What Is a 55+ Community, and How Do the Rules Work in New Jersey?

A 55+ community is housing that qualifies under federal law as housing for older persons, which allows it to operate as age-restricted. Under HUD's rules, at least 80% of its occupied homes must have at least one resident 55 or older, and the community must publish and follow policies showing it intends to operate that way, including a way to verify ages. Everything else, from fees to pets to who can buy, comes from that community's own documents.

I'm Dennis Mark Interdonato with The Dennis Mark Group. Ocean and Monmouth County have a long list of these communities, and this site has a guide to many of them. This article covers the rules underneath all of them, so you know what to read before you make an offer. It describes homes and rules, never who lives there.

What makes a community "55+" under the law?

The federal Fair Housing Act generally prohibits housing discrimination based on familial status, and it lets some housing be designated as housing for older persons. The U.S. Department of Justice explains that housing meeting the standards of the Housing for Older Persons Act of 1995 may operate as age-restricted housing, and that HUD has published the regulations (U.S. Department of Justice).

Those regulations apply to a "housing facility or community," which HUD defines as homes governed by a common set of rules. Its examples include a condominium association, a cooperative, and a property governed by a homeowners' association (24 CFR 100.304).

What is the 80% rule?

To qualify, at least 80% of a community's occupied units must be occupied by at least one person 55 or older. An occupied unit includes one that's temporarily vacant if the main occupant lived there in the past year and plans to return. Newly built communities don't have to meet the 80% test until at least 25% of the units are occupied (24 CFR 100.305).

The same section says each community may decide the age rules, if any, for the units that don't need a 55-or-older occupant. That's why two communities a few miles apart can have different rules.

Can someone under 55 buy or live in a 55+ community?

It depends on that community's documents. The federal rule is written about who occupies the homes, and it leaves room for each community to set its own policy for the remaining units. Before you make an offer, ask the association two separate questions: what its rules say about who may live in the home, and what they say about who may own it. Don't assume the answer from another community, even a neighboring one.

How do communities check ages?

HUD requires a community to be able to verify its occupancy through reliable surveys and affidavits, with procedures for checking whether each unit has an occupant 55 or older and updates at least once every two years. Acceptable proof includes a driver's license, birth certificate or passport, among other documents. A summary of the occupancy surveys has to be available for inspection on reasonable request (24 CFR 100.307). The community must also publish and follow policies showing it intends to operate as 55+ housing (24 CFR 100.306).

In practice, expect the association to ask for proof of age as part of the purchase or move-in paperwork.

What kinds of homes are in 55+ communities around here?

More variety than people expect. The community guides on this site list single-family models, attached homes and courtyard homes, condos and co-ops. Crestwood Village One in Whiting, for example, describes itself as a 55+ community run by a co-op corporation, Crestwood Village Co-Op, Inc. (Crestwood Village Co-Op). A co-op works differently from a condo, so read co-op vs. condo in New Jersey before you shop one.

When I look at a home in one of these communities, I read it the way I would any home, as a former New Jersey home builder and remodeler: the roof, the mechanicals, past renovations, and which parts the association maintains versus the owner.

What should you read before you make an offer?

• The age and occupancy rules, in writing, including the approval or verification process.
• The current fee and what it covers, such as landscaping, snow removal, the clubhouse, exterior maintenance or certain utilities.
• The budget and reserves. New Jersey requires associations of planned real estate developments to undertake and fund a capital reserve study, with limited exceptions (NJ Department of Community Affairs).
• The rules on pets, parking, rentals, guests and renovations.
• Any approval the board must give a buyer, which is common in co-ops.

Your attorney reviews the documents during attorney review. My job is getting them in front of you early enough to matter.

How do you compare one 55+ community with another?

By the homes and the facts: the floor plans, the lot, what the fee covers, the rules, the amenities, and the drive to the places you go every week. Browse the adult communities across Ocean and Monmouth County, and see the Whiting guides on buying in a Whiting community and Whiting's neighborhoods and 55+ communities.

Frequently Asked Questions

What does 55+ mean in a community?

It means the community operates as housing for older persons under federal law: at least 80% of occupied homes have at least one resident 55 or older, and it publishes and follows policies to stay that way.

Can you live in a 55+ community if you are younger?

Sometimes. The federal rule leaves up to 20% of occupied homes to each community's own policy, so the answer is in that community's documents.

Do 55+ communities have association fees?

Most do, and they vary by community and by what they cover. Ask for the current fee, the budget and the rules before you make an offer.

Are 55+ communities only single-family homes?

No. Around here you'll find single-family models, attached homes, condos and co-ops.

This is general information, not legal, tax or lending advice. Federal rules come from the U.S. Department of Justice and 24 CFR 100.304 to 100.307, checked October 10, 2026. Each community's documents and your attorney decide what applies to a specific home.

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.

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