Security Deposit Not Returned in New Jersey: What Can I Do?
New Jersey law sets rules for how your landlord must handle your security deposit after you move out. This page covers the return deadline, the itemized list of deductions, and what you can do if your deposit is not returned.
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New Jersey's Security Deposit Act covers most rental homes, including mobile homes. It does not cover an owner-occupied building with 2 or 3 apartments. If you rent in one of those buildings, you can still get its protections. Send your landlord a written request, and the law applies to you 30 days after you send it.
✓ Sources checked September 24, 2026
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Your landlord must return your security deposit, plus any interest it earned, within 30 days after your lease ends. Your landlord can take out allowed costs first.
✓ Sources checked September 24, 2026
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You may be forced to leave your home because of a fire, flood, condemnation, or evacuation. Condemnation means a government order that the building is unsafe to live in. If that happens, your landlord must return your deposit within 5 business days. Two situations trigger this shorter deadline. An official may have posted a notice banning people from living there. Or an official may have certified that displacement will last more than 7 days.
✓ Sources checked September 24, 2026
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If you break your lease and move out early without legal cause, the 30-day clock does not start when you leave. It starts when your landlord re-rents the unit or your original lease ends, whichever happens first. This only applies if you gave your landlord the notice your lease requires.
✓ Sources checked September 24, 2026
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Your landlord can take money from your deposit for damage beyond normal wear and tear (the ordinary aging of a home from everyday use). Your landlord can also take any other money you owe under your lease.
✓ Sources checked September 24, 2026
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If your landlord takes money out of your deposit, your landlord must send you a list of what was taken out and why. Your landlord must mail this list by registered or certified mail within 30 days after you move out.
✓ Sources checked September 24, 2026
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Your landlord cannot take any money from your deposit while you are still living in the rental home.
✓ Sources checked September 24, 2026
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If your rental home is sold, the new owner is responsible for returning your security deposit to you. This is true whether or not your old landlord passed the deposit on to the new owner.
✓ Sources checked September 24, 2026
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If the cost of damage or unpaid rent is more than your deposit, your landlord can sue you for the difference.
✓ Sources checked September 24, 2026
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If your landlord misses the 30-day deadline, or you disagree with what was taken out, you can sue for double what your landlord wrongly kept. You get this money only if you win your case and your landlord pays. For example, if your landlord wrongly kept $1,500, the court could order your landlord to pay you $3,000. The court can also order your landlord to pay your court costs and reasonable lawyer's fees. Lawyer's fees means the cost of hiring a lawyer to represent you.
✓ Sources checked September 24, 2026
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Your landlord must not keep a security deposit from a state or federal program on purpose. If your landlord does, your landlord can be fined $500 to $2,000 for each violation. This includes deposits paid through welfare or rental assistance (money to help pay rent). If you get this kind of help, you do not have to sue to keep receiving it. This is true even if your landlord keeps your deposit unfairly.
✓ Sources checked September 24, 2026
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No state agency in New Jersey handles security deposit disputes. You must go to court to settle them.
✓ Sources checked September 24, 2026
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You can sue for your deposit in the Small Claims section of the Special Civil Part of the Superior Court. You get this money only if you win your case and your landlord pays. File in the county where the rental is, or the county where your landlord lives. Use Small Claims if the amount you are seeking, including any penalty but not court costs, is $5,000 or less.
✓ Sources checked September 24, 2026
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If the amount is more than $5,000 but not more than $15,000, file in the regular Special Civil Part instead of Small Claims.
✓ Sources checked September 24, 2026
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