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Free New Jersey Security
Deposit Return Letter Template

Last reviewed September 2026

Written by LawLease Editorial

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New Jersey Security Deposit Return Letter

When a tenancy ends, a New Jersey landlord has a set time to return the deposit or send an itemized list of deductions. Here’s what New Jersey’s statute says.

New Jersey rules at a glance

New Jersey rules for a Security Deposit Return Letter
Return deadline30 days. Within 30 days after the lease ends, the landlord must return the deposit plus accrued interest, less lawful deductions, with an itemized statement — by personal delivery, registered or certified mail.N.J.S.A. 46:8-21.1
PenaltyA court that finds for the tenant in a deposit case must award double the amount due, plus full costs and, in its discretion, reasonable attorney’s fees.N.J.S.A. 46:8-21.1

Security deposits in New Jersey

A New Jersey landlord may not require more than one and one-half times one month’s rent as security, and any additional security collected later can’t exceed 10% of the current deposit per year (N.J.S.A. 46:8-21.2). The money stays the tenant’s property, held in trust, and can’t be mixed with the landlord’s own funds (§46:8-19).

  • Interest-bearing account — The deposit must be placed in an interest-bearing account at a bank, savings bank or savings and loan association (landlords with 10 or more rental units may instead use an insured money-market fund). The interest belongs to the tenant and is paid in cash or credited toward rent each year (§46:8-19).
  • 30-day bank notice — Within 30 days of receiving the deposit — and again on any transfer to a new account, at each annual interest payment, and after a sale of the building — the landlord must tell the tenant in writing the institution’s name and address, the account type, the current interest rate and the amount deposited (§46:8-19(c)).
  • Penalty for skipping it — If the landlord fails to invest the deposit or give the notice, the tenant may give written notice and apply the deposit plus 7% annual interest toward rent, and the landlord can’t demand a new deposit (§46:8-19(c)).
  • Return — Within 30 days after the lease ends, the landlord must return the deposit plus accrued interest, less lawful deductions, with an itemized statement — by personal delivery, registered or certified mail. No deductions may be taken while the tenant is still in possession (§46:8-21.1).
  • Faster returns — Within 5 business days if the tenant is displaced by fire, flood, condemnation or evacuation, and within 15 business days after a lease ends early under the domestic-violence termination law (§46:8-21.1).
  • Double damages — A court that finds for the tenant in a deposit case must award double the amount due, plus full costs and, in its discretion, reasonable attorney’s fees (§46:8-21.1). A lease clause waiving any part of the Security Deposit Law is void (§46:8-24).
  • Small owner-occupied buildings — The Security Deposit Law doesn’t apply to owner-occupied premises with no more than two rental units unless the tenant gives the landlord 30 days’ written notice invoking it (§46:8-26).

Required disclosures in New Jersey

Leases must also be written in plain, understandable language under New Jersey’s Plain Language Act (N.J.S.A. 56:12-2).

  • Lead-based paint — The federal lead warning and known-hazard disclosure apply to housing built before 1978 (42 U.S.C. §4852d). Separately, New Jersey’s 2021 lead-safe law (P.L.2021, c.182) requires most pre-1978 rentals to pass a lead-paint inspection at tenant turnover, with limited exemptions.
  • Truth in Renting statement — In buildings with more than two units (more than three if owner-occupied), the landlord must give each new tenant the current DCA Truth in Renting statement at or before lease signing (N.J.S.A. 46:8-46).
  • Flood risk rider — Since March 2024, landlords covered by the same unit-count threshold must disclose FEMA flood-zone status and known flooding history on a separately signed rider using the State’s model notice (N.J.S.A. 46:8-50).
  • Security deposit notice — Bank name and address, account type, interest rate and amount, within 30 days of receipt (§46:8-19(c)).
  • Landlord identity — Rental buildings other than owner-occupied two-family homes must be registered, and each tenant must receive the registration statement naming the owner, managing agent and emergency contact. An unregistered landlord can’t obtain a judgment for possession (N.J.S.A. 46:8-27 to -37).
  • Window guards — In multiple dwellings, the lease must tell tenants they can request window guards where a child 10 or younger lives in the unit (N.J.A.C. 5:10-27.1).

Tenant protections you can’t waive

  • Good cause — A covered tenancy can end only on an enumerated Anti-Eviction Act ground; no lease clause can create a right to evict or refuse renewal without one (N.J.S.A. 2A:18-61.1).
  • Deposit rights — Any clause waiving the Security Deposit Law is absolutely void (N.J.S.A. 46:8-24).
  • Clearly established rights — A lease provision that violates tenants’ clearly established legal rights is unenforceable under the Truth in Renting Act (N.J.S.A. 46:8-48).
  • No reprisal — A landlord can’t evict, refuse to renew or substantially change a lease because the tenant complained to a government agency, asserted legal rights, or joined a tenant organization, and such action can be presumed retaliatory (N.J.S.A. 2A:42-10.10, -10.12).
  • No lockouts — Entering by force or without consent or a judgment — including removing a tenant’s possessions — is unlawful entry and detainer (N.J.S.A. 2A:39-1 et seq.).

New Jersey Security Deposit Return Letter FAQs

How much can a landlord charge for a security deposit in New Jersey?

No more than one and one-half times one month’s rent, and any later increase in the deposit can’t exceed 10% of the current deposit per year (N.J.S.A. 46:8-21.2).

How long does a landlord have to return a security deposit in New Jersey?

30 days after the lease ends, together with the tenant’s interest and an itemized list of any deductions, sent by personal delivery or registered or certified mail. If the tenant sues and wins, the court must award double the amount wrongfully withheld plus costs (N.J.S.A. 46:8-21.1).

Does a New Jersey landlord have to pay interest on a security deposit?

Yes. The deposit must sit in an interest-bearing account, the tenant must get written notice of the bank, account type, rate and amount within 30 days, and the interest belongs to the tenant — paid in cash or credited to rent each year (N.J.S.A. 46:8-19).

More New Jersey landlord documents

Security Deposit Return Letter in other states

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