Vicinage 9 (Monmouth), NJ Courts ↗county guide

Getting your deposit back in Monmouth County, NJ: the courthouse, the boards, and who helps

You do not need a lawyer to sue for a deposit here. On the county's median rent, a full-deposit case lands in the Special Civil Part at the Freehold courthouse - but that depends on your deposit, not the median, and the check below settles it. The rules behind it are the state's, not the county's: New Jersey law governs the deposit in all 53 municipalities, for the 61,539 households that rent here. What is local is everything around the rule: which courthouse hears the case, which towns keep a rent board, where the landlord is registered, and who will help for free.

Check my landlord's deadline - free →Build my case

← New Jersey deposit law, the rules themselves

Where you stand

Your deadline, your numbers, and why no Monmouth County ordinance changes either.

Has your landlord missed the 30-day deadline?

Two fields, ten seconds - the math follows N.J.S.A. 46:8-21.1, the same statute in every Monmouth County town. Add your deposit to see what you can demand and which Freehold track the doubled claim lands on.

The rules themselves: 30 days, doubled, one and a half months

These rules come from New Jersey state law, not from the county. We checked the published code of all 53 Monmouth County municipalities against the state's 2026 survey: not one has a deposit ordinance of its own, so a landlord who tells you it works differently in Freehold, Asbury Park or Atlantic Highlands is wrong.

The Rent Security Deposit Act, N.J.S.A. 46:8-19 to 46:8-26, reads the same in every Monmouth County town. The New Jersey page has the full text and the case law; this is the short version.

30 days: to return it after you move out
2x: what a court awards on money wrongfully kept
1.5 months: the most any NJ landlord may collect

The clock starts the day the tenancy ends - usually the day the keys go back - and runs 30 days, five business days if fire, flood or condemnation put you out. Miss it, or keep money without an itemized reason, and the court doubles what was withheld: "shall", not "may", with costs on top. The same doubling applies at the Freehold courthouse as anywhere in the state. The statute in full, the exemptions and the case law are on the New Jersey page.

What a deposit dispute looks like in Monmouth County, in numbers

$1,827: median monthly rent
$2,741: the most a landlord may hold on it
61,539: renter households - 24% of the county

The median Monmouth County renter pays $1,827 a month, so the deposit on a median unit tops out at $2,741 - one and a half months is the state cap. If a landlord keeps all of it past the 30 days, the claim is that amount doubled, $5,481, which is over the $5,000 Small Claims line: a typical full-deposit case in this county files in the Special Civil Part, on the longer form with the higher fee. Smaller deposits - anything under $2,500 - stay in Small Claims.

Rent boards in 10 of the 53 municipalities

Rent control is the one landlord-tenant rule New Jersey towns set locally, and 10 towns in Monmouth County keep a board. None of it touches deposits - the cap and the 30 days are the state's everywhere - but a board knows its local landlords, which is worth a call when a management company has gone quiet.

The 10 Monmouth County boards, and the towns without one

Municipality	Covers	Annual limit	Board
Asbury Park	buildings of 3 or more units	3.5%. 20% maximum increase with a successful landlord fair return appeal.	Rent Leveling Board (732) 502-4577
Atlantic Highlands	buildings of 5 or more units	CPI or 1.5%, +/- tax pass-through. CPI used is (CPI published in 4th month prior to termination - CPI published in 16th month prior to termination) / CPI published in 16th month prior to termination, Multiple-Year Lease: First year's lease renewal increase may be sequentially added to subsequent years	Rent Leveling Board (732) 291-1444 ext. 3103
Eatontown	every rental unit	No greater than the percentage increase in the CPI of the NY - East - NJ region published in the 4th month prior to lease expiration over the CPI published in the 16th month prior. Hardship or capital improvement increases may be approved by the Rent Board, but capital improvement increases shall not exceed 15% of tenant's rent.	Rent Leveling Board (732) 389-7600
Freehold Township	buildings of 4 or more units	Calculated as a percentage of the difference between CPI 4 months before new lease and 4 months before current lease. Percentage can be no greater than 90%, if landlord pays heat, and no greater than 80%, if tenant pays heat. No more than 1 increase per year.	Rent Leveling Board (732) 294-2000
Howell	Mobile Homes only	5% and any increased cost to the landlord of utilities, space fees, and license fees.	Mobile Home Rent Control Board (732) 938-4500
Marlboro	Mobile Homes only	Percentage increase of CPI for the NY - Northwest NJ Region over 12 month period ending 120 days prior to date of increase, not to exceed 5%. Increases for real estate taxes, licenses, fees, utilities, capital improvements, or hardship may be approved.	Rent Control Board (732) 536-0200
Neptune Township	buildings of 5 or more units	No greater than the percentage increase in the CPI for the New York - East - New Jersey region published in the fourth month prior to the month in which the lease or periodic tenancy terminates over the CPI published in the sixteenth month prior to the month of termination. Hardship or capital improvement increases may be approved.	Rent Leveling Board (732) 988-5200 ext. 235
Red Bank	buildings of 3 or more units	CPI-U Northern NJ/NY/Long Island Area 4 months prior to the expiring lease's commencement and 4 months prior to its expiration.	Rent Leveling Board (732) 530-2777 ext. 440
Shrewsbury Township	every rental unit	Annual increase in regional CPI-U for New York-East-New Jersey	Rent Leveling Board (732) 542-0572
Wall	Mobile Homes only	Increased cost of utilities and mobile home space and/or license fees plus the lesser of 8% and the increased annual average of CPI-U NY/NJ/CT/PA region for calendar year preceding increase.	Mobile Home Rent Stabilization & Control Board (732) 449-8444

No rent control: Aberdeen, Allenhurst, Allentown, Avon-by-the-Sea, Belmar, Bradley Beach, Brielle, Colts Neck, Deal, Englishtown, Fair Haven, Farmingdale, Freehold Borough, Highlands, Holmdel, Interlaken, Keansburg, Keyport, Lake Como, Little Silver, Loch Arbour, Long Branch, Manalapan, Manasquan, Matawan, Middletown, Millstone, Monmouth Beach, Neptune City Borough, Ocean, Oceanport, Roosevelt, Rumson, Sea Bright, Sea Girt, Shrewsbury Borough, Spring Lake, Tinton Falls, Union Beach, Upper Freehold, West Long Branch. In those towns the rent is whatever the lease says, and the deposit is still capped at one and a half months of it.

2 towns had a board and dropped it: Hazlet (repealed September 4, 2012) and Spring Lake Heights. An older lease may still mention the ordinance; it no longer applies, and it never touched the deposit either way.

The courthouse, and how you file

The Freehold window, the form your claim needs, and what it costs here.

Where a Monmouth County deposit case is filed

Deposit lawsuits go to the Special Civil Part of the Superior Court, which sits by county. You file in the county where the landlord lives or does business - not where you live - and if the landlord is out of state, in the county where the rental is. A Freehold tenant whose landlord runs the building from the next county over files there; a Freehold tenant with a Freehold landlord files here. The Special Civil Part window is in the Monmouth County Courthouse.

The courthouse: Monmouth County Courthouse
Special Civil Part (Small Claims Section)
71 Monument Street, Freehold, NJ 07728
Phone and hours: 732-358-8700 ext. 87590
Mon - Fri: 8:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.
Small Claims Section: Claims up to $5,000. Filing fee $35, plus $5 for each additional defendant.
Special Civil Part: Claims up to $20,000. Filing fee $50 to $75.

The Freehold office in practice

Checked on September 4, 2026 against the court's own pages. Rooms, hours and phone extensions change without notice - confirm with the office before you rely on any line below.

Special Civil Part / Small Claims line - the courthouse number above: 732-358-8700 ext. 87590
Mediation and arbitration: 732-358-8700 ext. 87680

Free help inside the courthouse. The vicinage's Self-Help Resource Center - Monmouth County Courthouse, 71 Monument Street, Room West Wing, 106, Floor Lower Level, Freehold, NJ 07728, 732-358-8700 ext. 87260, [email protected] - explains forms and procedure to people without a lawyer, Monday through Friday, 8:30 am to 4:30 pm. Staff cannot give legal advice, but they can tell you which form, which window, and what is missing from your file before you pay the fee.

Settling before the judge. On the hearing date the court sends both sides to a settlement conference first; many deposit cases end there with a payment plan.

Filing here: the Monmouth County layer

The procedure is the state's - what is local is the window you hand it to. Filing to judgment in New Jersey, in four steps has the sequence, the exhibit stack and the hearing itself. Here is the Monmouth County layer.

Before you file: Send the demand letter by certified mail first, citing N.J.S.A. 46:8-21.1 and the 30-day deadline, and give it 10 to 14 days. A judge will ask whether the landlord had a chance to pay, and the letter becomes your first exhibit.
Your form: Up to $5,000 it is the Small Claims kit; above that the Special Civil Part complaint. Enter your deposit in the check at the top and this page names your form.
Where to hand it in: The Special Civil Part window, 71 Monument Street, Freehold, NJ 07728 - in person during court hours, by mail to the same address, or online through JEDS. One copy of the complaint per defendant.
What it costs here: $35, plus $5 for each additional defendant in Small Claims, $50 to $75 in the Special Civil Part. A fee waiver is available if you cannot afford it - ask the clerk for the form when you file.

The Freehold office at 732-358-8700 ext. 87590 can tell you the current wait - count on two to three months from filing to a hearing date in most vicinages.

The forms, from the court itself

How to sue for up to $5,000 in Small Claims - non-motor-vehicle kit · CN 10151
Special Civil Part complaint kit, with instructions · CN 10541
A Guide to Small Claims · CN 10290
Special Civil: A Guide to the Court · CN 10281
Judiciary Electronic Document Submission · JEDS

III

Looking things up, and getting help

The landlord's legal name and address, which of 53 Monmouth County clerks holds it, and who helps for free.

Finding the landlord's mailing address

A demand letter needs an address, and the one on the lease is often a management office that has since moved. Under New Jersey's Landlord Identity Law your landlord had to register the owner's name and address - with the municipal clerk for one- and two-unit buildings, with the state for anything larger - and the clerk's copy is public. The lookup below has the clerk for every one of Monmouth County's 53 municipalities.

4 Monmouth County cities run their own rental registries on top of the state filing - an inspection or licensing office that holds the current owner and managing agent for every registered rental. Where your building is in one of them, that office is usually quicker than the clerk.

Freehold Borough · Licensed Registered Property / Landlord Registration Program (Code Ch. 5.92, amended by Ord. 2025/13) (Code Enforcement Office, 30 Mechanic Street, Freehold NJ 07728) · (732) 462-5812 (Borough main 732-462-4200)
Annual application (license year July 1-June 30, $100-$250) requiring the name, email, physical address and home/office/cell phone of all record owners and the agent/operator (including LLC members, partners, shareholders), a registered agent residing in Monmouth County who accepts service of process for the owner, and a floor plan; updates within 30 days of tenancy change. Borough publishes a public 'Registered Landlords List' PDF (license number, property address, owner name, owner mailing address/city/state/zip) at the URL above; registration itself is online via sdlportal.com (Freehold propertyRegistration).
Long Branch · Rental Certificate of Occupancy (required before each new tenant) (Building Department, 344 Broadway, Long Branch NJ 07740 (Landlord Registration Form is under the City Clerk)) · 732-571-5690 (Building Dept, [email protected]); City Hall 732-222-7000
CO application per rental turnover (proof of paid taxes/sewer, no open permits); the Clerk holds the state Landlord Registration Form (record owner and agent names/addresses).
Asbury Park · Certificate of Rental Compliance (formerly Certificate of Occupancy) on each change of occupancy (Code Enforcement, 1 Municipal Plaza, 2nd floor, Asbury Park NJ 07712) · 732-502-5742 ([email protected])
Owner's application (via SDL Portal) for a Certificate of Rental Compliance before tenants occupy; owner contact fields not itemized on the page.
Asbury Park · Rent Leveling annual registration (DCA/Landlord Registration Form + Tenant Lease Property Information Form, buildings with 3+ units) (Rent Regulation Officer, 1 Municipal Plaza, Asbury Park NJ 07712) · 732-502-4577
Annual filing by February 1 of the landlord's DCA Multiple Dwelling Registration or Landlord Registration Form (owner/agent identity) and a tenant lease information form for each 3+ unit rental property. Call the Rent Regulation Officer at 732-502-4577; tenants may file a Tenant Statement Form; no records-lookup procedure is described.
Neptune Township · Rental Certificate of Inspection (required when a dwelling is leased or rented; annual/long-term and short-term rental applications) (Code Enforcement Department, 25 Neptune Blvd, Neptune NJ 07753 (Donald Clare, Director of Code & Construction)) · 732-988-5200
Landlord's rental application and certificate of inspection for each rental (submitted through the webgeo.co online portal, including lead paint certification); owner fields not shown.

Where the landlord's registration is filed: the municipal clerk

New Jersey's Landlord Identity Law makes every landlord file a registration statement - the owner's legal name and address, and the managing agent's - and for one- and two-unit buildings it is filed with the clerk of the municipality the rental is in (larger buildings register with the state Department of Community Affairs). The clerk's copy is a public record. Pick your town for the office that holds it.

Your town in Monmouth County

All 53 municipal clerks in Monmouth County

Municipality	Clerk's office	Phone
Aberdeen Township	1 Aberdeen Square, Aberdeen, NJ 07747	732-583-4200
Allenhurst Borough	125 Corlies Avenue, Allenhurst, NJ 07711	732-531-2757
Allentown Borough	8 North Main Street, PO Box 487, Allentown, NJ 08501	609-259-3151
Asbury Park City	1 Municipal Plaza, Asbury Park, NJ 07712	732-775-2100 x 5720 or 5721
Atlantic Highlands Borough	100 First Avenue, Atlantic Highlands, NJ 07716	732-291-1444 x 3103
Avon-by-the-Sea Borough	301 Main Street, Avon, NJ 07717	732-502-4510 x 236
Belmar Borough	601 Main Street, Belmar, NJ 07719	732-681-3700
Bradley Beach Borough	701 Main Street, Bradley Beach, NJ 07720	732-776-2999
Brielle Borough	601 Union Lane, PO Box 445, Brielle, NJ 08730	732-528-6600 x 5100
Colts Neck Township	124 Cedar Drive, Colts Neck, NJ 07722	732-462-5470 x 100
Deal Borough	Norwood and Roseld Avenues, PO Box 56, Deal, NJ 07723	732-531-1454, opt. 3
Eatontown Borough	47 Broad Street, Eatontown, NJ 07724	732-389-7601
Englishtown Borough	15 Main Street, Englishtown, NJ 07726	732-446-9235, option 5
Fair Haven Borough	748 River Road, Fair Haven, NJ 07704	732-747-0241 x 221
Farmingdale Borough	11 Asbury Avenue, PO Box 58, Farmingdale, NJ 07727	732-938-4077
Freehold Borough	30 Mechanic Street, Freehold, NJ 07728	732-462-1259
Freehold Township	1 Municipal Plaza, Freehold, NJ 07728	732-294-2000
Hazlet Township	1766 Union Avenue, PO Box 371, Hazlet, NJ 07730	732-264-1700 x 8686
Highlands Borough	151 Navesink Avenue, Highlands, NJ 07732	732-872-1224 x 201
Holmdel Township	4 Crawford's Corner Road, Holmdel, NJ 07733	732-946-2820 x 1212
Howell Township	4567 Route 9 North, Howell, NJ 07731	732-938-4500 x 2150, 2151 or 2155
Interlaken Borough	100 Grassmere Avenue, Interlaken, NJ 07712	732-531-7405
Keansburg Borough	29 Church Street, Keansburg, NJ 07734	732-787-0215 x 112
Keyport Borough	70 W. Front Street, Keyport, NJ 07735	732-739-5121
Lake Como Borough	1740 Main Street, Lake Como, NJ 07719-0569	732-681-3232 x 203
Little Silver Borough	480 Prospect Avenue, Little Silver, NJ 07739	732-842-2400
Loch Arbour Village	550 Main Street, Loch Arbour, NJ 07711	732-531-4740
Long Branch City	Municipal Building, 344 Broadway, Long Branch, NJ 07740	732-571-5686
Manalapan Township	120 Route 522, Manalapan, NJ 07726	732-446-8314
Manasquan Borough	201 E. Main Street, Manasquan, NJ 08736	732-223-0544 ext. 235
Marlboro Township	1979 Township Drive, Marlboro, NJ 07746	732-536-0200 x 1234 or 1235
Matawan Borough	201 Broad Street, Matawan, NJ 07747	732-566-3898 x 602
Middletown Township	1 Kings Highway, Middletown, NJ 07748	732-615-2016
Millstone Township	470 Stagecoach Road, Millstone Township, NJ 08510	732-446-4249 x 1702
Monmouth Beach Borough	18 Willow Ave., Monmouth Beach, NJ 07750	732-229-2204 x 1002
Neptune City Borough	106 West Sylvania Avenue, PO Box 2098, Neptune City, NJ 07753	732-776-7224 x 41
Neptune Township	25 Neptune Boulevard, PO Box 1125, Neptune, NJ 07753	732-988-5200 x 234 or 235
Ocean Township	399 Monmouth Road, Oakhurst, NJ 07755	732-531-5000 x 3322
Oceanport Borough	910 Oceanport Way, PO Box 370, Oceanport, NJ 07757	732-222-8221
Red Bank Borough	90 Monmouth Street, Red Bank, NJ 07701	732-530-2777 x 0257
Roosevelt Borough	33 North Rochdale Avenue, PO Box 128, Roosevelt, NJ 08555-0128	609-448-0539 x 4
Rumson Borough	80 East River Road, Rumson, NJ 07760	732-842-3300
Sea Bright Borough	1099 Ocean Avenue, Sea Bright, NJ 07760	732-842-0099 x 18
Sea Girt Borough	321 Baltimore Blvd. & Fourth Avenues, PO Box 296, Sea Girt, NJ 08750	732-449-9433 x 111
Shrewsbury Borough	419 Sycamore Avenue, PO Box 7420, Shrewsbury, NJ 07702	732-741-4200 x 108
Shrewsbury Township	1979 Crawford Street, Eatontown, NJ 07724	732-542-0572
Spring Lake Borough	423 Warren Avenue, Spring Lake, NJ 07762	732-449-0800 x 620
Spring Lake Heights Borough	555 Brighton Avenue, Spring Lake Heights, NJ 07762	732-449-3500
Tinton Falls Borough	556 Tinton Avenue, Tinton Falls, NJ 07724-3298	732-542-3400 x 260
Union Beach Borough	650 Poole Avenue, Union Beach, NJ 07735	732-264-2277
Upper Freehold Township	314 Route 539, Cream Ridge, NJ 08514	609-758-7738 x 210
Wall Township	2700 Allaire Road, Wall, NJ 07719	732-449-8444 x 2200
West Long Branch Borough	965 Broadway, West Long Branch, NJ 07764	732-229-1756 x 100

List from the county's own directory, checked September 4, 2026.

Free help in Monmouth County

South Jersey Legal Services (Monmouth County office; formerly Ocean-Monmouth Legal Services) · 732-414-6750
303 West Main Street, Fourth Floor, Freehold, NJ 07728. Free civil legal help for lower-income residents, including tenant matters.
Volunteer Lawyers for Justice · 973-645-1955
Statewide pro bono program that helps tenants draft deposit demand letters and prepare pro se complaints against landlords who kept a deposit.
Legal Services of New Jersey hotline · 1-888-576-5529
Statewide intake line for free legal help, 1-888-LSNJ-LAW.

If it goes wrong

What losing costs, whether they can retaliate, and how a Monmouth County judgment is actually collected.

Before you file: the three things people worry about

What if I lose?: You are out the filing fee and the time. You are the one suing, so losing leaves you where you started and puts no eviction on your record. What losing actually costs - and the one point most failed claims turn on - is on the New Jersey suing page.
Can the landlord retaliate?: After a move-out, barely - the tenancy is over and you are the plaintiff. If you still rent from them, New Jersey bars reprisals for exercising a legal right. The full answer is on the New Jersey suing page; in Monmouth County the ombudsman at the Monmouth County Courthouse and South Jersey Legal Services (Monmouth County office; formerly Ocean-Monmouth Legal Services) both take the question in person, for free.
If I win, how do I get paid?: The court does not collect for you - a judgment is an instrument you enforce, and judgments against landlords are unusually collectable. Collecting your judgment walks through levy, garnishment and liens. The writ is issued by the Vicinage 9 (Monmouth) clerk at the same Freehold window you filed at.

Build your case

The case builder runs on New Jersey law, which is exactly the law that applies here. It checks the 30-day deadline against your move-out date, grades each deduction, and writes the demand letter with the statute cited - the letter that becomes Exhibit A at the Freehold courthouse if it comes to that.

Build your case →

Sources

Court, board and legal-aid details checked on September 4, 2026. Phone numbers and fees change; confirm with the office before you rely on one. Not reviewed by a licensed attorney, and not legal advice.