Who should hold the escrow funds for a rental in Florida? It’s a trick question. There is NO Escrow Agent sepcified on the the typical Florida Realtors lease form.
Unlike the FAR BAR As-Is Contract that is often used for the purchase of a property here in Florida, the standard lease agreement does NOT include a location to specify an Escrow Agent like the Far Bar As-Is does…
Nor does the standard Lease form include the STANDARD CLAUSE which specifies how that Escrow Agent will handle the funds deposited with them like the As-Is Contract does…
What the standard Single Family Lease does state is that: “Any Funds due under this paragraph shall be payable to Landlord’s address or”
While I suppose it is possible to use the “or” option there is still no clause which dictates how that person will handle the funds if it’s not the Landlord or their agent. Just because the $ is sent to another person does not meen the Tenant has any claim on it.
The standard Lease for condo’s and townhouses states…
The issue comes up with the standard language of: “a security deposit of $X to be paid upon signing the Lease.” The agent for the Tenant (and presumably the Tenant) will then want one of the (normally) two agents to hold these funds, any funds collected before the start of the Lease Term. They will want this $$ to be held in the Escrow Account of a Brokerage, or a Title/Closing Agency. The problem is that in the STANDARD Lease, the actual Contract between the Landlord and the Tenant, it does NOT specify an Escrow Agent. Nor does it specify the duties and responsibilities of any Escrow Agent. What is does state is, as is normal in real estate contacts, is: “The agreements contained in the Lease set forth the complete understanding of the parties and may not be changed or terminated orally.”
The standard Contract to Lease DOES include include language…
But also clear instruction…
My best “two cents” on this is don’t start trying to chop up a lease or ignore what is states. IF one of the Brokerages (ot a tile company or a lawyer) agrees to hold the funds due, and act as an Escrow Agent, then they (Landlord, Tenant, Brokerage) should have an escrow agreement crafted by a lawyer and all should sign it.
