Getting The Deposit Back
Gen. Oblig. Law § 7-108 — at most one month's rent, and back within fourteen days with an itemized statement
One month's rent, at most. A deposit or advance on a New York dwelling may not exceed one month's rent. The exceptions written into the section are a registered seasonal use unit and an owner occupied cooperative apartment, and the limit does not reach units under the city rent and rehabilitation law or the emergency housing rent control law, or certain senior and care communities.
Fourteen days. Within fourteen days after the tenant has moved out, the landlord gives the tenant an itemized statement of the basis for any amount kept, and returns the rest. A landlord who misses the fourteen days forfeits any right to keep any part of the deposit.
The landlord may keep only reasonable, itemized costs for unpaid rent, damage beyond normal wear and tear, unpaid utility charges payable to the landlord under the lease, and moving and storing the tenant's belongings. Nothing may be kept for ordinary wear and tear, or for damage a prior tenant caused, and in any dispute the landlord carries the burden of proving the amount kept was reasonable.
Before moving in, the tenant is offered an inspection, and if the tenant asks for one both sides sign a written agreement noting the defects already there; nothing may be kept later for a condition noted in it. Once either side gives notice of ending the tenancy, the landlord tells the tenant in writing of the right to an inspection before leaving. Asked for, it happens no earlier than two weeks and no later than one week before the end, on at least forty-eight hours written notice, and the tenant then gets an itemized statement of proposed deductions and the chance to fix them.
Up to twice the deposit. A violation makes the landlord liable for actual damages, and a willful violation for punitive damages of up to twice the amount of the deposit or advance.
The deposit stays the tenant's money, held in trust and not mixed with the landlord's own. In a building with six or more units it goes into an interest bearing account at a bank with a place of business in the state, the landlord may keep one per cent a year of the interest for administration, and the rest belongs to the tenant. A lease clause waiving any of this is void.
Sources for this section (2)
- Gen. Oblig. Law § 7-108 — Deposits made by tenants of non-rent stabilized dwelling units
- Gen. Oblig. Law § 7-103 — Money deposited or advanced for use or rental of real property; waiver void
Legal information, not legal advice. Verified as of October 2026. Applying it to a particular situation is the work of a licensed New York attorney.