4-family to 5-family with owner occupied unit

[Nicholas Haubner]

Hello All,

I purchased my first rental property a little over a year ago. The property is a 4-family house in Montvale NJ. The question I have is as follows. The house has 5 units; however, it is only zoned by the town as a 4-family. Where it gets interesting is that the house has 5 mailing addresses associated with it and the fire prevention bureau has on their records it is also a 5- unit house, and I am billed as such upon annual renewals/inspections. I also have five gas/electric meters. The DCA has on file that the property is only a four unit building. It currently only has four units rented, although I would like to turn the 5th unit into my own, so that I can move out of my parent’s house and “househack” for a little. I am not sure of the legality associated with this and the issues of going from 4 units(residential) to 5 units (commercial) even if one unit will only be owner occupied. Any advice at all would be greatly appreciated!

Best regards,

-Nick