Legal Question in Landlord & Tenant Law in New Jersey

Re: Security Deposit return issue

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ANSWER: First of all, depending upon whether you gave the notice thirty days and according to the terms of the lease, you may not be entitled to return of the deposit for at least the time period that you should have given notice. I mean, if your lease ran from the first of the month to the first of the next month and you gave notice on 12/15 that you were leaving, you perhaps should have given the notice that you were leaving on 12/1 and leave by 1/1. Also, if you called them rather than giving them notice in writing if the lease required it, that may not be considered valid notice. They may be entitled to keep the deposit for rents from 1/1 to 2/1 since for valid notice you should've given them notice on 12/1 for leaving by 1/1. Since 12/1 passed without you giving notice, your notice would be effective as of 1/1 for leaving by 2/1/. Regardless, the landlord just cannot state and keep your security deposit without complying with the law as it relates to your type of tenancy. They have to send you notice in writing within 30 days of the termination of the tenancy, include a breakdown of the security deposit they were holding, the amounts they are holding back and a breakdown of the reasons for holding back the security deposit item by item. In addition, you are required to notice for a court proceeding. In a landlord-tenant eviction action, a court officer serves the summons. You should call the court and advise them that you were not served or ask for the proof of service. Also, depending upon the type of tenancy, the landlord is required to give you written notice every year of where your deposit is, how much is there and give you any interest earned on it or credit it to your rent on a yearly basis. These are just basic answers based upon what you stated. You can sue and sometimes get double what was due back to you for the security deposit. You should either contact the court for a pro se landlord tenant package related to landlord-tenant actions or contact an attorney for assistance. You may contact me for a low cost consultation if you like. Good luck.