New Jersey security deposit law

• Return the deposit plus the tenant's interest, less itemized charges, within 30 days after the lease ends, by personal delivery or registered or certified mail.
• Within 5 business days after the tenant is displaced and an official posts a no-occupancy notice (or certifies the displacement will last more than 7 days), the landlord must have the deposit available for the tenant on demand. Written notice of where to collect it is due within 3 business days.
• Have the deposit available on demand within 15 business days after the lease ends, and keep it available for 30 days in the same municipality. Written notice is due within 3 business days.

The statute doesn't make return depend on a forwarding address. The refund goes by personal delivery or registered or certified mail.

Required: Yes. Interest and any deductions must be itemized and sent by personal delivery or registered or certified mail.

Deductions may cover damage beyond normal wear and tear and other money owed under the lease. No deductions may be taken while the tenant still lives in the unit.

Any prepaid money held to secure future rent counts as part of the deposit, including last month's rent, however it is labeled. At the start of the lease a landlord can collect no more than 1.5 months' security plus the first month's rent.

• Interest required: Yes. The deposit must earn interest, and the interest belongs to the tenant. It is paid in cash or credited to rent each year on the lease anniversary or renewal, or on January 31 if the tenant was told that in writing.
• Separate account required: Yes. The deposit is held in trust and can't be mingled with the landlord's money. Landlords with fewer than 10 units must use an interest-bearing account at an insured New Jersey bank or savings and loan. Landlords with 10 or more units may also use an insured New Jersey-based money market fund. The landlord must notify the tenant in writing of the bank's name and address, the account type, the interest rate and the deposit amount within 30 days of receiving the deposit and at each annual interest payment.
• Move-in inspection required: No. No statewide move-in inspection requirement.

A tenant who wins a suit for the deposit gets double the amount wrongfully withheld, full court costs and, at the court's discretion, reasonable attorney's fees (N.J.S.A. 46:8-21.1).

Double damages don't require bad faith. Willfully withholding a deposit paid for a tenant by a state or federal assistance program also carries a civil penalty of $500–$2,000 per offense.

Small Claims handles cases of $5,000 or less, including security deposit cases. Special Civil Part handles cases up to $20,000. Court information

Before filing, many tenants send a written demand first. Write a New Jersey demand letter →

• Owner-occupied 2- or 3-unit buildings are exempt, unless the tenant sends a written request. The law then applies 30 days later.
• If the landlord fails to give the required bank notice or pay interest, the tenant may give written notice and have the deposit plus 7% interest applied to rent. For a missed annual notice or payment, the landlord first gets 30 days to fix it (N.J.S.A. 46:8-19).
• When a tenant breaks a lease without legal cause, the lease ends, and the 30 days start, when the unit is re-rented or the lease expires, whichever comes first (DCA guide, citing J.C. Mitchell v. First Real Estate).
• Seasonal rentals of 125 consecutive days or less are exempt from the investment rules.
• A new owner is responsible for returning the deposit and interest, whether or not the former owner transferred it.

• NJ DCA, Truth in Renting (Security Deposits section) Retrieved October 11, 2026.
• P.L.2008, c.111 (amending N.J.S.A. 46:8-21.1) Retrieved October 11, 2026.
• NJ Courts: Small Claims Retrieved October 11, 2026.

Laws change. This page was checked against the sources above on October 11, 2026. It is legal information, not legal advice; see our methodology.