How to Fire Your Property Manager in Connecticut

A step-by-step guide for Connecticut landlords switching property managers, covering broker trust accounts, what to collect, moving tenant deposits under section 47a-21 and who may manage rentals for pay.

Last updated September 23, 2026

Missed repairs, slow replies, a statement that never adds up. Most landlords wait too long to make the call. Connecticut gives you a real lever when you do, through the trust account rules that bind every licensed broker holding your rent and your tenants' deposits.

Here is how to make the switch without losing a deposit, a tenant or a month of rent.

Step 1. Read your management agreement

Your contract decides how you exit. Look for four things.

Notice period. Many agreements want 30 days' written notice.
Termination fee. Some charge one, some do not.
Leasing fee clawbacks. Check whether you owe anything for tenants the manager placed.
Who "owns" the tenant relationship. Some agreements try to charge a fee if you keep a tenant they found.

If the manager broke the agreement, by ignoring repairs or mishandling money, you may be able to end it sooner. That is a question for a Connecticut attorney.

Step 2. Send written notice

Put it in writing, by email and by whatever method your agreement names. State the end date, ask for a full handover by that date, and list what you expect back (see Step 4).

Keep the tone flat and factual. You want your records, not an argument.

Step 3. Know the trust account rules

Connecticut does not set a single statutory handover deadline the way some states do. The leverage sits in the license law instead.

Your money is supposed to be segregated. A licensed broker who receives and holds money on behalf of a client has to keep a separate escrow or trust account at a Connecticut bank, distinct from the broker's own account. That covers rental money and rental security deposits, and the funds go in within three banking days of the agreement being signed (Conn. Gen. Stat. § 20-324k).

Sitting on your money is a license offence. The Real Estate Commission can suspend or revoke a license for failing, within a reasonable time, to account for or remit money belonging to others, and for commingling client funds or keeping them outside an escrow account (§ 20-320(5), § 20-320(10)).

A willful trust account violation carries a criminal penalty, a fine of up to one thousand dollars, imprisonment up to six months, or both (§ 20-324k).

If your old manager stalls past a reasonable time, file a complaint with the Connecticut Real Estate Commission at the Department of Consumer Protection and say plainly which funds are missing.

Step 4. Collect everything

Ask for all of this before the end date.

Security deposits for every tenant, with the amount held for each one and the accrued interest
The trust account ledger showing rents collected, fees taken and what is still owed to you
Signed leases, renewals and addenda
The written notices each tenant received naming the bank holding the deposit
Tenant contact details and payment history
Open maintenance requests, vendor contacts, invoices and warranties
Keys, fobs, garage remotes and codes
Year-to-date income and expense reports for your taxes

Step 5. Move the security deposits

Once the deposits come back to you, they need a proper home the same day. Connecticut requires the landlord to deposit the entire amount immediately into an escrow account at a financial institution, kept separate from your own money (§ 47a-21(b)).

Three duties follow you from the moment you hold them.

Written notice of the bank. Each tenant gets a written notice stating the amount held for them and the name and address of the institution holding it, no later than 30 days after you receive the deposit (§ 47a-21(h)).
Annual interest. Interest accrues on the anniversary of the tenancy at the rate tied to the deposit index, published each year by the Department of Banking (§ 47a-21(i), § 36a-26). The 2026 rate is 0.49 percent.
The 21-day clock. At move-out you return the deposit with interest, or an itemised written statement of damages, within 21 days of the tenancy ending or 15 days after written notice of the forwarding address, whichever is later. Missing it can cost you twice the deposit (§ 47a-21(d)(2)).

Check the amounts against the leases before you sign off. Any shortfall is yours to argue with the old manager, not with the tenant.

Step 6. Tell your tenants

Tenants care about three things. Where to pay rent, who to call for repairs, and whether their deposit is safe. Send one clear message covering all three, dated, with the day the change takes effect. A new escrow account means a new written notice naming the bank.

Step 7. Take over the day to day

Line up your vendors, set up rent collection, and get a maintenance line that picks up at 2am. Remember the nine-day grace period on rent and the capped late fee before you build your reminder schedule (§ 47a-15a). This is the step where most landlords end up back where they started, holding a phone that never stops ringing.

Who can manage property for pay in Connecticut

Managing rentals for someone else for a fee is real estate business here. Engaging in the real estate business means acting for another, for a fee or other valuable consideration, to negotiate for or offer to list, sell, exchange, buy or rent an interest in real estate (§ 20-311). The statute treats leasing agents separately, covering anyone who collects security deposits, negotiates a rental or collects rent for a fee.

Doing that without a license is punishable. The Real Estate Commission can fine a person who engages in the real estate business, including leasing or rental activity, without the required license, up to five thousand dollars per violation (§ 20-312).

Owners are exempt. A person who as owner or lessor does any of those acts with reference to property they own or lease, in the regular course of managing that property and their investment in it, falls outside the licensing chapter, along with their own resident superintendents and custodians (§ 20-329).

So self-managing your own rentals needs no license. Hiring a new manager does, and you can check the credential on the Department of Consumer Protection's license lookup before you sign anything.

Your switching checklist

Read the agreement for notice, fees and clawbacks
Send written notice with a firm end date
Hold the manager to the trust account rules, and complain to the Real Estate Commission if funds stall
Collect deposits, interest, ledgers, leases, tenant records and keys
Open your own escrow account and move every deposit into it at once
Send each tenant written notice of the amount held and the bank holding it
Tell tenants where to pay and who to call

Switch to Taz

Taz is an AI property manager built for landlords who have been let down before. It answers tenants day and night, routes repairs to vendors, sends rent reminders and keeps every record in one place, for a flat monthly price per door instead of a cut of your rent. See how Taz works.

Where this guide says a state has no rule on something, that means we found no statute setting one, which is not the same as none existing. Local ordinances and court practice can add requirements. Confirm anything you plan to rely on.

This guide is general information, not legal advice. Your management agreement and your specific facts matter. Talk to a Connecticut attorney before ending a contract. Last checked September 2026.