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

1 month's rent — The cap covers non-rent-stabilized dwelling units under GOL 7-108(1-a). Rent-stabilized and ETPA-covered units run on a separate section, GOL 7-107 — rewritten by Chapter 436 of the Laws of 2025 to carry the same one-month cap and HSTPA-style return scheme for leases and renewals entered into on or after November 15, 2025 (earlier stabilized leases stay under the prior rules until renewal).

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

14 days. The landlord must send an itemized statement giving the basis for any amount kept and return the rest of the deposit. The clock starts the day the tenant moves out, and the tenant does not have to supply a forwarding address first.

What happens if a landlord does not return the deposit on time in New York?

A landlord who misses the 14-day deadline forfeits any right to keep any part of the deposit. A willful violation adds punitive damages of up to twice the amount of the deposit (GOL 7-108(1-a)(e), (g)).

Do landlords have to pay interest on security deposits in New York?

Yes — New York requires interest on the security deposit to be paid to the tenant. In a building with six or more family dwelling units, the deposit must sit in an interest-bearing account at the prevailing rate, and the interest belongs to the tenant apart from a 1% annual administrative fee the landlord may keep (GOL 7-103(2), (2-a)).

Can a landlord charge a non-refundable fee in New York?

No — non-refundable fees are not allowed in New York.

What are the security deposit rules in New York?

Verified August 12, 2026 All New York topics →

Check your municipality. New York does not preempt local rent regulation — city or county ordinances may impose rent caps, notice rules, and fee limits that are stricter than the state-level rules on this page and are not covered here. Verify your municipality's ordinances before relying on any figure below. Verified local pages: New York City , New York municipalities outside NYC .

What the state record says

New York runs several rent-regulation regimes at once. Rent-controlled and rent-stabilized units follow DHCR rules with annual increases set by Rent Guidelines Boards, and a separate 2024 Good Cause Eviction law limits increases in covered units. The stabilization regimes are the NYC Rent Stabilization Law and the Emergency Tenant Protection Act, administered by DHCR and significantly strengthened by the 2019 HSTPA. The Good Cause Eviction law (RPL Article 6-A) applies in NYC and in localities that opt in. For covered units, a rent increase above the lesser of 5% plus CPI or 10% is presumptively unreasonable and can defeat an eviction for nonpayment of the increase.

Legislative changes ahead — not yet in force. The rules on this page reflect the law in force today. The following measure would change it:

S4856 (2025-2026 session) — Would amend GOL 7-108(1-a)(e) to extend the security-deposit return/itemized-statement deadline from 14 days to 30 days after the tenant vacates.Status: In Senate Judiciary Committee. Referred 2025-02-13; re-referred 2026-01-07 for the second year of the 2025-2026 session (routine). Assembly same-as: A2652. Not enacted as of the checked date. (checked 2026-07-08).

New York caps security deposits at one month's rent for non-rent-stabilized units, and the landlord must return the deposit with an itemized statement within 14 days of the tenant vacating — miss the deadline and the entire deposit must be returned.

Cited to GOL 7-108 (1-a), (3) and 2 more New York statutes · Verified August 12, 2026

Deposits are trust funds held in a separate New York bank account (interest-bearing in buildings of six or more units, with the landlord keeping at most a 1% administrative fee). Tenants have a statutory right to a move-in inspection and to a pre-move-out inspection with an opportunity to cure noted conditions before deductions are taken. Deductions are limited to unpaid rent, damage beyond normal wear and tear, unpaid lease utilities, and moving/storage; the landlord bears the burden of proving any retention is reasonable, and willful violations carry punitive damages up to twice the deposit. These 2019 HSTPA protections cannot be waived. Since November 15, 2025 the same protections reach rent-stabilized and ETPA apartments through a rewritten GOL 7-107 — but only for leases and renewals signed from that date, so stabilized tenancies phase in as they renew.

New York security deposits at a glance

Maximum deposit	1 month's rent — The cap covers non-rent-stabilized dwelling units under GOL 7-108(1-a). Rent-stabilized and ETPA-covered units run on a separate section, GOL 7-107 — rewritten by Chapter 436 of the Laws of 2025 to carry the same one-month cap and HSTPA-style return scheme for leases and renewals entered into on or after November 15, 2025 (earlier stabilized leases stay under the prior rules until renewal). Exceptions exist for registered seasonal-use dwelling units and owner-occupied cooperative apartments, and separate rules apply to certain licensed senior/care facilities.
Return deadline	14 days
Deadline conditions	The landlord must send an itemized statement giving the basis for any amount kept and return the rest of the deposit. The clock starts the day the tenant moves out, and the tenant does not have to supply a forwarding address first. Within 14 days after the tenant has vacated, the landlord must provide that itemized statement and return the remaining deposit. There is no forwarding-address precondition anywhere in the statute.
Itemization required	Yes
Itemization rules	The 14-day itemized statement must state the basis for each amount retained. Deductions are limited to non-payment of rent, damage beyond normal wear and tear, unpaid utility charges payable to the landlord under the lease, and moving/storage of the tenant's belongings; ordinary wear and tear and damage caused by a prior tenant may not be charged. In any dispute, the landlord bears the burden of proving the reasonableness of the amount retained (GOL 7-108(1-a)(f)).
Separate account required	Yes
Interest owed to tenant	Yes
Account & interest rules	In a building with six or more family dwelling units, the deposit must sit in an interest-bearing account at the prevailing rate, and the interest belongs to the tenant apart from a 1% annual administrative fee the landlord may keep (GOL 7-103(2), (2-a)). Deposits are trust funds that may not be commingled (GOL 7-103(1)). If the deposit is placed in a bank, the landlord must notify the tenant in writing of the bank's name and address and the deposit amount, and the bank must be located in New York (GOL 7-103(2)). Whenever the deposit is in an interest-bearing account — mandatory at 6+ units, voluntary below — the landlord may retain 1% per annum of the deposited sum as an administrative fee in lieu of all other administrative and custodial expenses. The balance of the interest belongs to the tenant, held in trust or paid annually (GOL 7-103(2)).
Pet deposits	No separate statutory category; because no deposit or advance may exceed one month's rent in total, a pet deposit cannot be charged on top of a full one-month security deposit.
Non-refundable fees allowed	No
Penalty for violation	A landlord who misses the 14-day deadline forfeits any right to keep any part of the deposit. A willful violation adds punitive damages of up to twice the amount of the deposit (GOL 7-108(1-a)(e), (g)). Any violation of subdivision 1-a makes the landlord liable for actual damages. Rights under the section are non-waivable (GOL 7-108(3)).
Tenant forwarding-address duty	Not addressed by statute

Cite this page: "Landlord Atlas, New York Security Deposit Laws (verified August 12, 2026), landlordatlas.com/laws/security-deposits/new-york/" — free to cite and quote with a link (how these records are verified). Every figure above is cited to the New York statute in the citations section below.

Generate a New York security-deposit return letter — free, no signup, built on the same verified New York rules as this page.

Notes and caveats

The one-month cap covers prepaid rent, not just the deposit — Any 'advance' — such as prepaid last month's rent — counts toward the same one-month ceiling. A landlord cannot stack first month's rent, last month's rent, and a full security deposit.
Two statutory exceptions to the cap — Registered seasonal-use dwelling units (GOL 7-108(4)-(5)) and owner-occupied co-op purchases (GOL 7-108(6)) sit outside these rules.
Rent-stabilized units: the separate section now mirrors these rules — Deposits for NYC rent-stabilized and ETPA-covered units are governed by GOL 7-107, not by the GOL 7-108 rules described on this page. Chapter 436 of the Laws of 2025 rewrote § 7-107 to carry the same substance inline: a one-month cap, full refundability with the same limited deductions, pre-occupancy and pre-vacating inspections with a right to cure, the 14-day itemized return with total forfeiture for a missed deadline, the landlord's burden of proof, actual damages plus up to twice the deposit for willful violations, and an anti-waiver clause. Application is prospective by lease — the new rules govern leases, rental agreements, and renewals entered into on or after November 15, 2025 — so coverage phases in as stabilized leases renew. The rewrite also reshaped successor liability on a building sale: a grantee or assignee is now liable for deposits of which it has actual knowledge, with broad deemed-knowledge triggers (deposits banked in the six months before closing, acknowledged in a lease in effect at closing, or documented by the tenant), where the old section imposed liability whether or not the deposit was received. Scope note: § 7-107 applies only to units under the NYC rent stabilization law of 1969 or the ETPA of 1974, and § 7-108's own scope clause excludes units under the city rent-control laws.
A pending bill would stretch the 14-day deadline to 30 — it is not law — S4856 would extend the return-and-itemized-statement deadline from 14 days to 30 days. It is tracked here as pending legislation only; the 14-day figure on this page is current law and does not reflect the bill.
No forwarding address required — the clock runs from move-out — The blank forwarding-address field means GOL 7-108 imposes no such duty, not that the tenant must do something first. The 14 days run from the date the tenant vacates regardless.

Common questions: New York security deposits

Each answer is the verified value from the table above, restated as a direct answer. Free to quote with a link to this page.

How much can a landlord charge for a security deposit in New York?: 1 month's rent — The cap covers non-rent-stabilized dwelling units under GOL 7-108(1-a). Rent-stabilized and ETPA-covered units run on a separate section, GOL 7-107 — rewritten by Chapter 436 of the Laws of 2025 to carry the same one-month cap and HSTPA-style return scheme for leases and renewals entered into on or after November 15, 2025 (earlier stabilized leases stay under the prior rules until renewal).
How long does a landlord have to return a security deposit in New York?: 14 days. The landlord must send an itemized statement giving the basis for any amount kept and return the rest of the deposit. The clock starts the day the tenant moves out, and the tenant does not have to supply a forwarding address first.
What happens if a landlord does not return the deposit on time in New York?: A landlord who misses the 14-day deadline forfeits any right to keep any part of the deposit. A willful violation adds punitive damages of up to twice the amount of the deposit (GOL 7-108(1-a)(e), (g)).
Do landlords have to pay interest on security deposits in New York?: Yes — New York requires interest on the security deposit to be paid to the tenant. In a building with six or more family dwelling units, the deposit must sit in an interest-bearing account at the prevailing rate, and the interest belongs to the tenant apart from a 1% annual administrative fee the landlord may keep (GOL 7-103(2), (2-a)).
Can a landlord charge a non-refundable fee in New York?: No — non-refundable fees are not allowed in New York.

Statute citations

GOL 7-108 (1-a), (3) (verified 2026) Official source
GOL 7-103 (1), (2), (2-a) (verified 2026) Official source
GOL 7-107 (as rewritten by Ch. 436 of the Laws of 2025, S952-B — rent-stabilized/ETPA units; leases and renewals on or after 2025-11-15) (verified 2026) Official source

How this record was verified: Direct read of statute text on the official NY Senate legislation site (nysenate.gov): GOL 7-108 (full text), GOL 7-103 (full text read 2026-07-08 — confirmed subdivision structure: (1) trust/no commingling, (2) bank notice + 1% admin fee when interest-bearing, (2-a) 6+ unit interest-bearing mandate, (3) waiver void), RPL 238-a and RPL 226-c (official-source text confirmed via nysenate.gov), cross-checked against the NY Attorney General's Residential Tenants' Rights Guide (ag.ny.gov) and NYC Rent Guidelines Board guidance.