Legal Question in Landlord & Tenant Law in New Jersey

Re: Security deposit

The Rent Security Deposit Act (N.J.S.A. 46:8-19) is the law you should become familiar with:

http://lis.njleg.state.nj.us/cgi-bin/om_isapi.dll?clientID=35593737&Depth=4&TD=WRAP&headingswithhits=on&infobase=statutes.nfo&rank=&softpage=Doc_Frame_Pg42&wordsaroundhits=2&x=38&y=20&zz=

Also, here is a security deposit bulletin outlining details of the law with sample letter templates: http://www.state.nj.us/dca/codes/lt/pdf/Secty_deposit_bultin.pdf

If you do not have a copy of your original or renewed lease after this much time, you should know that the security deposit is yours and not your landlord's. If you have given written notice to your landlord of their failure to give you the required annual notice of your security deposit and interest per year, you can apply it to future and past rent owed. They cannot ask you for another security deposit again, and you are also entitled to the interest collected for each of the 21 years.

If after reading the above links you still cannot get your landlord to return your security deposit, you can sue them in small claims court.