Legal Question in Landlord & Tenant Law in Massachusetts

State seizes escrow account for last mo. rent and security deposit because tenan

I put last month rent and security deposit in escrow account at bank in 1998. It is a tenant-escrow account in my name (I have passbook) but tenant SSN so he pays tax on interest. I have passbook in my possession and it is in my name. I went to remove money and found out that in 2001, State of Mass. seized money for back child suppport that my tenant owed. I was never contacted by the state or the bank. Tenant has not paid rent for 3 months and apartment is a mess. Can I get money back that state took? Can the bank release my money??? This is not the tenant's money so how can the state take it??? Is the bank responsible for releasing it? Help!! What can I do??


Asked on 11/30/04, 6:34 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
David Baker Law Office of David Baker

Re: State seizes escrow account for last mo. rent and security deposit because t

First, let me correct a mistake. A security deposit & last month's rent is the TENANT'S money, not yours. You are only holding it in trust as "security" for specific purposes. The law is VERY clear about this; it is NOT your money. Accordingly, the state was probably within its rights to seize the money for back child support. So long as you can prove that the state took it, you probably have no liability to the tenant. It is probably not worth the trouble to ask for another deposit, however, since the state would eventually seize that too if child support wasn't paid. I would suggest just letting it slide. David Baker

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Answered on 11/30/04, 8:32 pm


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