Edison has not codified a separate local security-deposit ordinance, and security deposits at Edison rentals are governed by the New Jersey Rent Security Deposit Act at N.J.S.A. 46:8-19 et seq. The Act caps the deposit at 1.5 months' rent, requires the landlord to place the deposit in a separate interest-bearing account at a New Jersey bank or money-market fund and provide the tenant with written notice of the depository within 30 days, requires the interest to be credited to the tenant annually, and requires return of the deposit (less itemized deductions) within 30 days of the tenant's vacating - five days in the case of fire, flood, condemnation, or similar event. Doubled-deposit penalties plus attorney fees attach to non-compliance.
The New Jersey Rent Security Deposit Act, N.J.S.A. 46:8-19 et seq., is the controlling statute for any residential rental in Edison. Edison has not codified an Edison-specific deposit cap, depository rule, or return-timeline beyond the chapter, and Chapter 17 (Housing) defers to the state act on these issues. Key requirements under N.J.S.A. 46:8-19 through 46:8-26: (1) the deposit may not exceed 1.5 months' rent and any subsequent annual increase to the deposit may not exceed 10% of the current deposit; (2) the landlord must deposit the security in a separate insured account at a New Jersey-licensed bank or a New Jersey-regulated money-market fund and may not commingle the deposit with the landlord's own funds; (3) within 30 days of receipt of the deposit (and within 30 days of any change in the depository or any change in ownership of the building), the landlord must provide the tenant with written notice naming the bank or fund, identifying the account, stating the type of account, the current rate of interest, and the amount of the deposit, and must provide annual interest notices; (4) the interest earned belongs to the tenant and must be credited annually toward rent or paid out; (5) the deposit must be returned by personal delivery, mail, or by deposit into the tenant's named account within 30 days after the tenant vacates, with an itemized statement of deductions for unpaid rent or damages beyond ordinary wear and tear; the period shortens to 5 days where the tenant is displaced by fire, flood, condemnation, or evacuation under N.J.S.A. 46:8-21.1. Penalties under N.J.S.A. 46:8-21.1 are stiff: a landlord who fails to return the deposit within the statutory window forfeits the right to assert any deductions and owes the tenant double the amount wrongfully withheld plus reasonable attorney fees and court costs. Tenants enforce the act in the Superior Court Special Civil Part. The act applies to all residential tenancies and is not waivable in the lease.
Violation of the Security Deposit Act exposes the landlord to a doubled-deposit penalty plus reasonable attorney fees and court costs in a Special Civil Part action under N.J.S.A. 46:8-21.1. Failure to provide the depository notice within 30 days converts the deposit into rent that the tenant may apply to current or future rent at the tenant's election under N.J.S.A. 46:8-19(c). Commingling of the deposit with the landlord's own funds is an independent violation. Where the landlord-tenant relationship is also a covered Chapter 17 rental (registered with the Township Clerk) and the deposit failure surfaces during a Division of Health re-occupancy inspection or a Fair Rental Housing Board rent-roll review, the landlord may face additional Chapter 17 sanctions and potential denial of license renewal at the next March 1 cycle.
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