How much a landlord can charge, and which deductions are actually legal
This page covers how much a landlord may charge in New York, and which deductions from a residential deposit are lawful. It assumes the tenancy has ended and the question is what may be withheld.
It does not cover:
No more than one month’s rent (§ 7-108(1-a)(a), added by the 2019 HSTPA). Buildings with 6+ units must hold the deposit in an interest-bearing account; the landlord may retain a 1% administrative fee (§ 7-103).
Caps frequently carry exceptions — smaller landlords, furnished units, or pets are treated differently in most states. Read the provision itself rather than relying on the headline figure.
| Claimed deduction | Permitted in New York |
|---|---|
| Actual cost of repairing damage (landlord must prove it) | Permitted, if substantiated |
| Unpaid rent | Permitted, if substantiated |
| Other lawful charges specified in the lease | Permitted, if substantiated |
| Claimed deduction | Permitted in New York |
|---|---|
| Normal wear and tear | Not permitted |
| Deductions not provided on time (all deduction rights forfeited) | Not permitted |
| Unsubstantiated damage claims | Not permitted |
Whether a specific charge is lawful depends on the facts — how old the damage is, whether the lease addressed it, and whether the landlord can document the cost. A charge being in the "permitted" column does not make it automatically collectable.
§ 7-108(1-a)(f): in any deposit lawsuit, the burden of proving the reasonableness of a deduction sits with the landlord. You only need to state that you did not cause the damage. This is the most tenant-favorable burden allocation among these five states.
In New York the burden sits with the landlord. This matters strategically: if the burden is theirs, your task is to request the documentation rather than to prove the deduction wrong. N.Y. Gen. Oblig. Law § 7-108(1-a)(f) ↗
A landlord who withholds in bad faith may be liable for 2x the full deposit.
Punitive damages of up to twice the deposit require a finding that the landlord “willfully” violated § 7-108 — meaning they knew the rule and broke it anyway. Mere late payment or a good-faith mistake is not enough. Willfulness is a factual determination, and credibility is one of the factors courts weigh. Common examples of facts supporting willfulness: deducting with no basis in the record, refusing to return the money without justification, ignoring repeated documented requests.
N.Y. Gen. Oblig. Law § 7-108(1-a)(g) ↗The tenant may recover the landlord's attorney fees.
Section 7-108 itself does not authorize attorney fees. Fees in New York security deposit cases may be available under N.Y. Gen. Oblig. Law § 7-109 when a tenant recovers the deposit, or under the 2019 HSTPA amendments extending fee protection to tenants. Availability and amount are decided by the court and depend on the outcome, so treat this as possible rather than certain.
N.Y. Gen. Oblig. Law § 7-109 ↗The 14-day deadline imposes two obligations — return and itemize — and failing either automatically forfeits every deduction right, with no court finding of bad faith required. Compare California, where being late only creates a presumption of bad faith and the 2x remains at the court’s discretion. The same mistake costs you everything in one state and a lawsuit in another. Which state you are in determines how much you can get back.
N.Y. Gen. Oblig. Law § 7-108(1-a)(e) ↗After signing the lease but BEFORE you move in, the landlord must offer you the opportunity to inspect the unit. If you request it, you and the landlord sign a written agreement recording the condition and every existing defect. Upon vacating, the landlord may not retain any part of the deposit for any condition, defect, or damage noted in that agreement. This is the only rule among these five states that can defeat a deduction without any argument about timelines — if you signed a condition report at move-in, every item on it is off the table. Note it is admissible as evidence of condition only in proceedings about the deposit, so keep it.
N.Y. Gen. Oblig. Law § 7-108(1-a)(c) ↗Unless you terminate with less than two weeks’ notice, the landlord must notify you in writing of your right to request an inspection before vacating and to be present at it. If you request one, it must occur no earlier than two weeks and no later than one week before the tenancy ends, with at least 48 hours’ written notice. Afterward the landlord must give you an itemized statement of the repairs or cleaning it proposes to charge for, and you get the chance to cure those conditions before move-out. That statement is only admissible in deposit proceedings. If the landlord never offered you this inspection, in New York City that is itself additional evidence of bad faith.
N.Y. Gen. Oblig. Law § 7-108(1-a)(d) ↗The twice-the-deposit punitive damages are only available if the court finds the landlord “willfully” violated the section — that is, they knew the 14-day rule and broke it anyway. Honest mistake or good-faith lateness does not qualify. Courts treat willfulness as a factual question and weigh credibility heavily. This is worth knowing before you over-claim: the forfeiture in (1-a)(e) does not require willfulness at all, so the forfeiture is your reliable claim and the 2x is the bonus.
N.Y. Gen. Oblig. Law § 7-108(1-a)(g) ↗Since the 2019 Housing Stability and Tenant Protection Act, no residential security deposit or advance may exceed one month’s rent. The cap covers deposits and advances together — a landlord cannot charge a full month’s deposit plus a separate last month’s rent and exceed the cap. Amounts collected in violation are recoverable, and the excess triggers statutory damages. Rent-stabilized units follow § 7-107 instead.
N.Y. Gen. Oblig. Law § 7-108(1-a)(a) ↗The deposit must be held in a trust account and not commingled; buildings with 6+ units must pay interest, and the landlord may retain a 1% administrative fee. Violations can be reported to the New York Attorney General.
N.Y. Gen. Oblig. Law § 7-103 ↗““You caused $2,000 in real damage, so I’m entitled to keep it.””
§ 7-108(1-a)(e) provides that a landlord who fails to complete both “return + itemization” within 14 days forfeits the right to withhold any part of the deposit — no court finding of bad faith required. Even if the damage claim is entirely valid, the moment the itemization arrived on day 15 the deduction right was already gone.
N.Y. Gen. Oblig. Law § 7-108(1-a)(e)
““I thought the lease end date was the vacating date, so I wasn’t late.””
The statute measures from “vacated the premises,” not the lease end date. Provide evidence of the date you actually returned the keys.
N.Y. Gen. Oblig. Law § 7-108(1-a)
““I gave you the itemization, I just didn’t return the balance.””
“Return the balance” and “provide an itemized statement” are two independent obligations that must both be completed within 14 days. Doing only one still forfeits every deduction right.
N.Y. Gen. Oblig. Law § 7-108(1-a)(e)
Some widely circulated summaries of New York deposit law state things the statute does not say. We list the disagreements rather than picking a side silently.
| Source | What it says |
|---|---|
| Language tied to the November 2025 § 7-107 amendments | Several protections extend to rent-stabilized tenants |
| Legislative history | § 7-107 protections are weaker |
What we follow: Flagged as “may differ — verify separately”
Sources disagree on whether rent-stabilized tenants fall under § 7-108. Rather than give a definitive answer, we flag it for verification so you are not misled.
Every figure on this page comes from the official text, not from a summary. The table below lists each provision used and the date it was last checked against the source.
| Statute | Last verified | Source |
|---|---|---|
| N.Y. Gen. Oblig. Law § 7-108(1-a)(e) | 2026-10-04 | official text ↗ |
| N.Y. Gen. Oblig. Law § 7-108(1-a)(g) | 2026-10-04 | official text ↗ |
| N.Y. Gen. Oblig. Law § 7-109 | 2026-10-04 | official text ↗ |
| N.Y. Gen. Oblig. Law § 7-108(1-a)(f) | 2026-10-04 | official text ↗ |
| N.Y. Gen. Oblig. Law § 7-108(1-a)(c) | 2026-10-04 | official text ↗ |
| N.Y. Gen. Oblig. Law § 7-108(1-a)(d) | 2026-10-04 | official text ↗ |
| N.Y. Gen. Oblig. Law § 7-108(1-a)(a) | 2026-10-04 | official text ↗ |
| N.Y. Gen. Oblig. Law § 7-103 | 2026-10-04 | official text ↗ |
Primary reference: N.Y. Gen. Oblig. Law § 7-108 (rewritten by the 2019 HSTPA). Where the official text and a secondary summary disagree, this page follows the official text and says so. Amendments are recorded on the site changelog.
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The statute does not permit deductions for: normal wear and tear; deductions not provided on time (all deduction rights forfeited); unsubstantiated damage claims.
The landlord. § 7-108(1-a)(f): in any deposit lawsuit, the burden of proving the reasonableness of a deduction sits with the landlord. You only need to state that you did not cause the damage. This is the most tenant-favorable burden allocation among these five states.
No more than one month’s rent (§ 7-108(1-a)(a), added by the 2019 HSTPA). Buildings with 6+ units must hold the deposit in an interest-bearing account; the landlord may retain a 1% administrative fee (§ 7-103).
No. Normal wear and tear