Avoid $500 fine & jail time of 30 days for each offence
In the haunting realm of Connecticut’s rental market, a dark shadow looms over any landlord who dares to stray from the sacred path laid out by the state’s escrow account laws for tenants’ security deposits. Like a ghostly whisper, the law mandates that all security deposits must be immediately secured in an escrow account within specified financial institutions, safeguarding them from the greedy hands of creditors and ensuring they remain the spectral property of the tenant.
But woe to those landlords who, whether by malice or neglect, fail to comply. The penalties are as chilling as a midnight breeze through a graveyard. Should a landlord knowingly evade the duty of making timely interest payments or indulge in the forbidden act of unauthorized withdrawals, the specter of justice is swift to respond. Fines can reach up to $100 for each instance of withheld interest, a sum that may seem a mere prick on the finger but can accumulate like a horde of restless spirits.
More terrifying still is the fate of those who withhold security deposits from tenants whose tenancy has ended. A curse of up to $250 for every offense can be levied, a financial specter that can haunt one’s ledger and chill the heart.
And for those most egregious of souls, who fail in their sacred duties to deposit the security deposits into an escrow account, to act as a faithful escrow agent, to reveal the account to the commissioner upon request, or to properly transfer the account to a successor, the penalties become truly dire. Up to $500 in fines, imprisonment for up to 30 days, or both, can befall them for each offense—a punishment as severe as the cold grip of the grave.
Yet, in this shadowy realm, there exists the possibility of redemption for those who can prove their actions stemmed from a good faith belief or that their landlordship extends to fewer than four tenants. But let it be known that the specter of Connecticut’s escrow laws is unyielding, and its punishments are as relentless as the march of time, a reminder that in the world of tenant security deposits, the line between order and chaos is as thin as a ghost’s whisper.
| August 29, 2013 | 2013-R-0285 | |
| TENANTS’ SECURITY DEPOSIT – ESCROW ACCOUNTS | ||
| By: Michelle Kirby, Associate Analyst | ||
This report summarizes the state laws that apply to an escrow account in which a tenant’s security deposit must be held.
SUMMARY
Under Connecticut law, a landlord must deposit a tenant’s security deposit immediately into an escrow account at a specified type of financial institution. The account must be maintained in the landlord’s name but he or she may withdraw money from it only under limited circumstances. A landlord must pay interest annually at the rate published by the banking commissioner each year. All the funds in the account are exempt from attachment and execution.
Upon the written request of the commissioner and within a specified time period, the landlord must disclose the name of the financial institution and the account number of the escrow account. The commissioner may investigate complaints of alleged violations.
A landlord who knowingly fails to make interest payments or makes unauthorized withdrawals or commits other specified violations may be fined, imprisoned, or both depending on the nature of each violation. However, landlords have certain affirmative defenses under specified circumstances.
ESCROW ACCOUNT
Escrow Deposit
Under Connecticut law, a landlord must immediately deposit the entire amount of all tenants’ security deposits into one or more escrow accounts in a financial institution located in Connecticut. This can be a state bank and trust company, national bank, savings bank, federal savings bank, savings and loan association, or federal savings and loan association (CGS § 47a-21(h)). Deposits in such an escrow account are exempt from attachment and execution by the landlord’s or his or her successor’s creditors (CGS § 47a-21(c)).
A security deposit is any advance rental payment other than (1) an advance payment for the first month’s rent and (2) a deposit for a key or any special equipment (CGS § 47a-21(a)). By law, a security deposit is the tenant’s property, in which the landlord or his or her successor has an interest to secure the tenant’s obligations. A security deposit is not part of the landlord’s or his or her successor’s estate (CGS § 47a-21(c)).
Escrow Agent
The landlord is the escrow agent of the account. This means that the account is maintained in his or her name. He or she is prohibited from withdrawing the amount of any security deposit or accrued interest from the account except under limited circumstances (CGS § 47a-21(h)). For example, at the termination of tenancy, an escrow agent must withdraw and disburse to the tenant the amount of any security deposit and accrued interest, less the value of any damages.
Interest Payments
A landlord must pay interest annually on a tenant’s security deposit. State law requires the commissioner to adjust the interest rate each year. The adjustment must be based on the average rate insured commercial banks paid on savings deposits (i.e., the deposit index), as last published in the monthly survey of selected deposits in supplement H.6 to the Federal Reserve Bulletin in November of the prior year. The interest rate for each calendar year cannot be lower than the deposit index for that year (CGS § 47a-21(i)).
The Banking Department publishes the new rate for the upcoming year in its weekly News Bulletin every December and on the department’s website at: http://www.ct.gov/dob/site/default.asp.
Commissioner’s Oversight
By law, within seven days after the commissioner makes a written request, a landlord must provide the name of each financial institution in which he or she maintains an escrow account and the account number of each such account (CGS § 47a-21(h)).
The commissioner may (1) investigate any complaints of alleged violations and (2) order a landlord to cease and desist any practice determined to be a violation.
Violations and Penalties
The penalties for violating of the laws pertaining to the maintenance of escrow accounts for tenants’ security deposits include fines and imprisonment. A landlord who knowingly or willfully fails to make the appropriate interest payments on the security deposit is subject to a fine of up to $100 for each offense.
A landlord who knowingly and willfully fails to pay all or part of a security deposit due when the tenancy terminates is subject to a fine of up to $250 for each offense. There is an affirmative defense if the failure was caused by the landlord’s good faith belief that he or she was entitled to deduct the value of damages.
A landlord who makes unauthorized withdrawals or fails to (1) immediately deposit the security deposit in an escrow account, (2) maintain the account as escrow agent, (3) disclose the account information requested by the commissioner within the required time frame, or (4) follow the appropriate steps when transferring the real estate to a successor, is subject to a fine of up to $500, imprisonment of up to 30 days, or both for each offense. There is an affirmative defense if at the time of the violation the landlord leased residential property to less than four tenants who paid a security deposit (CGS § 47a-21(k)).