Legal Question in Landlord & Tenant Law in Virginia

Return of Damage Deposit Amount

I had a lease agreement on a condo. The second signer of lease signed over to me in a letter drafted and signed in front of the lease executor the full amount of the security deposit. All three parties were present for the drafting and signing and all received a copy of the letter.

The lease expired and the other tenant who moved out prior to the termination of the lease contacted the leasing agent and verbally revoked the signed letter, then that tenant drafted a letter revoking the original (signing over of the sec. dep.). This letter was only signed by that person and delivered to the leasing agent demanding ''their signed over portion'' of the security deposit, which the leasing agent turned over.

Can one side of the party revoke an original agreement without giving notice or even copies of any revocation letter to the other party? Which document stands legal the first or the revocation? Should the leasing company have disregarded the original agreement and accepted the revocation?


Asked on 10/01/03, 8:34 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys

Michael Hendrickson Law Office Michael E. Hendrickson

Re: Return of Damage Deposit Amount

Presumably, the would-be-revoker, agreed to sign

over his share of the security deposit to you

because he was terminating his participation in the lease early and knew, as a consequence, that at the very least, he would be forfeiting his share of the security deposit.

If the foregoing is true, the leasing company should not have returned the early terminator's share of the deposit to him.

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Answered on 10/01/03, 11:20 pm


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