New York's cap sounds like the simplest one in the country: one month's rent, full stop, since the Housing Stability and Tenant Protection Act took effect on June 14, 2019. But two details in the statute's text are routinely missed — the cap's words reach beyond the amount you've labeled "security deposit," and the rule actually lives in two parallel sections.
"No deposit or advance" — the cap's words are broader than its nickname
GOL § 7-108(1-a)(a) says: "No deposit or advance shall exceed the amount of one month's rent…"
Note what that sentence limits: any deposit or advance. The ceiling isn't tied to the label on the check — an amount collected up front as an "advance" is held to the same one-month language the statute applies to a deposit. That's why the move-in packages common in other markets, built from a deposit plus additional prepaid amounts, sit uneasily against New York's text: the statute's own words don't stop at the line item called "security deposit." How the language applies to a specific package is a question for a New York attorney; the safe reading of the text is that one month's rent is the ceiling for any amount collected up front as a deposit or advance.
The parallel section landlords rarely cite: § 7-107
The one-month rule appears a second time in GOL § 7-107, which imposes the same cap on rent-stabilized units: "No deposit or advance shall exceed the amount of one month's rent, under any contract for the lease or tenancy of a dwelling unit subject to this section."
The practical effect: stabilized and unregulated tenancies land in the same place — one month — but through different sections. A citation (or a lease rider) that names only § 7-108 is incomplete for stabilized units; the pair together is the complete answer.
The exemptions are narrow, defined classes
The cap does not apply to a handful of specific categories set out in § 7-108(1-a)'s preamble and subdivisions 4–6: units under the older New York City rent control and rehabilitation law, continuing-care retirement communities, licensed assisted-living providers, adult care facilities, certain senior and not-for-profit retirement communities, seasonal-use dwellings, and owner-occupied co-ops. These are narrow classes — none of them swallows the general one-month rule for ordinary rentals.
The cap travels with companion duties
The deposit you can collect is one month; what you must do with it is governed by GOL § 7-103 and the rest of § 7-108:
- The deposit stays the tenant's money. § 7-103 makes deposits trust funds — no commingling with the landlord's own funds, and the tenant must be told which bank holds the money.
- Buildings of six or more units must hold the deposit in an interest-bearing account at the prevailing rate (§ 7-103(2-a)).
- Return runs on a 14-day clock, with an itemized statement (§ 7-108(1-a)(e)). Failure to return within 14 days forfeits the right to retain any portion of the deposit, and a willful violation can cost up to twice the amount in damages.
How stable is this?
The one-month cap dates to the HSTPA, effective June 14, 2019, and our statute check for the deposit-cap verification packet found no cap amendment in the last three years. The text above reflects the official statute as published at nysenate.gov as of that review.
Check your exact numbers with our New York Security Deposit Limit Calculator.