Building permits, zoning and septic in Borough of Chatham, New Jersey

At a glance

Building permits

Madison Building Department issues building permits for Chatham Borough⁵

Zoning

Chatham Borough performs zoning and engineering reviews³

Septic

State septic approvals apply; ask Westfield Regional Health Department about the parcel⁶⁴

RV living and tiny homes

We could not confirm private-land occupancy permission; ask Chatham Borough Zoning³

Lot size and setbacks

District-specific; AH-1 rules apply only to the designated affordable-housing parcel⁷⁸⁹

Owner-builder

Personal-use new homes have a builder-registration exception, with construction requirements still applicable¹⁰

Private wells

NJDEP drilling permit and local health construction approval required¹¹

Who to call

Contact details are copied from each office’s official page and were checked against it on October 12, 2026.

Do you need a building permit in Borough of Chatham, NJ?

Yes: covered construction, enlargement, renovation, alteration, demolition and changes of use in Borough of Chatham require a construction permit under New Jersey’s Uniform Construction Code.¹ Chatham Borough also warns that most renovation and alteration projects need a permit.¹² Ordinary maintenance is exempt, while minor work still requires a permit but may proceed after notice to the enforcing agency before issuance.¹ Ask Madison Building Department to classify the proposed work before scheduling construction; Madison processes Chatham Borough building permits and inspections.⁵

Who is the Borough of Chatham building department?

Madison Building Department handles building and construction permits and subcode inspections for Chatham Borough property owners and contractors.² Call Madison at 973-593-3064 for the building-permit application and inspection arrangements.¹³ Construction-permit checks are payable to Borough of Madison, while applications requiring zoning approval must include Chatham Borough zoning applications.⁵ Chatham Borough Zoning handles zoning permits, setbacks, lot coverage and driveway zoning inquiries at 973-635-0674 x 231.¹⁴ Use the linked SDL portal to check construction-permit status.¹³ The Borough’s current notice places Madison’s building office temporarily at the Madison Volunteer Ambulance Corp; confirm the location before visiting.¹³

Does Borough of Chatham have zoning, lot sizes and setbacks?

Chatham Borough administers its own zoning and engineering reviews; a Madison building permit does not replace Borough zoning review.³⁵ Ask Chatham Borough Zoning to identify the parcel’s district and applicable minimum lot size, floor area, setbacks, coverage and height limits before designing a home.¹⁴¹⁵⁸

The AH-1 affordable-housing zone applies only to Block 56, Lot 14, and its minimum lot size is that parcel’s lot size.¹⁶ Within that specific zone, front, side and rear setbacks are 25, 6 and 30 feet respectively, with maximum building coverage of 40% and maximum lot coverage of 80%.¹⁷¹⁸ Those figures describe AH-1, not a Borough-wide residential standard.⁷

How do septic permits and wells work in Borough of Chatham?

Chatham Borough contracts with Westfield Regional Health Department for health services; contact its health inspector to establish the septic approval route for the address.⁴ New Jersey requires certification that proposed sewerage facilities comply with applicable standards before a building permit may issue or construction begins.⁶ Septic facilities must be inspected by the board of health or its authorized representative before covering, with permission to cover required.¹⁹

A proposed private well requires a New Jersey DEP drilling permit and local health-official construction approval.¹¹ We could not confirm Chatham Borough’s parcel-specific public-water or sewer connection requirements; ask Westfield’s health inspector and Borough Engineering before budgeting for a well or septic system.⁴²⁰

Can you live in an RV or tiny home in Borough of Chatham?

We could not confirm permission to occupy an RV, tiny home, manufactured home or accessory dwelling on private land in Chatham Borough; ask Chatham Borough Zoning about the proposed residential use before buying a unit.¹⁴ Chatham Borough performs zoning reviews, and New Jersey allows municipalities to set district-specific dwelling floor-area standards.³¹⁵ New Jersey’s manufactured-home rules address federal construction and installation compliance; those rules do not establish Chatham Borough zoning permission for a particular lot.²¹³ Ask the zoning office specifically about temporary occupancy during construction, permanent occupancy, accessory use and required utility arrangements.¹⁴

Building a home in Borough of Chatham: what are the steps?

1. Identify the parcel’s zoning district and obtain required Chatham Borough zoning approval; building-permit applications needing zoning approval must include Borough zoning applications.⁵
2. Arrange Borough Engineering review for the new structure and residential stormwater design, plus health approvals if proposing septic facilities or a private well.²²⁶¹¹
3. Submit the construction-permit application to Madison; required state, county and local prior approvals must be in place before issuance.⁵²³
4. Schedule Madison’s subcode inspections and leave regulated work exposed for the required inspection stages.²²⁴
5. Complete final inspections and secure the required certificate of occupancy; sitework requires Borough Engineering sign-off.²⁵²⁶

For a personal-use owner-built new home, ask Madison about the state builder-registration exception and the owner affidavit required before occupancy.¹⁰²⁷

What stays with Morris County when building in Borough of Chatham?

Chatham Borough keeps zoning and engineering reviews, while Madison handles building permits; Morris County is a separate review authority for qualifying land-development and county-road work.³⁵²⁸²⁹ County subdivision review has an exemption from formal review for minor subdivisions that do not front on county roads.²⁸ Proposed driveway, roadway or utility construction within a county right-of-way requires a County Engineering Division permit after Planning Board approval, with application 10 days before site construction.²⁹

For land outside the Borough, consult the Morris County guide and identify the applicable municipality: zoning requirements differ by municipality and district.³⁰ Before committing to a Chatham Borough parcel, ask Borough Engineering about floodplain constraints and the zoning office for the applicable fee schedule; we could not confirm those local requirements here.²⁰¹⁴

Watch-outs

• Madison’s building office has a temporary relocation notice; confirm where to bring building-permit paperwork before visiting.¹³
• AH-1 dimensional rules apply only to the designated affordable-housing parcel, not every Chatham Borough lot.⁷
• Owner-builder registration relief for a personal-use new home does not waive construction permits, inspections or code compliance.¹⁰
• We could not confirm RV occupancy, off-grid sanitation or temporary camping permission in Chatham Borough; obtain answers from Borough Zoning and Westfield Regional Health Department before planning to live on the site.¹⁴⁴

Sources

1. N.J.A.C. 5:23-2.14, Construction permits—when required (New Jersey statewide rule), quoted and re-checked
2. Planning, Zoning & Construction (Borough of Chatham), quoted and re-checked
3. Planning, Zoning & Construction (Borough of Chatham), quoted and re-checked
4. Westfield Regional Health Department serving Chatham Borough (chathamborough.org)
5. Planning, Zoning & Construction (Borough of Chatham), quoted and re-checked
6. New Jersey Statutes, R.S. 58:11-23 through 58:11-43 (New Jersey statewide rule), quoted and re-checked
7. Zoning Board of Adjustment (Borough of Chatham), quoted and re-checked
8. P.L. 2013, c.106 (Municipal Land Use Law amendments) (New Jersey statewide rule), quoted and re-checked
9. P.L. 2013, c.106 (Municipal Land Use Law amendments) (New Jersey statewide rule), quoted and re-checked
10. Builder Registration and New Home Warranty for Builders (New Jersey statewide rule), quoted and re-checked
11. Bulletin 88-10: Private On-Site Water Supply Systems (New Jersey statewide rule), quoted and re-checked
12. chathamborough.org (Borough of Chatham), quoted and re-checked
13. Madison Building Department serving Chatham Borough (chathamborough.org)
14. Chatham Borough Zoning Office (chathamborough.org)
15. P.L. 2013, c.106 (Municipal Land Use Law amendments) (New Jersey statewide rule), quoted and re-checked
16. Ordinance 26-02, AH-1 Affordable Housing Zone (Borough of Chatham), quoted and re-checked
17. Ordinance 26-02, AH-1 Affordable Housing Zone (Borough of Chatham), quoted and re-checked
18. Ordinance 26-02, AH-1 Affordable Housing Zone (Borough of Chatham), quoted and re-checked
19. New Jersey Statutes, R.S. 58:11-23 through 58:11-43 (New Jersey statewide rule), quoted and re-checked
20. Chatham Borough Engineering Department (chathamborough.org)
21. Manufactured/Modular Buildings Program (New Jersey statewide rule), quoted and re-checked
22. Engineering (Borough of Chatham), quoted and re-checked
23. New Jersey Uniform Construction Code, N.J.A.C. 5:23 (New Jersey statewide rule), quoted and re-checked
24. New Jersey Department of Community Affairs, New Home Warranty—Consumer Information (New Jersey statewide rule), quoted and re-checked
25. N.J.A.C. 5:23, Uniform Construction Code (New Jersey statewide rule), quoted and re-checked
26. Engineering (Borough of Chatham), quoted and re-checked
27. N.J.A.C. 5:23, Uniform Construction Code (New Jersey statewide rule), quoted and re-checked
28. Land Development Review, quoted and re-checked
29. Morris County Land Development Standards, quoted and re-checked
30. July 2020 Zoning Report, quoted and re-checked

Written October 12, 2026 from the rules quoted below, each taken from an official source and re-checked by an independent reviewer. This is research, not legal advice: rules change, so confirm with the office before you buy or build.