Moving Out in NYC: The Get-Your-Deposit-Back Checklist

Your security deposit is a month's NYC rent — real money that's won or lost in how you leave, not how you lived. Here's the move-out sequence, aimed at one goal: no legitimate reason to withhold a dollar.

Before the move

• Give **written notice** per your lease (30 days is common) — email counts, texts are arguable
• Ask the landlord for a **pre-move-out walkthrough** — NY tenants can request one, and it surfaces issues while you can still fix them cheaply
• Book the freight elevator and COI for the move-out too — leaving has the same building rules as arriving

After the truck leaves

1. **Patch and paint:** fill nail holes, touch up scuffs (keep the original paint can if you ever had it). Normal wear is the landlord's cost; holes are yours.
2. **Clean to broom-plus:** floors, bathroom, inside the fridge and oven — the three places withholding letters cite.
3. **Remove everything** — abandoned furniture becomes a "disposal fee" against the deposit (disposal guide).
4. **Shoot the exit video:** every room, closets open, appliances running, meter shots — timestamped, same as your move-in video.
5. **Return keys documented** — in person with a text confirmation, or certified mail. "Never got the keys" is a classic deduction.

The deposit clock

New York requires landlords to return deposits within **14 days** of move-out, with an itemized statement for any deductions. If deductions look invented, your exit video plus the move-in record is exactly the evidence small-claims court wants — and landlords know it.