Is it legal for an agent to hold back rent from a landlord if the tenant has paid it?
Repossession
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June 28th, 2009 at 2:58 am
I’m assuming that this agent is a realtor. Look at your contract with the rental agent - they would not be able to hold back the full amount had you not signed something to that effect. You provide far too little info to give you a loophole.
June 30th, 2009 at 1:21 pm
can you cancel your contract with them? that would mean they’d -have- to give you the money, right?
July 3rd, 2009 at 2:17 pm
what does the contract say? they maybe within their rights, check it out
July 7th, 2009 at 12:32 am
If you as a landlord had asked for a year in advance the interest would be yours.
As it was their request then the interest is theirs.
July 10th, 2009 at 8:21 am
What is your written agreement with the rental agency? That is what would determine what they are allowed to do with that money.
If I were the renter I would want to be assured that the owner/landlord would be making the payments over the next twelve months. The rental agent may feel they have some obligation to protect the renter in this case. By holding onto the balance they are prepared to refund money to the renter if the house gets foreclosed and the renter gets kicked out even though they have paid the rent.
July 12th, 2009 at 7:25 am
well if ur getting ur monthly rent then whats the problem, this is betweeen the agent and the tenent.
if they were happy to pay a years rent then thats up to them, they prob have an agreement with the agent that they get some money back if they leave within the year or something, but thats between them.
July 15th, 2009 at 3:51 am
I can’t think of any reason they should keep it. As you said, it is not their money.
Call the agents broker, I am sure that is all that will be needed.
If the broker brings no joy contact that real estate board for your state.
July 15th, 2009 at 2:08 pm
the money legally belongs to you. by withholding this money the rental agent is in fact stealing from you especailly if they are holding the money somewhere where they are making interest on it. you do have legal right to sue them for this money and the interest they are receiving from it. talk to a lawyer to find out what rights you have in the state in which you live.
July 18th, 2009 at 4:07 am
Have a good look at your contract. Contact your local Citizens Advice Bureau too. Maybe even a solicitor.
July 20th, 2009 at 9:52 pm
Technically speaking the interest belongs to the tenant.
They are required, as part of the agreement, to deposit one years rent in advance out of which you receive monthly payments. Any interest earned by the money should be returned to them.
Advance payments such as this are required to be placed in an account which, in the event that the rental agent should cease trading, the money would be protected and not form part of his/her assets. This also applies to monies paid as a bond.
July 23rd, 2009 at 10:21 am
I don’t see how it was “required” for the tenant to pay a whole year up front. I would also think that any funds held in escrow are to be in a non interest bearing account. If not, the interest should go to the tenant seeing it’s their funds until it’s released to you.
I would definitely check the contracts, get with the rental agent, ask questions and perhaps get a lawyer if you find no answers.
July 23rd, 2009 at 6:34 pm
If monthly payments is what you require than you are getting your due and jealousy over what the guy is getting for his facilitating service is not a factor.
July 25th, 2009 at 4:36 am
The money is as much theirs as yours, it belongs to neither of you, it is the tenants.
The fact that you requested 1 year surety because of lack of trust, makes me wonder, what do the tenants get to say you are trust worthy? It is not like you have given them anything they are legally entitled to sequestrate in the event of default.
If the tenant entered into the contract with you via themselves(AGENT) then they have a moral duty to protect their reputation as well as the tenants deposit.
If you are being paid your rent, then do not worry what others make,as long as you make the profit you expect.
How you conduct business with your agent must have been pre determined by contract I presume, if so, request to see the contract.
The big thing is this, all to many landlords like to hang onto deposits for reasonable damage that can usually be attributed to wear and tear.
Also, landlords have the advantage of being able to evict, having a huge amount of money owned by a tenant is not good, if you renege on repairs or other promises or requirements, the tenant has no room for manoeuvre as you hold such a sum that they cannot afford to loose..
July 28th, 2009 at 5:06 am
I believe that each state has it’s own statutes . In Oregon it is all business, at least on paper. The landlord may owe them fees. It should not affect you since you paid the authorized representative. the law is on your side if it gets to court. You win you get several months free rent or something close. I had an agency that collected for the owner and she kept several months and skipped. There was no record of my rental.
July 28th, 2009 at 8:43 pm
If you and the tenants agreed and signed up to this then yes it is entirely legal. I suggest you find new agents or deal with tenants yourself. You are not missing out on any money but your tenants are missing out on the interest. It’s them who should be complaining however if they agreed then there is nothing you can do. Read your contract with the agent carefully. If the tenants didn’t agree to be treated this way then they might have a case and you should advise your tenants to take legal action
August 1st, 2009 at 6:47 am
As the others here state, read your contract with the rental agent. At what point are funds to be transferred to you?
I’m not a lawyer, so this isn’t legal advice. And I also don’t have a copy of your lease. So what follows is just speculation. However….
Despite the other advice here, under most leases the money is yours, not the tenant’s. That is, most leases say something like: “Tenants agree on a one year lease in the full amount of $12,000, to be paid in monthly installments of $1,000.” So, most leases require payment of the full amount; it’s the landlord’s from day one. As a convenience, payments are spread out. Sounds as if your lease simply omits the second portion regarding the monthly installments. And that’s OK. They agreed to lease the property for a year, and they paid for a year. Unless there’s something to the contrary in the lease, the money is yours.
So, that’s the grounds for your argument–assuming that’s the way your lease reads.
As for loopholes, we come back to the agreement you signed with the rental agent. Again, I assume there’s something in the agreement requiring prompt transfer of funds from tenants to owner. Unless there’s something in the agreement requiring monthly allocations of the funds, then you ought to be on solid ground to ask/request the money that has been paid, but which you have not yet received.
Again, I’m saying all that without seeing your documents, and I’m not a lawyer. You may want to consult with a real estate attorney. (Not a plug, but you might also want to consider some service like PrePaid Legal. That’d be an appropriate question for a service like that, and would be affordable, too.)
Hope that helps.