Landlord Never Asked for Deposit

Landlord asked the DHCR if a security deposit could be required from rent-stabilized tenant after a 20-year period when none was previously collected. In an opinion letter, the DHCR stated that if tenant's original lease permitted the collection of a security deposit but landlord hadn't collected it, then whether landlord could now collect the security deposit depended on the facts and circumstances of each situation. But if tenant's original lease didn't permit landlord to collect a security deposit, landlord couldn't add such a provision to tenant's renewal lease.

DHCR Opin. Ltr. by Charles Goldstein (6/9/97) [2-page document]