The Real Estate Services Act states that a real estate brokerage holds deposits with respect to a trade in real estate as a stakeholder. The money is held for the transaction and not on behalf of one of the parties. If a party does not remove a subject clause, or the trade is for some other reason not going to complete, the brokerage requires the signature of both the buyer and seller in order to release the deposit. If either party will not agree to the release of the deposit, then the parties may have to apply to court for a determination of the deposit issue. You may also want to refer to the “Information about the contract” section of the Contract of Purchase and Sale under #2 – Deposits.