Looking to place a month's rent as a deposit for a room I will be renting and moving into at the beginning of February. Without going into too much details, I'm now having second thoughts about this room/residence.
If I hand over the deposit for the landlord to hold until the present resident vacates on the first of Feb. and I find a better location to move to? Can I legally get my deposit back? Keep in mind that this will be a more of an informal arrangement than with your typical resident leasing a full apartment from a real estate management/full size apartment building landlord (renting a room in boarding house - closest resembling definition to the setup).
Or once I hand over the deposit, should I stop looking for better options, move into the room. Start looking for better arrangements whereas I will move out 3 to 6 months later (if and when they pop up ... if they in fact do)?
Parking this bit of legalese here for further reference.
Tenants Rights: State of NY
Quote:Rent Security Deposits
Virtually all leases require tenants to give their landlords a security deposit; usually of one month’s rent. If a lease is renewed at a greater amount or the rent is increased during the term of the lease, the owner is permitted to collect additional money from the tenant in order to bring the security deposit up to the new monthly rent. Landlords, regardless of the number of units in the building, must treat the deposits as trust funds belonging to their tenants and they may not co-mingle deposits with their own money.
Landlords of buildings with six or more apartments must put all security deposits in New York bank accounts earning interest at the prevailing rate. Each tenant must be informed in writing of the bank’s name and address and the amount of the deposit. Landlords are entitled to collect annual administrative expenses of one percent of the deposit. All other interest earned on the deposits belongs to the tenants. Tenants must be given the option of having this interest paid to them annually, applied to rent, or paid at the end of the lease term. If the building has fewer than six apartments, a landlord who voluntarily places the security deposits in an interest bearing bank account must also follow these rules.
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