Security Deposit Dispute with Property Manager & Home Owner (Location: Virginia)
landlord tenant attorney Virginia Jul 22, 2026
Location: Virginia Hello everyone, I’m hoping I can get some guidance on the next steps I should take with regard to not getting our full security deposit returned after moving out. The basic situation: we moved out of the house earlier this year, and when we received the disposition letter from the property management company, they took roughly half of our deposit to cover funds to “return paint to the original colors”, which were blue. Our problem with this is that we requested approval in writing to paint (providing specific paint color numbers for white and tan) and leave the rooms these neutral colors when we eventually move out. After that request, the Property Manager had responded with authorization in writing saying “the homeowners simply ask that the paint be neutral colors”. We left the rooms in those neutral colors. We subsequently tried to work it out without involving the courts, but we were unsuccessful as it seemed they simply ignored the clear evidence that shows we did exactly as instructed. We had our initial hearing recently, during which the lawyer for the property management company argued we should be suing the home owners, not them. The judge did not dismiss the case and instead set a trial for a few months out from now. A note to add to the context here, the home owners do not live in Virginia, and according to public record searches, they have never officially registered a Resident Agent with the state, nor is one named in the lease. All this boils down to how we should proceed. We’ve done a lot of research and we see several possible routes forward. Any advice and recommendations are greatly appreciated. Options: 1) Proceed only with the lawsuit against the property manager, argue a “de facto landlord” status for them. We don’t think this will work, as the language in the lease agreement seems to keep them from being categorized this way. 2) Submit a motion to Amend the suit to add the owners as co-defendants, and if that’s granted, hopefully keep the currently scheduled trial (it’s far enough out that we should have time for this). 3) File a separate lawsuit against the owners in the General District Court, and at the initial hearing motion to consolidate the trials. 4) File a separate lawsuit against the owners in small claims (the original was in small claims but the property management company had it moved to general court so they could have lawyer), and see how the this all plays out separately. Thanks for any and all input.
