Eligibility-specific and tied to rent due on the first of the month.
N.J.S.A. 46:8-21.2.
After termination of the lease or license agreement.
Includes dispute, meter test and high-consumption investigation paths for regulated utility customers.
New Jersey charge guides
Each page is tied to an official New Jersey source layer and routes the renter to the correct evidence, timing and calculation workflow.
Security Deposit
New Jersey security deposit cap, interest, return, deduction and applicability rules.
Open guide →30-Day Return Rule
New Jersey’s general 30-day deadline for returning a security deposit, interest and itemized deductions.
Open guide →1.5-Month Deposit Cap
New Jersey generally limits a residential security deposit to one and one-half times monthly rent.
Open guide →Interest & Bank Notice
New Jersey security deposits are generally held in qualifying accounts and tenants receive account information and interest or earnings.
Open guide →Move-Out Charges
Review New Jersey damage deductions, ordinary wear, lease balances and security-deposit itemization after move-out.
Open guide →5-Day Displacement Rule
Certain fire, flood, condemnation or evacuation displacements can trigger a five-business-day deposit return rule in New Jersey.
Open guide →Owner-Occupied Exception
How New Jersey’s Security Deposit Law treats qualifying owner-occupied premises with no more than two rental units.
Open guide →Utility Bill & Shutoff Rights
New Jersey renter utility protections for disputed direct utility bills, meter testing, high-use diversion investigations, multifamily shutoff notices and landlord nonpayment situations.
Open guide →Qualified Tenant Late-Fee Grace Period
New Jersey five-business-day rent grace-period protection for qualifying senior, disability, SSI and Work First NJ tenants when rent is due on the first of the month.
Open guide →Post-Warrant 3-Business-Day Window
New Jersey Stack Amendment guide to the three-business-day rent-payment window after a warrant for removal is posted or a nonpayment lockout is executed, including payment acceptance and late-fee records.
Open guide →Qualified-tenant late-fee timing
The five-business-day rule is not universal. Confirm the tenant’s qualifying pension/benefit category and that the lease makes rent due on the first of the month, then exclude Saturdays, Sundays and State/federal holidays when building the protected calendar.
New Jersey utility bill & shutoff rights
For a direct regulated utility account, preserve the disputed amount, undisputed payment, meter-test or diversion-investigation records and any shutoff notice. For a landlord or third-party bill, identify the billing method before relying on direct-utility customer rules.
Official sources
Official DCA publication of New Jersey’s Security Deposit Law, including the 30-day return rule, 1.5-month cap, interest/trust requirements and special shorter timelines.
New Jersey Department of Community AffairsNew Jersey Security Deposit Bulletin — revised July 2025 ↗Current DCA plain-language bulletin summarizing applicability, deposit amount, interest, return, deductions and special displacement rules.
New Jersey Board of Public UtilitiesNew Jersey Utility Customer Bill of Rights ↗Official NJBPU consumer-rights page covering utility-bill disputes, meter testing, disconnection notice, multifamily building notice, diversion-of-service investigations and other residential utility protections.
New Jersey LegislatureN.J.S.A. 2A:18-61.1 — Grounds for removal of tenants ↗Official statute providing that rent used by a tenant to continue electric, gas, water or sewer service after receiving utility notice of threatened discontinuance based on landlord nonpayment is not treated as unpaid rent for the eviction ground described in subsection (a).
New Jersey Board of Public UtilitiesNJBPU Division of Customer Assistance — Filing Complaints ↗Official utility complaint path for unresolved service delays, discontinuance, payment arrangements, high bills, deposits and rate issues after first contacting the utility provider.
New Jersey LegislatureN.J.S.A. 2A:42-6.1 — Five-business-day rent grace period ↗Current New Jersey statute requiring a five-business-day grace period for covered rent due on the first of the month and prohibiting a delinquency or other late charge that includes that protected period. Business days exclude Saturdays, Sundays and State or federal holidays.
New Jersey Department of Community AffairsN.J.S.A. 2A:42-6.1 through 6.3 — Senior Citizens Five Day Grace Period ↗Official DCA publication showing the grace-period rule and its eligibility limits: covered senior citizens receiving specified pensions plus recipients of Social Security Disability Benefits, Supplemental Security Income or Work First New Jersey benefits.
New Jersey LegislatureP.L.2019, c.316 — N.J.S.A. 2A:42-10.16a and 46:8-49.3 ↗Official enacted Stack Amendment creating a three-business-day rent-payment period after a warrant for removal is posted or a lockout is executed for nonpayment, together with landlord acceptance and notice duties.
New Jersey CourtsFairkings Partners, LLC v. Essence L. Daniels, A-2972-23 (App. Div. 2025) ↗Published December 8, 2025 Appellate Division decision interpreting the Stack Amendment to allow the tenant to pay the rent amount fixed in the judgment of possession to avoid eviction, rather than later-accrued rent.