New Jersey security deposit demand letter
This is the body of the letter, with your details in brackets. Sentences marked "Only if" appear only when your answers match. The letter is sent in your name.
I was a tenant at [rental address]. I paid a security deposit of $[deposit amount]. My lease terminated on [lease end date].
Under N.J.S.A. 46:8-21.1, within thirty days after the termination of the tenant's lease, the landlord must return, by personal delivery or by registered or certified mail, the security deposit plus the tenant's portion of the interest or earnings on it, less any charges expended in accordance with the terms of the contract, lease, or agreement. The interest and any deductions must be itemized, and the tenant must be notified of them by the same means.
More than thirty days have passed since my lease terminated.
[Only if nothing returned] I have not received my deposit or an itemized statement.[Only if partial return] I received $[amount returned] on [date returned]. I have not received the balance.
N.J.S.A. 46:8-21.1 provides that in any action by a tenant for the return of money due under that section, the court, upon finding for the tenant, shall award recovery of double the amount of that money, together with full costs of the action, and may award reasonable attorney's fees.
I am requesting the return of my security deposit with the interest required by N.J.S.A. 46:8-21.1.
Statute: N.J.S.A. 46:8-21.1. Read the statute.
Last reviewed: October 2026