How long does a landlord in New Jersey have to return a security deposit?
The number itself forks on how the tenancy ended. The general rule is thirty calendar days after termination of the tenant's lease or licensee's agreement, with return by personal delivery or registered or certified mail and an itemization of interest, earnings and deductions. Where the tenant is displaced by fire, flood, condemnation or evacuation and an authorized public official posts the premises against occupancy, or a building inspector certifies within forty-eight hours that displacement is expected to last longer than seven days, the deposit must be available and returned on demand within five business days. Where the lease terminates under section 3 of P.L.2008, c.111 (C.46:8-9.6), the domestic-violence lease-termination provision, the deposit must be available and returned on demand within fifteen business days. In those two shortened cases the net sum stays available on demand during normal business hours for thirty days at a location in the same municipality, and the landlord must give the tenant written notice of where and when within three business days.
In plain terms, the statute says
In an action for the return of moneys due under this section, the court on finding for the tenant must award recovery of double the amount of those moneys together with the full costs of the action and, in the court's discretion, reasonable attorney's fees; the doubling follows from a finding for the tenant and needs no showing of bad faith or willfulness. A separate civil penalty of not less than five hundred dollars and not more than two thousand dollars for each offense may be imposed by the Commissioner of Community Affairs, the Public Advocate, the Attorney General or a State entity only where the landlord willfully and intentionally withheld deposits made by or on behalf of a tenant receiving State or federal financial assistance.
Who this covers
Section 46:8-26 applies the act to all rental premises or units used for dwelling purposes except owner-occupied premises with not more than two rental units where the tenant has failed to give the landlord thirty days' written notice invoking the act. So a tenant in a one- or two-unit owner-occupied building only gets the statute's protection by serving that notice.
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Questions people ask
How long does a landlord in New Jersey have to return a security deposit?
The number itself forks on how the tenancy ended. The general rule is thirty calendar days after termination of the tenant's lease or licensee's agreement, with return by personal delivery or registered or certified mail and an itemization of interest, earnings and deductions. Where the tenant is displaced by fire, flood, condemnation or evacuation and an authorized public official posts the premises against occupancy, or a building inspector certifies within forty-eight hours that displacement is expected to last longer than seven days, the deposit must be available and returned on demand within five business days. Where the lease terminates under section 3 of P.L.2008, c.111 (C.46:8-9.6), the domestic-violence lease-termination provision, the deposit must be available and returned on demand within fifteen business days. In those two shortened cases the net sum stays available on demand during normal business hours for thirty days at a location in the same municipality, and the landlord must give the tenant written notice of where and when within three business days.
Who does New Jersey's security-deposit law cover?
Section 46:8-26 applies the act to all rental premises or units used for dwelling purposes except owner-occupied premises with not more than two rental units where the tenant has failed to give the landlord thirty days' written notice invoking the act. So a tenant in a one- or two-unit owner-occupied building only gets the statute's protection by serving that notice.
What happens if a landlord in New Jersey is late?
In an action for the return of moneys due under this section, the court on finding for the tenant must award recovery of double the amount of those moneys together with the full costs of the action and, in the court's discretion, reasonable attorney's fees; the doubling follows from a finding for the tenant and needs no showing of bad faith or willfulness. A separate civil penalty of not less than five hundred dollars and not more than two thousand dollars for each offense may be imposed by the Commissioner of Community Affairs, the Public Advocate, the Attorney General or a State entity only where the landlord willfully and intentionally withheld deposits made by or on behalf of a tenant receiving State or federal financial assistance.
Where can I read New Jersey's security-deposit law?
New Jersey's rule is in N.J. Stat. Ann. § 46:8-21.1. The link on this page goes to the official text, so you can read the section yourself rather than take our word for it.
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