Security Deposit
Money a landlord holds against unpaid rent or damage beyond normal wear and tear. In New York it's generally capped at one month's rent and must come back, minus itemized deductions, within 14 days of move-out.
Last updated: October 3, 2026Since the Housing Stability and Tenant Protection Act of 2019, a New York landlord can generally collect no more than one month’s rent as a security deposit, and the one-month limit means a landlord can’t ask for last month’s rent on top of it. The one exception runs in the landlord’s favor: if your rent goes up at renewal or mid-lease, the landlord can collect enough extra to bring the deposit up to the new monthly rent.
The deposit is still your money while the landlord holds it. Landlords must treat deposits as trust funds and not mix them with their own money. In buildings with six or more apartments, deposits must sit in an interest-bearing account at a New York bank, the tenant must be told in writing which bank and how much, and the interest belongs to the tenant except for a 1%-of-deposit annual administrative fee the landlord may keep. You pick whether that interest is paid annually, applied to rent, or paid at the end of the lease.
At move-out, the landlord can keep only what’s legally allowed, mainly unpaid rent and the reasonable cost of repairing damage beyond normal wear and tear. Within 14 days of your moving out, the landlord must return the deposit along with an itemized statement of anything withheld; miss that deadline without the statement and the landlord generally forfeits the right to keep any of it. Since November 15, 2025, those 14-day protections also cover rent-stabilized tenants. Disputes typically go to Small Claims Court, and the Attorney General takes deposit complaints. This is a summary, not legal advice.
Worked example
On a $3,800-a-month apartment, the maximum deposit is $3,800. Say the building has six-plus units and the deposit account earns 2% for a year: that’s $76 of interest, of which the landlord may keep $38 (1% of the deposit) and you get $38. Renew at $3,950 and the landlord can ask for $150 more to top the deposit up to $3,950. Leave a hole in the wall that costs $450 to fix, and from that $3,950 deposit you should get $3,500 back (plus any interest owed), with an itemized statement, within 14 days. The Rent Calculator adds the deposit to your move-in cash, and the security deposit and move-in costs guide covers the rest of what’s due at signing.