22. Your First 90 Days as a Paramus Owner

Most of this report is about getting the house. This page is about the first three months after you have it: the deadlines that are easy to miss and the calls that are easier to make now than later. Dates are Borough, County or State schedules as of October 3, 2026; confirm the current year's dates with the office named. The Borough's main number is 201-265-2100.

Before closing

• The Borough's Certificate of Compliance. Paramus requires one before a home is sold. The seller applies to the Building Department (ext. 2230); inspections are weekday mornings, and the Borough will not schedule one until every open construction permit on the property has been closed for at least a week. Ask for the certificate and the permit history early, because an old open permit is the item most likely to move a closing date. The fee is $100 (Borough Code § A460-14A). (Section 15)²⁹⁵
• Smoke and carbon monoxide alarms, and the power label. The inspector checks alarms on every level and near bedrooms. A house with a generator, solar panels or battery storage needs a printed warning label at both the electrical panel and the meter. A fire extinguisher has not been required at sale since February 2025; the Borough still recommends one. (Section 15)
• On a new house. Ask for the final certificate of occupancy, not a temporary one, and the new home warranty certificate. Ask what assessment the tax figure on the listing is based on. (Sections 2, 15)
• Look up the water service line. Veolia publishes an address lookup showing whether the line is lead, galvanized or unknown. If it is, Veolia's notice says replacement is at no cost to the homeowner; the number on the notice is 1-800-422-5987. (Sections 15, 19)²⁹⁶
• Ask two questions the disclosure form does not. Is there, or was there ever, an oil tank, above or below ground? What is the water service line made of? (Section 19)
• Run the flood map and get a quote. FEMA's Map Service Center by address, free. In Ida about a third of the flood claims in ZIP 07652 were on policies outside the mapped zone, so ask an insurer for a flood quote during attorney review if the house is near any stream. (Section 15)
• Run the address through the school district's lookup. "Find My School" is linked from the district's registration page. Confirm the assignment with the district (registration@paramusschools.org, 201-261-7800) before you sign if a particular school matters to you. (Sections 10, 17)²⁹⁷
• Transfer the water account. Veolia bills the owner directly. Call Veolia customer service before closing to arrange a final meter read and put the account in your name. (Section 19)

The first month

• Garbage and recycling. Garbage is Monday and Thursday south of Midland Avenue, Tuesday and Friday north of it; vegetative waste on Wednesday; recycling one weekday by color-coded section, marked on your container. Curbside only, in the Borough's automated containers, out no earlier than 6 pm the evening before. No fee. Construction debris is not collected. Electronics by appointment with Public Works (ext. 3100). Check that the Borough-issued containers stayed with the house; the resale inspection requires them. For bulk item rules, call Public Works (ext. 3100). (Sections 15, 19)²⁹⁸
• Overnight parking. The Police Department's page states no street parking from 2 am to 6 am on local streets. Plan the driveway accordingly, and call the non-emergency number (201-262-3400) if guests need to stay on the street.²⁹⁹
• Property tax bill. Quarterly, due February 1, May 1, August 1 and November 1, with a ten-day grace period. The Tax Collector does not accept a postmark; the payment has to arrive. Interest is 8 percent on the first $1,500 overdue and 18 percent above it. The bill you inherit is on the seller's assessment; yours moves toward your price at the next annual reassessment. Put about 1.45 percent of your price in the budget from day one. (Sections 8 and 9)³⁰⁰
• Sewer. There is no separate bill for a household using under 300,000 gallons of water a year; it is inside the tax rate. (Section 19)
• Library card. Free to anyone who lives, works, owns property or attends school in Paramus. Apply in person at the main library (116 East Century Road) or the Reid Branch (239 West Midland Avenue) with a driver's license, tax bill, utility bill or similar proof of address. A child's card needs a parent's signature. (Section 12)³⁰¹
• Recreation. The Recreation Department registers programs through Community Pass from its office on Farview Avenue at Petruska Park. Fall 2026 programs ran $100 to $300. Members of the Borough's volunteer organizations pay half. (Section 12)
• School registration. Start at the district's registration page and its Registration User Guide; all students must live with a parent or guardian in Paramus. The list of required documents, the kindergarten age cutoff and registration dates are in the guide. Note that elementary school here ends at grade 4 and middle school starts at grade 5. (Section 10)²⁹⁷
• Dog license. $12 a year for a neutered dog under the Code's fee chapter; see the Borough's "Dog & Cat Licensing" page for the renewal month and where to apply.
• Trees. The tree between the sidewalk and the curb is the Borough's. Removing one to widen a driveway costs $1,500 plus a $500 replanting fee. The Borough has also posted a newer tree removal ordinance for private lots, so call the Shade Tree office (ext. 4120) before taking down any tree. (Sections 14, 19)

Dates that come around once a year

If you plan to renovate

Before you hire an architect, get three numbers for your lot: its area, the footprint of everything with a roof, and the total hard surface including the driveway, walks and patio. Paramus has no floor area limit; what binds is 25 percent building coverage and 50 percent impervious coverage, the yards, and a height of 30 to 35 feet depending on the zone. On most lots the house is not the problem; the pool and patio are. Those three numbers against the Section 14 tables tell you whether your project is a permit or a hearing.

• A zoning permit for a residential addition is $150; a variance application for a single-family lot is $650 plus $500 in escrow; building fees on a renovation run about $25 per $1,000 of cost before the electrical and plumbing subcodes. (Section 19)
• Moving more than 400 cubic yards of soil, which a full basement usually exceeds, needs a major soil permit and a public hearing at the Planning Board. (Section 14)
• Contractors may work in a residential zone only between 7 am and 7 pm. (Section 14)
• A second dwelling unit with its own kitchen is not permitted in the single-family zones. (Section 14)
• Near any of the eleven regulated streams, a new house or a substantial improvement has to be built to the higher flood elevation in the Borough's 2025 flood chapter and the State's 2023 rule. (Section 15)
• An improvement is picked up by an added assessment from the first of the month after it is substantially complete, and the bill for the remaining months is due November 1. Expect a visit from the assessor as well as the code official once you pull a permit. (Section 9)³⁰³
• Keep every permit card and final approval. You will need a closed permit file the day you sell.

What I tell my buyers: three things to do the week you go under contract, not the week you move in. Get the seller's permit history from the Building Department, look the address up on Veolia's service line map and FEMA's flood map, and run it through the school district's lookup. Everything else on this page can wait for the boxes to be unpacked.