Owner guide
Selling an Industrial Property in NJ: When ISRA Applies
If a business with a covered industry code operates in your building, signing the sale contract can start New Jersey’s ISRA process. Here is what triggers it, the five-day notice, and how owners still close on time.
What ISRA is
The Industrial Site Recovery Act requires owners and operators of facilities with certain industry classifications to investigate and clean up before the property is sold or the business closes. The NJDEP rules are at N.J.A.C. 7:26B. NJDEP ISRA · N.J.A.C. 7:26B (NJDEP courtesy copy)
An “industrial establishment” is a business with one of the NAICS codes in the rules’ Appendix C that has operated on or after December 31, 1983 and handles, stores or generates hazardous substances or wastes on site. N.J.A.C. 7:26B-1.4
Why a landlord should care
The establishment is defined by the business, not just the owner. If your building is owner-occupied or leased to one tenant, it covers all the lots where the business operates, plus contiguous lots you control that are vacant or used with it. In a multi-tenant building it covers the tenant’s space and any areas tied to its hazardous materials. Signing a contract to sell the real property of an industrial establishment is a trigger. So a tenant’s use can turn your sale into an ISRA sale.
What triggers it
Signing an agreement of sale for the establishment or its real property, or a lease of 99 years or longer.
Exercising an option to purchase.
Closing operations, or publicly announcing the decision to close.
Transferring a controlling interest in the owner or operator, or more than 50% of the establishment’s assets within five years.
Several corporate events: dissolution, certain mergers, bankruptcy liquidation and receiverships.
Source: N.J.A.C. 7:26B-3.2
The five-day clock
The owner or operator must file a General Information Notice with NJDEP within five calendar days after the trigger, for a sale usually the day the contract is signed. It lists the site, the parties, the transaction, the NAICS codes and the proposed closing date. N.J.A.C. 7:26B-3.2
What does not trigger it
A lease shorter than 99 years, or a renewal by the same tenant without a break in operations.
A mortgage or refinancing. A sale-leaseback is not covered by this exception.
A transfer by will or intestate succession, or between close family members listed in the rule.
A condemnation, an easement or a license.
A sale in the ordinary course of business.
Vacant land is not an industrial establishment if no establishment has operated on it since December 31, 1983 and the contiguous land is not an establishment under the same ownership. An office on a separate lot that only handles administration is also outside the definition, with limits. N.J.A.C. 7:26B-2.1
Planning a sale-leaseback? Read our sale-leaseback guide and raise ISRA with your attorney early.
Closing before the cleanup is finished
You do not always have to finish the remediation before you close. To transfer first, the owner or operator files a Remediation Certification with:
A remediation cost estimate prepared and certified by a licensed site remediation professional (LSRP).
A certification of the owner or operator’s obligations to complete the remediation and give NJDEP access.
A remediation funding source in the amount of the estimate.
Payment of the required fees.
Sources: N.J.A.C. 7:26B-3.3, N.J.A.C. 7:26B-3.4
The small-quantity exemption
If the business never had more than 500 pounds or 55 gallons of hazardous substances or wastes on site at any one time, and no more than 220 gallons of hydraulic or lubricating oil, the owner or operator can apply for a de minimis quantity exemption. The fee is $300. The rule lets the sale or transfer go ahead only once written approval from NJDEP arrives, so apply well before closing. Other options in the rules include a regulated underground storage tank waiver, a remediation-in-progress waiver and a limited conveyance. N.J.A.C. 7:26B-5.9 · Subchapter 5
What to do before you list
Find out what NAICS code applies to every business operating in the building, including tenants.
Ask your environmental attorney or an LSRP whether ISRA applies and which path fits: full remediation, Remediation Certification or an exemption.
Build the time into the contract. Buyers and lenders will ask, and the answer can set the closing date.
Gather past environmental reports, tank records and any NJDEP correspondence.
We are brokers, not environmental consultants. The point is to raise ISRA at the start of a listing, not in the middle of due diligence. See how AcreX sells industrial property, selling an outdoor storage yard or 2026 industrial sales in Essex County deed records.
Owner questions
Does ISRA apply to every warehouse sale?
No. It applies when the property is an industrial establishment: a business with a covered NAICS code that handled hazardous substances or wastes on site on or after December 31, 1983. Many warehouses do not qualify, but you need to check.
When do I have to notify NJDEP?
Within five calendar days after the trigger. For a sale that is usually the day the agreement of sale is signed.
Can I close before the cleanup is done?
Yes, with a Remediation Certification that includes an LSRP cost estimate and a remediation funding source in that amount.
Talk to AcreX
Book a consultation with Jonathan Libock · Call (201) 694-6463 · jon@acrex.co
By Jonathan Libock, AcreX · General information, not environmental or legal advice. Sources: NJDEP ISRA program page; N.J.A.C. 7:26B-1.4, 2.1, 3.2, 3.3, 3.4 and 5.9 (NJDEP courtesy copy, last amended November 17, 2025). Checked November 10, 2026.
AcreX Realty LLC, Licensed Real Estate Broker, 307 Bloomfield Ave, Caldwell, NJ 07006. Licensure does not imply endorsement. In New Jersey commissions are negotiable.