New Jersey's Rent Security Deposit Act (N.J.S.A. 46:8-19 to -26) treats the deposit as the tenant's invested money — literally. It's one of only a handful of states requiring interest on every deposit with no thresholds, and its double-damages remedy is enforced routinely in Special Civil Part courts.
How much can a landlord charge?
One and a half months' rent, maximum — and during renewals, any deposit increase is capped at 10% per year. (Owner-occupied buildings of two or three units are exempt from the Act unless the tenant invokes it in writing.)
The tenant's money, earning the tenant's interest
The deposit must be placed in an interest-bearing account at a New Jersey institution, with written notice to the tenant — bank name, address, account type, and rate — within 30 days of receipt, and again annually. All interest belongs to the tenant, paid or credited each year. Miss the disclosure rules and the tenant can demand the deposit be applied to rent — a uniquely New Jersey remedy that converts paperwork failures into free months.
The 30-day return — 5 days after disaster
Within 30 days of tenancy ending, the landlord must return the deposit plus interest, with an itemized statement of any deductions (limited, as everywhere, to unpaid rent and damage beyond ordinary wear and tear). Tenants displaced by fire, flood, or condemnation get their deposit within 5 days — a humane rule most states lack.
The penalty
Fail to return within 30 days and the tenant can sue for double the amount due, plus court costs and reasonable attorney's fees — small claims for amounts up to $5,000, Special Civil Part above. Courts apply the doubling to the wrongfully withheld portion with little sympathy for procedural excuses.
Why New Jersey deposit disputes are documentation disputes
New Jersey's statute polices the money obsessively — accounts, interest, disclosures — but says almost nothing about proving condition. The wear-and-tear line, where every real dispute lives, is left entirely to evidence the parties bring. In a doubling-damages state, weak evidence isn't just unpersuasive; it's expensive.
SealMove is the strong kind. Every photo and video is cryptographically sealed the instant it's captured, independently timestamped, and locked with Face ID into a tamper-evident archive. At move-out, your walkthrough lines up room-by-room against the sealed baseline — and either party can send the other a report to review and acknowledge, no app required.