I own a Dover house with more than one unit. Does each apartment need its own certificate?

Yes, under the Property Maintenance Code the Town posts online. Section 108.1 calls for a separate Certificate of Compliance for each tenant space, naming the renter, lessee or buyer, and the Code Official issues it only after an inspection finds no visible code violations. The move-in table above also shows the owner's extermination rule, so deal with any signs of mice before a unit changes tenants, and check the current rule with Code Enforcement.

As a tenant, can I just set traps, or does the building need sealing?

Traps in your own rooms take out the mice already there, but the openings they use may be in outside walls, the foundation or shared spaces you do not control. Set traps where you have seen droppings, keep food sealed, and ask the owner in writing about sealing. The table above shows who the posted code makes responsible for shared areas and the outside.

I am about to move into a Dover rental. What should I check first?

Ask the owner whether the Certificate of Compliance for your unit has been issued under Section 108.1 of the posted code, and check the current rule with Code Enforcement. Before you move your things in, walk through and look for droppings, gnawing and gaps under sinks and around pipes, and point out anything you find to the owner in writing.

Mice keep coming back from the unit next door. What helps?

Work on both sides at once. Ask the owner to arrange access to each affected unit and to shared spaces such as a basement or hallway, have the pro seal the openings where pipes and wiring pass between units, and keep food in sealed containers on both sides. For who the posted code makes responsible for shared areas, see the table above.

What changes the price of rodent work in a house with more than one unit?

The number of units that need visits, how much outside sealing the building needs, and how many follow-up visits the plan includes. Ask for trapping, sealing and follow-ups as separate lines, agree with the owner in advance who pays for which part, and read the rodent control cost guide for the other factors.

What should a pro check first in an older Dover house?

Start low. The posted code expects foundation walls kept free of cracks that let rats in (Section 302.4), basement hatchways kept rat-tight (302.14), and a rat-proof shield, storm window or other approved protection on each basement window that opens (302.15). If your house has those features, have them checked first, then every place a pipe or wire passes through an outside wall.

I rent an apartment in a Dover building with other units. Who has to get rid of mice?

It depends on where the mice are and who caused them. The table above gives what Section 802.4 of the posted code says for shared areas, the outside, and an infestation an occupant caused. For an infestation inside your unit that you did not cause, the posted code does not say, so ask Code Enforcement, and check the current rule with them too.

NJ Rodent Control

Rodent Exterminators in Dover, NJ

In Dover, Section 108.1 of the Property Maintenance Code the Town posts online ties a code inspection to each new tenant, buyer or change of use. About 22.8% of homes are in buildings of 2 to 4 units, so a plan for mice or rats pairs removal with sealing that can reach shared spaces.

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Statewide rules and background: New Jersey rodent guide

Clear them out, then close the old gaps

For mice or rats in a Dover home, start with trapping through mouse control or rat control, then have rodent exclusion close every gap the animals used. Where a building holds two to four units, the sealing often has to reach the shared spaces and the walls between neighbours as well.

The Town rules on this page apply only inside the Town of Dover. In 2020, about 71% of the people in the area the Census uses for the 07801 ZIP code lived in the Town. That area also covers a large part of Rockaway Township, Victory Gardens and slivers of Wharton and Randolph, where Town of Dover code does not apply.

Move-in rules, old houses and shared buildings

Before a new tenant, buyer or use

Sections 108.1 and 802.1 of the Property Maintenance Code the Town posts online tie these rules to the moment a Dover property changes tenants, owners or use.

Situation	Who must act	Code section
Situation: Renting, leasing or selling any business, building, home or other unit, or handing one over for use, a change of use or occupancy	Who must act: Not allowed until the Code Official issues a Certificate of Compliance	Code section: 108.1
Situation: Getting the Certificate of Compliance	Who must act: The Code Official issues it only after an inspection finds no visible code violations and the use meets zoning; each tenant space needs its own	Code section: 108.1
Situation: Any structure that is about to be rented or leased	Who must act: The owner is responsible for extermination within the structure before renting or leasing it	Code section: 802.1

The Town amended its property code in December 2025, so confirm current requirements with Code Enforcement.

Homes older than the county around them

Census estimates put about 60.7% of Dover's homes in buildings from before 1960, against 32.9% across Morris County. The median home here dates to about 1954, against 1971 for Morris County, and only about 7.1% of homes were built in 2000 or later.

In a house of that age, ask for a quote that covers a full walk of the foundation and any basement, not traps alone.

Buildings with more than one unit: who handles what

About 22.8% of Dover's homes are in buildings of 2 to 4 units, against 6.8% across Morris County, and about 54.0% of occupied homes are rented, roughly twice the Morris County share of 25.7%. In a building with two or more units, Section 802.4 of the posted code splits extermination this way.

Situation	Who must act	Code section
Situation: Shared or public areas and exterior property, where the building has two or more dwelling units or is a rooming house, a multiple occupancy or a nonresidential structure	Who must act: The owner is responsible for extermination	Code section: 802.4
Situation: An infestation in the area an occupant occupies, caused by that occupant's failure to prevent it	Who must act: The occupants are responsible	Code section: 802.4
Situation: An infestation inside a unit that the occupant did not cause	Who must act: The posted code does not say; ask Code Enforcement	Code section: 802.4

The state pest rule, N.J.A.C. 5:10-10.2, makes the owner eradicate pests found in two or more units or in common areas and ratproof the building. It covers only hotels, buildings of three or more units, and sets of ten or more co-owned two-unit buildings on one parcel or adjoining parcels, except buildings state law excludes. A Dover duplex outside such a set falls under the Town rule above instead.

Garbage limits, reporting and cold months

What the Town's garbage rules allow

The Town's garbage rules in Sections 333-3 and 333-4 are not written about rodents, yet they decide how much garbage waits at the curb, and for how long.

Container limit: The Town lists pickup twice a week, with at most two containers, cans or bags, of up to 30 pounds each per collection.
Extra bags: Extra bags need a sticker sold by the Dover Health Department at Town Hall, 37 North Sussex Street, and items put out without one are not collected. Buy stickers before a big clear-out.
Set-out times: Garbage may be at the curb only from 5 p.m. the evening before collection until 8 p.m. on collection day; streets in the Town's business areas have their own removal deadline.
Front yards: Under Section 333-4, garbage and garbage containers may not be stored in the front yard of a home.
Larger buildings: Multiple dwellings of more than 10 units are left out of the Town's contractor pickup.

Reporting a property in the Town

Code Enforcement enforces the Property Maintenance Code. Its page gives the Town Hall line, 973-366-2200, extension 2114, for reporting violations.
The Town's online Report A Concern form takes Property Maintenance and Curbside Garbage concerns, routes each to the department and issues a tracking number.
Neither the Code Enforcement page nor the form mentions rodents, so describe what you have seen, such as burrows, gnawed holes or spilled garbage, as a property maintenance concern.

At the Boonton weather station, NOAA normals put the average low at 40F or below in every month from November through April. The guide to rodents in fall and winter covers what to check as the weather turns.

Services for older and shared houses

Rodent Exclusion
The median Dover home dates to about 1954. On houses that age, ask how professional exclusion covers foundation cracks, any basement openings and every hole where pipes and wires pass through outside walls.
Mouse Extermination
About 22.8% of Dover's homes are in buildings of 2 to 4 units. When mice move between apartments in one of those buildings, trapping in a single unit may not end it; ask for a plan for every affected unit, and see how to get mice out of walls.

Related services

Rat Extermination
When Norway rats are at the cans or tunnelling beside the house; see how traps and poison compare.
Rodent Removal
Taking out the animals already living indoors before the last gaps are closed.
Attic Rodent Removal
For droppings or scratching above the top-floor ceiling.
Commercial Rodent Control
For owners of multiple dwellings of more than 10 units, which are left out of Town garbage pickup.

Common Questions About Dover Rodent Control

Yes, under the Property Maintenance Code the Town posts online. Section 108.1 calls for a separate Certificate of Compliance for each tenant space, naming the renter, lessee or buyer, and the Code Official issues it only after an inspection finds no visible code violations. The move-in table above also shows the owner's extermination rule, so deal with any signs of mice before a unit changes tenants, and check the current rule with Code Enforcement.
Traps in your own rooms take out the mice already there, but the openings they use may be in outside walls, the foundation or shared spaces you do not control. Set traps where you have seen droppings, keep food sealed, and ask the owner in writing about sealing. The table above shows who the posted code makes responsible for shared areas and the outside.
Ask the owner whether the Certificate of Compliance for your unit has been issued under Section 108.1 of the posted code, and check the current rule with Code Enforcement. Before you move your things in, walk through and look for droppings, gnawing and gaps under sinks and around pipes, and point out anything you find to the owner in writing.
Work on both sides at once. Ask the owner to arrange access to each affected unit and to shared spaces such as a basement or hallway, have the pro seal the openings where pipes and wiring pass between units, and keep food in sealed containers on both sides. For who the posted code makes responsible for shared areas, see the table above.
The number of units that need visits, how much outside sealing the building needs, and how many follow-up visits the plan includes. Ask for trapping, sealing and follow-ups as separate lines, agree with the owner in advance who pays for which part, and read the rodent control cost guide for the other factors.
Start low. The posted code expects foundation walls kept free of cracks that let rats in (Section 302.4), basement hatchways kept rat-tight (302.14), and a rat-proof shield, storm window or other approved protection on each basement window that opens (302.15). If your house has those features, have them checked first, then every place a pipe or wire passes through an outside wall.
It depends on where the mice are and who caused them. The table above gives what Section 802.4 of the posted code says for shared areas, the outside, and an infestation an occupant caused. For an infestation inside your unit that you did not cause, the posted code does not say, so ask Code Enforcement, and check the current rule with them too.

Nearby City Guides

Free Dover Rodent Inspection

Before the visit, say whether you rent or own, whether the building has more than one unit, and which rooms or shared spaces show droppings or gnawing, so the pro can plan access.

What happens next

Call and describe what you have seen and where.
A trusted local pro can set up an inspection and confirm whether you have rats or mice.
Ask them to explain trapping, removal and sealing, and what the work involves, before any work starts.

(888) 733-3114

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Start again at RodentExterminator.com.

Sources

Chapter 285, Property Maintenance (Property Maintenance Code of the Town of Dover, last revised 1/1/2014). Town of Dover, NJ. Retrieved 2026-09-27.
Code Enforcement - Town of Dover. Town of Dover, NJ. Retrieved 2026-09-27.
B25024: Units in Structure - 2024 ACS 5-Year Estimates Detailed Tables (Dover town, New Jersey). U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates. Retrieved 2026-09-27.
2020 ZCTA to Place Relationship File (national). U.S. Census Bureau, Geography Division. Retrieved 2026-09-27.
2020 ZCTA to County Subdivision Relationship File (national). U.S. Census Bureau, Geography Division. Retrieved 2026-09-27.
P1: Total Population - 2020 Decennial Census Demographic and Housing Characteristics (ZCTA5 07801). U.S. Census Bureau, 2020 Census. Retrieved 2026-09-27.
P1: Total Population - 2020 Decennial Census Demographic and Housing Characteristics (Dover town, New Jersey). U.S. Census Bureau, 2020 Census. Retrieved 2026-09-27.
Chapter 285: Property Maintenance - Town of Dover, NJ. Town of Dover, NJ (published on eCode360). Retrieved 2026-09-27.
Ordinance No. 53-2025, amending Chapter 285 and the Property Maintenance Code of the Town of Dover. Town of Dover, NJ (published on eCode360). Retrieved 2026-09-27.
Laws list (Ord. No. 53-2025, Property Maintenance Amendment, adopted 2025-12-30). Town of Dover, NJ (published on eCode360). Retrieved 2026-09-27.
Mayor and Town Council Regular Meeting Agenda, 12.30.2025 (Ordinance 53-2025 for adoption; packet includes the ordinance without the code attachment). Town of Dover, NJ (published on eCode360). Retrieved 2026-09-27.
B25034: Year Structure Built - 2024 ACS 5-Year Estimates Detailed Tables (Dover town, New Jersey). U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates. Retrieved 2026-09-27.
B25034: Year Structure Built - 2024 ACS 5-Year Estimates Detailed Tables (Morris County, New Jersey). U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates. Retrieved 2026-09-27.
B25035: Median Year Structure Built - 2024 ACS 5-Year Estimates Detailed Tables (Dover town, New Jersey). U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates. Retrieved 2026-09-27.
B25035: Median Year Structure Built - 2024 ACS 5-Year Estimates Detailed Tables (Morris County, New Jersey). U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates. Retrieved 2026-09-27.
B25024: Units in Structure - 2024 ACS 5-Year Estimates Detailed Tables (Morris County, New Jersey). U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates. Retrieved 2026-09-27.
B25003: Tenure - 2024 ACS 5-Year Estimates Detailed Tables (Dover town, New Jersey). U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates. Retrieved 2026-09-27.
B25003: Tenure - 2024 ACS 5-Year Estimates Detailed Tables (Morris County, New Jersey). U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates. Retrieved 2026-09-27.
N.J.A.C. 5:10, Maintenance of Hotels and Multiple Dwellings. New Jersey Department of Community Affairs, Division of Codes and Standards. Retrieved 2026-09-27.
Chapter 333 Solid Waste Disposal, Article II: Municipal Solid Waste Removal - Town of Dover, NJ. Town of Dover, NJ (published on eCode360). Retrieved 2026-09-27.
Chapter 333 Solid Waste Disposal, Article I: Placement of Garbage in Business Areas - Town of Dover, NJ. Town of Dover, NJ (published on eCode360). Retrieved 2026-09-27.
Garbage Collection - Town of Dover. Town of Dover, NJ. Retrieved 2026-09-27.
Report A Concern - Town of Dover. Town of Dover, NJ. Retrieved 2026-09-27.
U.S. Climate Normals 1991-2020: Monthly Normals, Station USC00280907 BOONTON 1 SE, NJ US. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI). Retrieved 2026-09-27.