Rental contract question.

chrisc4290 said:
My attorney specialises in evictions and answered this question immediately. The owner is the one responsible for all financial disbursements, he chose to appoint an agent for his own purposes, but this does not absolve him from his responsibility.

It is not unlike a guarantee or motor plan on a car. It is the car manufacturer's responsility to carry it out. The dealer merely sells the car as the manufacturer does not have the infrastucture to sell cars
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It strikes me as unlikely that owners are signing agreements with tenants whereby they guarantee money's paid to the agents. If a tenants receipt for their deposit is issued by the agency then that's where the liability stops.
 
Nick333 said:
It strikes me as unlikely that owners are signing agreements with tenants whereby they guarantee money's paid to the agents. If a tenants receipt for their deposit is issued by the agency then that's where the liability stops.
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Please pay no attention to the above post.
 
Billy said:
Please pay no attention to the above post.
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Please provide some reasoning why it should be disregarded.

I don't have a typical agency agreement in front of me but I would assume that they tend to stipulate who receives and holds onto the deposit along with the conditions for reimbursement.

I do know for a fact that agencies generally only pay deposit money over to owners as compensation for unpaid rent.

The fact is that unless an owner signed an agreement in which they guarantee money's paid to and held by a third party they can't be liable for money they never received.

Does it seem likely that anyone would agree to such terms?

I asked my mom who is a licensed estate agent who specializes in rental management before posting the above.

She believes that the EAAB would be responsible. She says the initial contract is important for these sorts of reasons. I'm pretty sure I'm right about this , but as I don't really care that much, disregard as you see fit.
 
Nick333 said:
Please provide some reasoning why it should be disregarded.

I don't have a typical agency agreement in front of me but I would assume that they tend to stipulate who receives and holds onto the deposit along with the conditions for reimbursement.

I do know for a fact that agencies generally only pay deposit money over to owners as compensation for unpaid rent.

The fact is that unless an owner signed an agreement in which they guarantee money's paid to and held by a third party they can't be liable for money they never received.

Does it seem likely that anyone would agree to such terms?

I asked my mom who is a licensed estate agent who specializes in rental management before posting the above.

She believes that the EAAB would be responsible. She says the initial contract is important for these sorts of reasons. I'm pretty sure I'm right about this , but as I don't really care that much, disregard as you see fit.
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Just read the thread. The contact is always between the Lessor and the Lessee. Where the deposit is actually held does not change the fact that it was paid to the lessor in principle even is the Lessor's agent held it in a Trust account. If it was in a trust account the EAAB fidelity fund should be able to assist, but ultimately Contract Law will prevail and the Lessor is responsible.

At the moment I have two deposits being held by Rentmaster who handle my rental collections.
I have checked on the leases, and confirmed that the deposit is the Lessors ultimate responsibility.

So I still recommend that your post be ignored.

As far as the OP is concerned, if talking th the owner does not get him anywhere, then the Rental Tribunal followed by the small claims court is the way to go.
 
herbertk said:
Thanks!

It is pretty clear...
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Mate, I know you want satisfaction but I'm right about this. Legal action is just going to cost you more. A rental agreement involving an agency is not a two party contract. I can almost guarantee that the rental agency is mentioned repeatedly as a middle man in your contract.

I haven't read that article because I have a life, but I'm guessing its talking about a direct relationship between an owner and tenant and not one complicated by a rental agency.

Your real problem here is that most lawyers will only be too happy to instigate litigation regardless of whether they belive you have a real case or not. Tread carefully. This will probably not be resolved by a small claim and will likely cost you more than your lost deposit whether you win or not. I doubt you have a leg to stand on.
 
I would also approach the EAAB to find a solution. If they were registered estate agents then the fidelity fund should cover the deposit?
 
Nick333 said:
Mate, I know you want satisfaction but I'm right about this. Legal action is just going to cost you more. A rental agreement involving an agency is not a two party contract. I can almost guarantee that the rental agency is mentioned repeatedly as a middle man in your contract.

I haven't read that article because I have a life, but I'm guessing its talking about a direct relationship between an owner and tenant and not one complicated by a rental agency.

Your real problem here is that most lawyers will only be too happy to instigate litigation regardless of whether they belive you have a real case or not. Tread carefully. This will probably not be resolved by a small claim and will likely cost you more than your lost deposit whether you win or not. I doubt you have a leg to stand on.
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You really are special..
 
F1 Fan said:
You really are special..
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OK. Maybe OP will post his sob story when it's all over and we'll know how special I really am.

He's not going getting a cent of his deposit back is my guess. I'm also guessing we'll never know.
 
herbertk said:
Owner... his argument is that he did not receive the deposit so it is no his problem.
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are you still living there?

yes I know there are laws....

But in this case, if you are still living there, stay the last month or so without paying in place of.. Sinpler than trying to take the guy to small claims court.
 
Nick333 said:
Mate, I know you want satisfaction but I'm right about this. Legal action is just going to cost you more. A rental agreement involving an agency is not a two party contract. I can almost guarantee that the rental agency is mentioned repeatedly as a middle man in your contract.

I haven't read that article because I have a life, but I'm guessing its talking about a direct relationship between an owner and tenant and not one complicated by a rental agency.

Your real problem here is that most lawyers will only be too happy to instigate litigation regardless of whether they belive you have a real case or not. Tread carefully. This will probably not be resolved by a small claim and will likely cost you more than your lost deposit whether you win or not. I doubt you have a leg to stand on.
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The relevant paragraph to save your valuable time:
"It not uncommon for deposits to be paid to a letting agent acting on behalf of a landlord. Nevertheless, the landlord is ultimately responsible for ensuring that the tenant is refunded."
 
Billy said:
The relevant paragraph to save your valuable time:
"It not uncommon for deposits to be paid to a letting agent acting on behalf of a landlord. Nevertheless, the landlord is ultimately responsible for ensuring that the tenant is refunded."
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Just because you read it on the interwebs don't not make it true.

Good luck OP.
 
Nick333 thinks everything is about him. He has no wife or kids but he still thinks he is a expert and clearly knows best.


This appears to be a very true quote!
 
Venomous said:
are you still living there?

yes I know there are laws....

But in this case, if you are still living there, stay the last month or so without paying in place of.. Sinpler than trying to take the guy to small claims court.
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Unfortunately not, otherwise I would.
 
Nick333 said:
OK. Maybe OP will post his sob story when it's all over and we'll know how special I really am.

He's not going getting a cent of his deposit back is my guess. I'm also guessing we'll never know.
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I will keep the thread updated just for ****s and giggles... I have lodged a claim with the RHT, it is free and a good first step.
 
My line manager bought a place on auction with an existing tenant. When the tenant left he had to refund the deposit even though he never signed any agreement with the tenant. This was done on the legal advice of his lawyer.
 
I gave you a considered opinion from an attorney who has had 33 years experience sorting out financial issues between landlord and tenant

Who are these people who know better?

My attorney says: Write a letter of demand to the landlord for monies due, give him 7 days to comply. Upon no response, seek redress via the Small Claims Court
 
EMAM said:
Beyers Realty by any chance?
They've gone under. I have a friend who worked for them - also did rentals. She said the landlords have to approach the liquidators. Normally when one rents through an agency, the deposit is held by them, not the landlord, in an interest bearing trust account which is not allowed to be touched by anyone. In Beyers case, they withdrew every thing from their trust accounts and fled the country. People even lost hundreds of thousands of deposits they had put down to purchase properties and there's nothing they can do about it except approach the liquidators.
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I was really surprised to hear this recently. I bought my first property through their agency and met Beyers personally. I wonder what they're up to now, sounds like they (Beyers and partner) got off lightly and living off stolen millions?
 
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