten (10) feet of each separate sleeping area. For example if you have 1 bedroom in a basement and 3 on a second floor, then you would need 2 carbon monoxide detectors. Carbon Monoxide Detectors can be battery, hardwire or plug in operated. More detail on page 5-6.

FIRE EXTINGUISHER –

One (1) fire extinguisher, UL listed, labeled, charged and operable, rated for residential use, size no smaller than 2A:10B:C and no more than 10 lbs. The extinguisher must be visible and in a readily accessible location, typically the kitchen. The extinguisher must be near an exit or travel path that provides an escape route to the exterior of the dwelling. More details on page 7.

HOUSE NUMBERS –

House numbers must be in a contrasting color, (3) inches high, permanently affixed, CLEARLY VISIBLE near front door and light.

5. Building Inspection

While the Fire Inspector is conducting the fire inspection, if they see something that is a concern, regarding UCC rules and regulations, they will contact the Construction Official to conduct a building inspection on the property. A building inspection will only be necessary if one is called in, otherwise no building inspection will be necessary. (Examples: Water heater and boiler blow off pipe must be within 6” from floor, holes in the ceiling of the garage, no extension cords are to be used as a permanent form of wiring, etc).

Change of Occupancy for Rentals: Step by Step Process For Single and Two Family homes

Below is a step by step process to obtain a Fire Certificate and Certificate of Approval for Occupancy for the Borough of Oakland for renting out a Single Family or Two family home. The purpose of a Fire Certificate is to ensure that the property meets basic safety requirements

For any questions regarding the steps above please contact the Fire Prevention Office at fireassistant@oakland-nj.org or call 201-337-8111 x2025.

For more detailed information regarding the Fire Certificate, please visit the Fire Prevention section of the of the Borough website.