THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, December 17, 1994 TAG: 9412150311
SECTION: REAL ESTATE WEEKLY PAGE: 12 EDITION: FINAL
COLUMN: LANDLORDS & TENANTS
SOURCE: William Mazel and Albert Teich Jr.
LENGTH: Medium: 68 lines
Q. I leased a home for over a year from a licensed real estate agent. The owners of the property are both real estate agents and were also acting as landlords.
The lease was written on a standard Virginia Association of Realtors form. The security deposit was $715. Upon moving out after the expiration of the agreement, I was sent a check for $715 and a thank-you note for leaving the place in excellent condition.
After receiving the check, I asked the landlord about the 5 percent interest that was to be payable on the security deposit. He stated that he is not required to pay the interest because he owns fewer than 10 homes.
Do I have a right to the interest on the security deposit? If so, what would be my remedy in obtaining it? I have calculated the interest to be approximately $80.
A. You did not tell us exactly how long you had lived in the apartment. Landlords are not obligated to pay interest on the security deposit unless the deposit has been held for a period exceeding 13 months after the date the tenant entered into occupancy.
The amount of interest a landlord is required to pay is the Federal Reserve Board Discount Rate as of Jan. 1 of each year, beginning Jan. 1, 1995. When your landlord said he was not required to pay interest on the security deposit because he owns fewer than 10 homes, he raises a very interesting question.
The Code of Virginia states that in the case of single-family residences located in any city or any county having either the urban county executive form or county manager plan of government, the magic number is four.
It is our opinion that if your landlord is in the Tidewater Virginia area and owns more than four units, he or she is covered by the Virginia Residential Landlord-Tenant Act. Won't renew her lease
Q. My husband and I first rented our apartment in June 1980. It is one of over 60 units or apartments and townhouses. For 14 years we had been very pleased and have had minimal problems.
My husband passed away in August and I do not plan on living in the apartment by myself. My lease is renewed every year and extends from June 1 to May 27. It is written in the lease that if a tenant does not intend to renew the lease and plans to vacate his or her apartment, a 90-day notice in writing, by certified mail, must be given to the landlord.
The original security deposit was $200. An additional $100 was requested, and paid by us, in 1990, making the total deposit $300.
The lease states that ``said sum without interest shall be returned to the tenant at the expiration of this lease or extension thereof or for the term that the tenants holds over, after the tenant has fully and faithfully carried out all of the terms, covenants and conditions on his, her or its part to be performed. . . ''
How much time does the landlord have to return my security deposit?
A. Section 55-248.11 of the Code of Virginia, which deals with the Residential Landlord-Tenant Act, requires the landlord to return the security deposit less any lawful deductions within 30 days after termination of tenancy and delivery of possession. MEMO: Albert Teich Jr. and William Mazel are real estate lawyers. Send
comments and questions to them at Real Estate Weekly, 150 W. Brambleton
Ave., Norfolk, Va. 23510.
by CNB