Help! Our broker is not remitting rental fees of our tenants. Now they want their security deposit, what to do?
Hi, kindly help us. Ano maganda gawin sa broker namin?
We hired a broker to facilitate the needs of our tenants, including showing the property to prospects, preparing contracts, and checking on the tenants’ needs from time to time. In return, he receives a commission, which he said is the standard one-month rental fee (for 1 year contract).
Everything had been going well for at least a year. However, this year, we noticed that there had been no remittances to our bank account. When we asked the broker about it, he admitted that he had used the funds personally. We also asked the tenants, and they said that the broker instructed them to give the payments directly to him in cash.
Now we are having difficulty collecting the funds, and the money that was supposed to be used for the HOA payments is already in his possession. On top of that, the tenant is already requesting the return of their security deposits.
We understand that this is ultimately our responsibility, and we also acknowledge our fault for not monitoring the payments more closely. We are prepared to assume all liabilities to the tenants.
However, we would like to know what legal actions we can take to hold the broker accountable. He is now MIA. Is there an office or governing body where incidents like this can be reported? Perhaps an agency that regulates brokers or agents?
Any kind advice would be highly appreciated. Thank you.