Can You Buy or Inherit a Home in a 55+ Community If You're Under 55?
Published | Posted by Dennis Mark Interdonato
- Adult Communities
- Age-Restricted Housing
- Inherited Homes
- Home Buying
Yes, you can own a home in a New Jersey 55+ community if you're under 55. Federal and state law limit who occupies the home, not who owns it, and a 2024 Appellate Division decision said so directly. Living there yourself is a separate question: it depends on whether the community's documents allow a home without a 55-or-older occupant, which is the same question you face if you inherit one.
I'm Dennis Mark Interdonato with The Dennis Mark Group. I hear this from two kinds of people: adult children buying a home for a parent, and heirs who have learned the house they inherited is in an age-restricted community. Both need the same distinction, owning versus occupying, and both need it before anyone signs.
Is there an age limit on who can own a home in a 55+ community?
Not under the law as New Jersey's courts read it today. In 2022 Berkeley Township adopted an ordinance requiring that units in certain retirement communities be owned by people 55 or older. In New Jersey Realtors v. Township of Berkeley, decided July 31, 2024 and approved for publication, the Appellate Division affirmed the ruling that struck it down (NJ Courts opinion A-1384-22).
The court's reasoning, in plain terms:
- The federal exemption for housing for older persons addresses occupancy and is silent on ownership.
- New Jersey's Law Against Discrimination and its rules likewise describe only occupancy. The court quoted a 2019 Division on Civil Rights rule saying nothing in the housing-for-older-persons requirements shall be construed to restrict the age of any purchaser who doesn't reside in, or intend to reside in, the housing.
- It also found the ordinance arbitrary and unreasonable, noting it would keep owners from transferring title to family members for estate planning and would shrink the pool of buyers.
What do you sign if you buy under 55?
A certification. New Jersey requires the buyer at a resale in an age-restricted community to certify that the home will be occupied by a person of an age that keeps the community within the federal exception. The form is one page, prescribed by the Department of Community Affairs, and it's recorded with the deed (N.J.S.A. 45:22A-46.2 and 46:15-6.2; DCA certification form).
That's the deal: you can own it, and you promise the home will be lived in by someone who meets the age rule. If you're buying for a parent who's 55 or older and will live there, that fits. The same section applies to a transfer "by operation of law," which is how many inherited homes pass.
Can you live there yourself if you're under 55?
Only if the community's own policy allows it. At least 80% of a 55+ community's occupied homes must have an occupant 55 or older, and each community decides the age rules, if any, for the rest (24 CFR 100.305(a) and (h)). Some communities never allow a home without a 55-or-older occupant. Others may, within the 20%. The documents and the board's written answer are the only reliable source.
A spouse under 55 living with a spouse who's 55 or older is a different situation, covered in can a younger spouse live in a 55+ community.
What if you inherit a home in a 55+ community and you're under 55?
You can inherit it. Ownership passes the way it would for any New Jersey home, through the estate. What you can do with it depends on the documents:
- Keep it for a qualifying occupant. If a family member who meets the age rule will live there, the certification covers it.
- Live in it yourself only if the community's policy for the 20% allows it, in writing.
- Sell it. The association fees, taxes and upkeep continue while the estate decides, so a plan matters early. The estate steps are in selling an estate home in a 55+ community.
Does a co-op work the same way?
Read the co-op's documents carefully. In a co-op you buy shares in a corporation and get a proprietary lease, not a deed to the home, and the board approves buyers under the co-op's own application and bylaws. Several of the age-restricted communities around Whiting are co-ops, and their resale pages describe their own approval and financing rules. Have your attorney read the application and bylaws before you rely on the ownership ruling for a co-op purchase. See co-op vs. condo in New Jersey.
What should you ask before buying or deciding on an inherited home?
- What do the documents say about a home with no occupant 55 or older?
- Does the association have its own approval or application for buyers or new occupants?
- What are the monthly fee and any special assessment notices? Sellers must hand buyers a copy of the latest notice if the board has chosen to fund reserves at 85% of its plan (N.J.S.A. 45:22A-44.3(e)).
- Who will sign the age certification at closing?
When I walk an heir or a family buyer through a 55+ home, I bring the same eye I used as a New Jersey home builder and remodeler: what the association maintains, what the owner maintains, and what the house needs before it sells or before someone moves in.
Where do you start?
If you've inherited a home, start with its value. A free home value tells you what you're deciding about. If you're shopping for a parent, browse the age-restricted communities across Ocean and Monmouth County, including Regency at Trotters Pointe in Tinton Falls.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do you have to be 55 to buy in a 55+ community in New Jersey?
No. A 2024 Appellate Division decision held that age limits apply to who occupies a home, not who owns it. The buyer certifies at closing that the home will be occupied by a person who meets the age rule.
Can someone under 55 inherit a house in a 55+ community?
Yes. Inheriting is ownership. Living there yourself depends on the community's policy for homes without a 55-or-older occupant.
Can I buy a home in a 55+ community for my parents?
Yes, if a parent who meets the age rule will live there. You'd sign the age certification at closing, and the association may have its own paperwork for the occupant.
Can I live in a 55+ community if I'm under 55 and single?
Only if the community's documents allow a home without a 55-or-older occupant. Federal law leaves that 20% to each community.
This is general information, not legal, tax or lending advice. Sources: New Jersey Realtors v. Township of Berkeley (App. Div. 2024), N.J.S.A. 45:22A-46.2 and 45:22A-44.3, the DCA certification form and 24 CFR 100.305, all checked October 11, 2026. Estate and title questions belong with your attorney.
About the author
Dennis Mark Interdonato is a REALTOR® and Master CDRE® who leads The Dennis Mark Group at Keller Williams Realty Ocean Living in Point Pleasant, NJ, helping buyers and sellers throughout New Jersey make their next move, with Monmouth and Ocean County as home base. Read more about Dennis Mark.
