Legal Question in Landlord & Tenant Law in Virginia
Must a property management company honor an old check?
Can a property management company be compelled to
''refresh'' and honor a check written for return of security
deposit but lost to the renter by another party and not
found and submitted until seven years later? The
check in its sealed envelope was erroneously placed
with the junk mail by the renter's caretaker . Attempts by
the renter to contact the company the first year failed, as
it was absent from lists of managemets companies.
The renter concluded that it had failed. Some turnover
of management has occurred since the check was
written, but tax records show the writer of the check,
now deceased, owned the building.
2 Answers from Attorneys
Re: Must a property management company honor an old check?
I'm afraid that your question is not clear. Are you saying that the landlord owed YOU the return of the security deposit? If I understand, if the security deposit is owed TO you, then the money is owed to you regardless of the previous check. The previous check would be evidence that the money is owed. But your right to receive the security deposit back is not dependent upon the previous check. Because this is your money, there is no statute of limitations. Therefore, you can sue for the money and use the check as evidence that the money is due to you.
The question is WHOM do you sue? If the check would be drawn on the management company's account, then this would be evidence that they are the ones holding your money, since they already wrote a check once from their own account. On the other hand, you couldn't cash the check if it were drawn on a closed account.
If not the management company, the estate of the deceased (meaning the heir who inherited the property) could be held responsible for repaying the security deposit, to the extent that they took over a going business and it is an admitted debt of the on-going business that they assumed. That is a little tricky.
Re: Must a property management company honor an old check?
Compelled to "refresh" a seven year old check by a maker(of the check)who has quite literally gone to meet his Maker. I would think not.
However, if you were to courteously explain matters to the current management company, perhaps, they might be moved voluntarily by considerations of conscience or other worthy sentiments to do what they in all likelihood could not be compelled to do by force of law.
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