Free New York Security Deposit Itemization — overview

A New York Security Deposit Itemization is the itemized statement a landlord must provide under GOL § 7-108(1-a)(e) indicating the basis for any amount of the deposit retained. It is due, together with the rest of the deposit, within 14 days after the tenant has vacated the premises. Deductions are limited to the reasonable and itemized costs of unpaid rent, damage beyond normal wear and tear, utility charges payable directly to the landlord under the lease, and moving and storage of the tenant’s belongings. A landlord who misses the 14 days forfeits any right to retain any portion of the deposit, and in any dispute the landlord bears the burden of proving the amount retained was reasonable. The form on this page produces a complete itemized statement with a built-in deductions calculator; the rest of this guide walks through the legal framework, the deductible-versus-non-deductible standard, and the documentation that makes a deduction defensible.

What this itemization does

A New York Security Deposit Itemization is the written statement a landlord must deliver to a tenant under GOL § 7-108 (HSTPA 2019) at the end of a tenancy. It accomplishes three distinct things at the same time.

First, it explains every deduction. GOL § 7-108(1-a)(e) requires an itemized statement indicating the basis for the amount retained, and § 7-108(1-a)(b) allows only reasonable and itemized costs within four categories. A general statement that “deductions were made for cleaning and damage” tells the tenant nothing. Each deduction should stand on its own, identified by category and described with enough specificity that the tenant and a court can evaluate whether it is for damage or for normal wear and tear, and whether the amount is reasonable.

Second, it returns the deposit balance. GOL § 7-108(1-a)(e) requires the landlord to return any remaining portion of the deposit within the same fourteen days as the statement. If either the statement or the deposit is late, the landlord forfeits any right to retain any portion of the deposit.

Third, it satisfies the timing rule. The fourteen days in GOL § 7-108(1-a)(e) run from the date the tenant vacated the premises. A statement that arrives on day fifteen is not a technicality: the statute’s consequence is forfeiture of any right to retain any portion of the deposit.

The form on this page produces a complete itemized statement with a built-in deductions calculator, automatic balance computation, the required statutory references, and a delivery certification block. The remainder of this guide walks through the legal framework, the deductible-versus-non-deductible standard, and the documentation requirements that make a deduction defensible.

New York legal framework — GOL § 7-108 (HSTPA 2019)

The New York rules are in General Obligations Law §§ 7-103 through 7-109. GOL § 7-103 makes the deposit trust money that may not be commingled, GOL § 7-108 governs deposits for non-rent-stabilized units (as amended by the Housing Stability and Tenant Protection Act of 2019), and GOL § 7-107 applies parallel rules to rent-stabilized units. The § 7-108(1-a) rules do not apply to units under city rent control or the emergency housing rent control law and to certain senior and care communities listed in the statute.

The provisions that matter for itemization

GOL § 7-108(1-a)(e) — 14-day statement and return. “Within fourteen days after the tenant has vacated the premises, the landlord shall provide the tenant with an itemized statement indicating the basis for the amount of the deposit retained, if any, and shall return any remaining portion of the deposit to the tenant. If a landlord fails to provide the tenant with the statement and deposit within fourteen days, the landlord shall forfeit any right to retain any portion of the deposit.” The statute does not require the tenant to ask first.

GOL § 7-108(1-a)(b) — what may be retained. Only “an amount lawfully retained for the reasonable and itemized costs due to non-payment of rent, damage caused by the tenant beyond normal wear and tear, non-payment of utility charges payable directly to the landlord under the terms of the lease or tenancy, and moving and storage of the tenant’s belongings.” New York sets no dollar threshold for receipts; instead, § 7-108(1-a)(f) places the burden of proof on the landlord as to the reasonableness of the amount retained.

GOL § 7-108(1-a)(b) — wear and tear and prior tenants. “The landlord may not retain any amount of the deposit for costs relating to ordinary wear and tear of occupancy or damage caused by a prior tenant.” And under § 7-108(1-a)(c), the landlord may not retain anything for a condition, defect or damage noted in a signed move-in inspection agreement.

GOL § 7-108(1-a)(g) — damages. “Any person who violates the provisions of this subdivision shall be liable for actual damages, provided a person found to have willfully violated this subdivision shall be liable for punitive damages of up to twice the amount of the deposit or advance.” Any lease clause waiving these rights is absolutely void (§ 7-108(3)).

The move-in and pre-move-out inspections under GOL § 7-108(1-a)(c)–(d)

After lease signing but before occupancy, the landlord must offer the tenant a chance to inspect the unit together; if the tenant requests it, the parties sign a written agreement noting existing defects, and nothing noted there may later be charged. Then, within a reasonable time after either party gives notice of intent to end the tenancy (unless the tenant gives less than two weeks’ notice), the landlord must tell the tenant in writing of the right to request an inspection before vacating and to be present. If requested, the inspection takes place no earlier than two weeks and no later than one week before the tenancy ends, on at least 48 hours’ written notice, and the landlord then gives an itemized statement of the repairs or cleaning proposed as deductions so the tenant can cure them. The pre-move-out statement does not replace the 14-day post-vacate statement. See our New York Move-In/Move-Out Checklist guide for the inspection records.

The one-month cap and its exceptions

Under GOL § 7-108(1-a)(a), no deposit or advance may exceed one month’s rent. The statute makes two exceptions: a registered seasonal-use dwelling unit rented for no more than 120 days a year to a tenant with a primary residence elsewhere, where the lease says so and the unit is on a local or county seasonal-use registry (§ 7-108(4)–(5)); and an owner-occupied cooperative apartment, where the tenant is the unit owner, purchaser or shareholder (§ 7-108(6)).

When the building is sold

If the deposit is not turned over to the new owner, the buyer or assignee is still liable to the tenant for its repayment, plus accrued interest, where the buyer has actual knowledge of it — for example because it was deposited in an interest-bearing bank account under GOL § 7-103(2-a) in the six months before closing, or is acknowledged in a lease in effect at closing (GOL § 7-108(2)). A buyer with no record of a deposit must notify the tenant in writing within 30 days after closing; the tenant then has 30 days to produce documentary evidence — a cancelled check, a receipt from, or a lease signed by, a prior owner.

Federal anti-discrimination overlay

Independent of GOL § 7-108, the federal Fair Housing Act (42 U.S.C. § 3601 et seq.) and New York’s fair housing law prohibit deposit-handling decisions that target tenants based on race, religion, national origin, familial status, disability, or other protected characteristics. A landlord who consistently charges higher cleaning fees to families with children, or who applies different deduction standards to tenants of certain backgrounds, exposes themselves to fair-housing claims with their own remedies — separate from the deposit statute.

When and how to deliver

The 14-day clock

The New York clock runs from the date the tenant vacated the premises (GOL § 7-108(1-a)(e)) — not from the lease end date and not from the date the tenant gave notice. If the tenant is gone but the vacate date is unclear, document it carefully (key handover photographs, walk-through documentation, written tenant acknowledgment).

Within those fourteen days the landlord must do both of the following: provide the itemized statement and return any remaining portion of the deposit. If either is late, the landlord forfeits any right to retain any portion of the deposit. Fourteen days is short — plan the move-out inspection, contractor quotes and the statement before the tenant leaves.

Method of delivery

GOL § 7-108(1-a)(e) says the landlord “shall provide” the statement and return the deposit, without naming a delivery method. Because the landlord loses the right to keep any of the deposit if either arrives late, use a method that proves the date: certified mail with a return receipt, or personal delivery with a signed acknowledgment.

Delivery address

Send to the tenant’s forwarding address if the tenant provided one; otherwise use the last address you have for the tenant, which may be the rented unit. A missing forwarding address does not extend the fourteen days, and the statute does not require the tenant to demand the deposit first.

What to do if you discover damage after delivery

New York’s statute does not provide a supplementary-statement procedure, and the fourteen-day forfeiture rule leaves no room for a second pass. Use the pre-move-out inspection under § 7-108(1-a)(d) to identify conditions early, then send one complete statement within the fourteen days.

Worked example

A tenant vacates on June 30 after paying a $1,800 deposit. The landlord retains $230 for damage beyond normal wear and tear. The itemized statement and the $1,570 balance must be provided by July 14. If they go out on July 16, the landlord has forfeited any right to retain any portion of the deposit and owes the full $1,800 — and a willful violation can add punitive damages of up to $3,600 (twice the deposit).

Categories of deductible expenses

GOL § 7-108(1-a)(b) allows the landlord to retain only reasonable and itemized costs in four categories. A lease cannot enlarge that list: any agreement waiving or modifying the tenant’s rights under § 7-108 is absolutely void (§ 7-108(3)).

1. Non-payment of rent

Rent the tenant owes but did not pay can be retained. Document it with the lease and the rent ledger.

2. Damage caused by the tenant beyond normal wear and tear

Specific damage attributable to the tenant — large holes, broken fixtures, pet damage, water damage from negligence, missing items — can be retained for. It may not include damage caused by a prior tenant or any condition noted in a signed move-in inspection agreement. The standard is covered in section 5. Cleaning is not its own category in New York; a cleaning charge has to be justified as repairing damage beyond normal wear and tear.

3. Non-payment of utility charges payable directly to the landlord

Only utility charges that the lease or tenancy makes payable directly to the landlord qualify. Utilities the tenant owes to a utility company are not the landlord’s to collect from the deposit.

4. Moving and storage of the tenant’s belongings

The reasonable cost of moving and storing belongings the tenant left behind can be retained. Keep the mover’s or storage invoice.

What you cannot deduct: Ordinary wear and tear of occupancy, damage caused by a prior tenant, conditions noted in a move-in inspection agreement, leasing costs for the next tenant, and any cost outside the four statutory categories.

Wear and tear vs. damage — the standard

The wear-versus-damage distinction is the single most important analytical question in security deposit deductions, and the most common source of deposit disputes. GOL § 7-108(1-a)(b) draws the line in its own words — no amount may be retained for “ordinary wear and tear of occupancy”: damage can support a deduction; wear cannot. The challenge is identifying which side of the line a given condition falls on.

How the line is usually drawn

Normal wear and tear is the deterioration that occurs in the ordinary use of residential property by a tenant of average care. It is the unavoidable consequence of habitation: paint that fades from sunlight, carpet that flattens in high-traffic areas, minor scuffs on walls from furniture and movement, small nail holes from picture hanging, light scratches on hardwood floors, faint marks on countertops from