Virginia · Code §§55.1-1216, 55.1-1226Virginia tenant security deposits when you sell a rental

The Virginia Residential Landlord and Tenant Act puts the deposit risk on the buyer. Under §55.1-1226(E), the holder of the landlord's interest at the time the tenancy ends – however that interest was acquired or transferred – is bound by the deposit rules and must return any security deposit the original landlord received that is owed to the tenant, whether or not the deposit was transferred with the property and regardless of any contract between the original landlord and its successors. The same section caps a deposit at two months' rent and requires an itemized written disposition within 45 days after the tenancy ends or the tenant vacates, whichever is later; a willful failure lets the court order the deposit returned with actual damages and reasonable attorney fees. Under §55.1-1216, the landlord discloses in writing, at or before the start of the tenancy, the names and addresses of the manager and of an owner or the owner's agent; when the premises are sold, the landlord must notify the tenant of the sale and give the purchaser's name, address and a telephone number where the purchaser can be reached. Those disclosures must be kept current and are enforceable against any successor landlord or owner. Because the buyer owes the deposit either way, the buyer has a reason to see the deposits accounted for in the contract and at settlement.