In buildings with six or more units, your deposit has been legally required to sit in an interest-bearing New York bank account - earning interest that belongs to you, minus a 1% administrative fee the landlord may keep. Most tenants never see a cent of it. See what yours should have earned.
The statute requires "prevailing rate" interest - whatever the bank actually pays on the account - so the true number depends on the bank the landlord chose, which they are required to disclose to you in writing. This estimate shows the order of magnitude. In a deposit dispute the interest is rarely the headline number; the mingling and 14-day violations are - see below. General information, not legal advice. Attorney Advertising.
The disclosure test. GOL § 7-103(2) requires the landlord to tell you, in writing, the bank's name and address and the deposit amount. Never got that notice? There's a fair chance the deposit was never properly banked at all.
The mingling forfeiture. A deposit is trust money under GOL § 7-103(1) - it cannot be mixed with the landlord's own funds. Courts have held that a landlord who commingles the deposit forfeits the right to retain it, deductions or no deductions. In a dispute, asking "which bank held my deposit, and where's my interest?" is often the question a landlord can't answer.
The 14-day hammer. Separately, when you move out the landlord has 14 days to return the deposit with an itemized statement - miss it and the right to keep any of it is forfeited, with up to double the deposit in punitive damages for willful violations (GOL § 7-108). Run those numbers in the deposit deadline calculator.
A flat-fee attorney demand letter cites §§ 7-103 and 7-108 together - the interest, the mingling, and the deadline - on law-firm letterhead, mailed certified within 48 hours. $349 flat.
Get my deposit back →Attorney Advertising. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome. Statutes verified as of August 2026 by Hochman Law PC. More free NY tools →