In a major win for New Jersey's commercial real estate industry, Gov. Phil Murphy signed a bill (A573) on Jan. 5, 2023, which makes several substantive changes to the Uniform Construction Code Act in an effort to increase speed and efficiency with respect to the construction permitting inspection process. This new law that applies to both residential and commercial properties allows developers to hire private inspection agencies (authorized by the Department of Community Affairs) to perform property inspections if the local construction officials are unable to complete an inspection within three business days of the requested date, provided the property owner or developer provides a minimum of 24 hours written notice to the municipality requesting the inspection. If the municipality cannot perform the inspection by the deadline, then it must notify the property owner within 24 hours of receipt of the request. If the parties cannot agree on an alternative date, then the property owner can seek to retain a licensed private inspection company to perform the inspection and any subsequent inspections needed provided the municipality receives written notification.