17 February 2017
On the hearing of a residential property possession claim, can the court order the deposit protector to release the deposit to the claimant landlord on account of a judgment for rent arrears and without the consent of the defendant tenant and the protector?
The court often does and the protectors seem content to comply with such an order although there does not appear to be any express authority for such an order. If the tenant is present at the hearing, our experience is that they invariably consent. The argument against is that the deposit should remain protected until the tenancy comes to an end but this can be met by provision that the deposit is not released until the landlord certifies that the tenant has vacated.
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