Does the Town Have to Plow Your HOA's Roads? New Jersey's Municipal Services Act
September 30, 2026 · JRW Services LLC
Often, yes. New Jersey's Municipal Services Act makes a town either plow a qualified private community's roads or reimburse the association for doing it.
Every fall an HOA board somewhere in northern New Jersey approves a snow contract that includes plowing the community's private roads, and pays for it out of common charges. Some of those communities are entitled to have the town do that work, or pay for it, and nobody on the board knows.
What the law says
New Jersey's Municipal Services Act, N.J.S.A. 40:67-23.2 through 23.8, was written to stop residents of private communities from paying twice for the same services: once through property taxes and again through association fees. For snow and ice, it gives a town two choices for a qualified private community. It can plow the community's roads the same way it plows public roads, or it can reimburse the association for doing the work itself.
The same law covers road lighting and the collection of garbage, recyclables and leaves. Snow is usually the largest of them.
The catch: the roads have to qualify
The town is not required to send its trucks onto a road that has not been accepted for public use and does not meet the town's standards for public roads, except for width. A narrow road can still qualify. A road that is not built to the standard otherwise may not.
How reimbursement is calculated, and how an association applies for it, is handled town by town. Some towns plow the roads themselves. Others write a check, and the amount is usually tied to what it would have cost the town to do the work.
What it does not cover
The Act is about roads. It does not cover:
- Walkways, stairs and entrances to buildings
- Parking areas and parking courts
- Mailbox clusters and common areas
Those stay with the association, which is why most HOAs still need a snow contractor even when the town handles the roads. Many communities end up with the town or a reimbursement covering the roads, and a contractor covering everything people walk on.
What a board should do
- Ask the town clerk whether the community is receiving services or reimbursement under the Municipal Services Act, and if not, what the process is.
- Ask the association's attorney whether the roads qualify. The standard for dedication is the question that decides it.
- Write the contract around the answer. If the town takes the roads, the contractor's scope should say so, so nobody plows the same road twice and nobody assumes the other one did.
Road mileage matters here too. Our town pages list how many miles of public road each municipality plows itself, from NJDOT's own figures, which gives a sense of what a town is already committed to before a private community asks.
Common questions
Does every HOA in New Jersey get free snow plowing from the town? No. The community has to qualify, and its roads have to meet the town's standards for public roads except for width. When it qualifies, the town either plows or reimburses.
Does the Municipal Services Act cover sidewalks and parking lots? No. It covers the roads. Walkways, stairs, parking areas and common areas remain the association's to clear.
Is this legal advice? No. It is a summary of the statute. Whether a particular community qualifies is a question for the association's attorney and the town.
Sources
N.J.S.A. 40:67-23.3, the section requiring a municipality to reimburse a qualified private community or provide the services. For how we work with associations, see snow service for HOAs.
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