THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, October 12, 1996 TAG: 9610100248
SECTION: REAL ESTATE WEEKLY PAGE: 26 EDITION: FINAL
COLUMN: LANDLORDS & TENANTS
SOURCE: Greg McCracken
LENGTH: 65 lines
Q. I rent an apartment with a year-to-year lease. I got hurt in the apartment and sued my landlord. Can he now evict me because I sued him?
A. No. Section 55-248.39 of the Virginia Residential Landlord Tenant Act prohibits retaliatory conduct by landlords. Although this section does not specifically mention this scenario, it is written broadly enough to encompass and prohibit it.
If the VRLTA does not apply, the only way you could be evicted is if you have failed to comply with the terms of the lease. Security deposit refund
Q. It has been more than 30 days since I moved out of my apartment. My landlord has not refunded my security deposit nor provided me with the list of damages. What can I do to get my security deposit?
A. You may have to sue your landlord. If your apartment is covered by the VRLTA, your landlord is in violation of the act because he has failed to provide you with written notice within 30 days after termination of the lease and delivery of possession of the damages and deductions, which can be taken from the security deposit.
If he did not notify you of your right to be present at the inspection of the apartment to determine what was damaged, there is an additional violation of the VRLTA.
If he is unwilling to discuss this with you, your only recourse would be to sue for the return of the security deposit due to violation of the act. Stay cool fo now
Q. The apartment I moved into about six months ago has been foreclosed on by a bank. My lease is for one year. What do I do?
A. It doesn't sound like you need to do anything right now. The foreclosure by the bank does not invalidate your lease. What it does is change the ownership of the building.
Most banks are not interested in being property managers. When they are forced to do so in foreclosures, they don't want an empty building. Until you receive some communication stating the intent of the new owner, you should continue to abide by the terms of your lease. Notification rules
Q. I moved out of an apartment I was sharing with the owner. I never signed a lease and was only able to give eight days notice. The owner says it is customary to give 30 days notice under the VRLTA and I was curious what my responsibilities are if I never signed a lease.
A. First, we have to determine whether there is a landlord-tenant relationship.
If you reached an agreement with the owner to live there in exchange for payment of rent in a certain sum due on a regular basis, then the chances are there is a lease and the relationship exists, even though it is not in writing.
If there is a landlord-tenant relationship, does the VRLTA apply? The answer is even if there is a landlord-tenant relationship, VRLTA does not apply.
You are obligated under Section 55-222 (not part of the VRLTA) to give 90 days notice for a year-to-year lease and 30 days for a month-to-month lease. MEMO: Greg McCracken is a Virginia Beach lawyer. Send questions to him
at 4705 Columbus St., Virginia Beach, Va. 23462-6749. The fax number is
552-6016; e-mail, hpmv(AT)livnet.com by CNB