2010/06/22 03:03:57 PM Paul1 Posts: 2	Please advise. I have a tenant in a property that is a poor tenant, paying late, or not at all. The tenant was advised to vacate said premises. The tenant agreed to it, but still has not moved out. In the meantime, the tenant has forwarded me a letter to release the deposit to the owner. The owner hence contacted me and demanded the deposit amount - even though the tenant is still in the premises. I believe that tenant and landlord now deals directly with each other, and are cutting me out as rental agent. What should i do? Must i release the deposit?
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2010/06/25 12:18:13 PM mjwthorne Posts: 14	I would advise you to get rid of the tenant by putting him to terms, and if he does not fill the terms, terminate his Agreement to Lease. The deposit, what is the deposit for, it is for repairs and maintenance when the tenant moves out, you can run into trouble with the Housing Tribunal if the deposit is paid over to the owner so that the owner can use as rent. However you have a letter from the tenant instructing you to pay it to the owner, as you smell a rat, deduct the commission you are owed for the remaining of the rent period, let the tenant know that you are doing this and the owner, so if he is trying to cut you out at least you have been paid, and he gains nothing by doing this, and he will still have to work hard to get the tenant to pay the rent. Must you release the deposit? Yes you have been given instructions from the tenant. Keep a paper trail.
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