GetMyDepositBack
Vicinage 12 (Union), NJ Courts ↗county guide

Getting your deposit back in Union 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 Elizabeth 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 21 municipalities, for the 86,672 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

I

Where you stand

Your deadline, your numbers, and why no Union 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 Union County town. Add your deposit to see what you can demand and which Elizabeth 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 21 Union 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 Elizabeth, Linden or Springfield is wrong.

The Rent Security Deposit Act, N.J.S.A. 46:8-19 to 46:8-26, reads the same in every Union 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 Elizabeth 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 Union County, in numbers

$1,730
median monthly rent
$2,595
the most a landlord may hold on it
86,672
renter households - 43% of the county

The median Union County renter pays $1,730 a month, so the deposit on a median unit tops out at $2,595 - 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, $5,190, 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 exist in 4 of the 21 municipalities

Rent control is the one landlord-tenant rule New Jersey towns set locally, and 4 towns in Union 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 4 Union County boards, and the towns without one
MunicipalityCoversAnnual limitBoard
Elizabethbuildings of 3 or more units3%. Hardship or capital improvement increases may be approved by Board.Fair Rental Housing Board
(908) 820-4181
Lindenbuildings of 4 or more unitsLesser of 5% and percentage difference between CPI 90 days prior to expiration/termination of lease and 90 days prior to commencement of lease term. (CPI NY-Northeast NJ urban consumers CPI)Rent Leveling Board
(908) 474-8493
Springfieldbuildings of 3 or more units4% no more than every 12 monthsRent Leveling Board
(973) 912-2200
Unionbuildings of 3 or more units4% Units on premises with over 500 units and rented prior to 9/13/05: 8%.Rent Leveling Board
(908) 688-2800

No rent control: Berkeley Heights, Clark, Cranford, Fanwood, Garwood, Hillside, Kenilworth, Mountainside, New Providence, Plainfield, Rahway, Roselle, Roselle Park, Scotch Plains, Summit, Westfield, Winfield. In those towns the rent is whatever the lease says, and the deposit is still capped at one and a half months of it.

II

The courthouse, and how you file

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

Where a Union 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 Elizabeth tenant whose landlord runs the building from the next county over files there; a Elizabeth tenant with a Elizabeth landlord files here. The Special Civil Part window is in the Union County Courthouse, Third Floor.

The courthouse
Union County Courthouse
Special Civil Part (Small Claims Section)
2 Broad Street, Third Floor, Elizabeth, NJ 07207
Phone and hours
908-787-1650 ext. 22160
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 Elizabeth 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
908-787-1650 ext. 22160
Mediation and arbitration
908-787-1650 ext. 22130

Free help inside the courthouse. The vicinage's Ombudsman office - Union County Courthouse, 2 Broad Street, Elizabeth, NJ 07207, Showing 1 to 17 of 17 items, 908-787-1650 ext. 22300, [email protected] - explains forms and procedure to people without a lawyer. 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 Union 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 Union 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, 2 Broad Street, Third Floor, Elizabeth, NJ 07207 - 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 Elizabeth office at 908-787-1650 ext. 22160 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

III

Looking things up, and getting help

The landlord's legal name and address, which of 21 Union 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 Union County's 21 municipalities.

4 Union 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.

  • Elizabeth · Rent Control Property Registration - Apartment Building Registration Form (Elizabeth Code 5.70.050) (Department of Administration, Bureau of Rent Control, 50 Winfield Scott Plaza, 1st Floor, Room 116, Elizabeth, NJ 07201-2462) · (908) 820-4181

    For every non-owner-occupied pre-1996 building with 3+ units: names and addresses of all record owners (and general partners), the corporation's registered agent and officers, an in-county agent authorized to accept tenant notices and service of process, the managing agent, a 24-hour emergency representative and the superintendent - filed annually by March 1 (online via GovPilot). Not stated on the fetched pages; the Bureau answers questions by phone or email ([email protected]), and OPRA to the City Clerk is the formal route.

  • Plainfield · Rental property licensing / Certificate of Compliance for rentals (Plainfield Code Article 5) (Inspections Division, Property Maintenance Unit (Code Enforcement and Inspections Division)) · (908) 753-3375 (Oren K. Dabney Sr.); 908-753-3384 (Athenee Wright); (908) 753-3386 (Leticia Velez, permits/licenses)

    The unit licenses every rental property and issues a Certificate of Compliance before any unit is rented or occupied, so it has a licence application from the owner on file; the owner/agent fields were not visible (site blocked fetching). Not stated; contact the Inspections Division by phone/email ([email protected]) or file an OPRA request.

  • Linden · Rental Property Registration (Linden Code Chapter 13, Rental Property) for buildings with four or fewer units (City Clerk, Linden City Hall, 301 North Wood Avenue, 2nd Floor, Linden, NJ 07036)

    Every owner files a registration form per unit with the City Clerk initially, yearly and at each change of occupancy, and only occupants on file with the Clerk may reside there; the form's owner fields were not visible (site redirects scripted fetches). Not stated; the City Clerk's office is open Mondays 10am-4pm by appointment per the search snippet, and an OPRA request to the Clerk is the formal route.

  • Union Township · Rental unit registration and licence (Township Code Article III) plus Rental Certificate of Occupancy on initial or change of occupancy (Article I) (Township Clerk (registration/licence); code official (rental certificate of occupancy))

    The Township Clerk issues a licence attesting each rental unit is registered (taxes/water/sewer must be current), only occupants on file with the Clerk may reside there, and the code official issues a rental CO that must be posted in each unit; owner/agent fields were not visible (ecode blocked fetching). Not stated; OPRA request to the Township Clerk.

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.

All 21 municipal clerks in Union County
MunicipalityClerk's officePhone
Berkeley Heights Township29 Park Avenue, Berkeley Heights, NJ 07922908-464-2700
Clark Township430 Westfield Avenue, Clark, NJ 07066732-388-3669
Cranford Township8 Springfield Avenue, Cranford, NJ 07016908-709-7210
Elizabeth City50 Winfield Scott Plaza, Elizabeth, NJ 07201908-820-4131
Fanwood Borough75 N. Martine Avenue, Fanwood, NJ 07023908-322-8236
Garwood Borough403 South Avenue, Garwood, NJ 07027908-789-0710
Hillside Township1409 Liberty Ave, Hillside, NJ 07205973-681-7155
Kenilworth Borough567 Boulevard, Kenilworth, NJ 07033908-276-9090
Linden City301 North Wood Avenue, Linden, NJ 07036908-474-8452
Mountainside Borough1385 Route 22, Mountainside, NJ 07092908-232-2400
New Providence Borough360 Elkwood Avenue, New Providence, NJ 07974908-665-1400
Plainfield City515 Watchung Avenue, Plainfield, NJ 07060908-753-3221
Rahway City1 City Hall Plaza, Rahway, NJ 07065732-827-2100
Roselle Borough108 West Third Ave, Roselle, NJ 07203908-259-3010
Roselle Park Borough110 East Westfield Avenue, Roselle Park, NJ 07204908-245-6222
Scotch Plains Township430 Park Avenue, Scotch Plains, NJ 07076908-322-6700
Springfield Township100 Mountain Avenue, Springfield, NJ 07081973-912-2201
Summit City512 Springfield Avenue, Summit, NJ 07901908-273-6400
Union Township1976 Morris Avenue, Union, NJ 07083908-851-8501
Westfield Town425 East Broad Street, Westfield, NJ 07090908-789-4030
Winfield Township12 Gulfstream Avenue, Winfield, NJ 07036908-925-3850

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

Free help in Union County

IV

If it goes wrong

What losing costs, whether they can retaliate, and how a Union 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 Union County the ombudsman at the Union County Courthouse and Central Jersey Legal Services (CJLS) - Union County office 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 12 (Union) clerk at the same Elizabeth 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 Elizabeth 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.