Is it legal to charge a non-refundable deposit when applying for a rental apartment in New York City?

Hello, perhaps this will just be a lesson learned for an eager and naive couple, but is it a legal, common practice to withhold a deposit if a prospective renter decides to rent another apartment? We are a professional couple expecting our first child in the fall. The location is an affluent neighborhood (Boerum Hill) in Brooklyn and the agent is from a well-known agency in Park Slope. We saw a duplex in Brooklyn that we put down a $500 deposit at the request of the agent. She said this was to show the landlord we were serious and decline consideration from other prospects while our application was vetted. The deposit was in cash and the receipt said it would "be refunded in full if the applicants are not accepted by the landlord for this rental apartment." The receipt was dated but not signed by either of us. Because the landlord took over a week to examine our application, we had time to see and apply for another apartment. You can see what happened next -- when I broke the news to the agent to cancel our application, she informed me that the deposit would not be refunded for the stated reason above. If this is a classic case of not reading the fine print and thinking of the consequences, so be it, but in hindsight I can't see this being legal or ethical. Requesting a deposit I understand, but only refunding if the application is rejected I don't. Would we have any standing to pursue a legal remedy to recover our deposit? Regards, R. R. T.

1 year ago - 2 answers