How Do I Get My Security Deposit Back?

What Is a Security Deposit? If you are a renter or a landlord then you are already pretty familiar with the concept of a security deposit. A security deposit is an amount of money that is paid in advance to the landlord when someone is renting property. In Virginia, the amount of the security deposit can be no more than two (2) months rent in most situations involving a residential lease. These rules can be different when dealing with a commercial lease (a business tenant) or for a limited number of exempt landlords.

Why Do I Have to Pay a Security Deposit? The purpose of the security deposit is to make sure the landlord has money available if a tenant decides to damage the rental unit or stop paying rent. It is a safety net for the landlord to protect their investment. Without a security deposit, the landlord could risk losing a lot of money if the tenant damages something valuable and requires a lot of repairs.

What Happens To My Security Deposit? The landlord is supposed to put your security deposit in a bank account for safe keeping. Your landlord is not allowed to use the security deposit for any purpose other than to reimburse themselves or damage to the property during the tenancy or for unpaid rent. The landlord can take out money during the tenancy if there is damage to the property during the rental period. Alternatively, the landlord may be able to use the security deposit to reimburse themselves for unpaid rent or damage to the property at the end of the lease agreement.

Do I Have a Right To Know What My Security Deposit Is Being Used For? Absolutely. Virginia Law provides that a landlord must provide you with a notice within thirty (30) days of deducting the money during the tenancy or forty-five (45) Days after the expiration of the lease.

What Happens If My Landlord Does Not Tell Me What They Are Using My Security Deposit For? You get it all back. The entire security deposit. The landlord can still try to recover the damages through Court, but cannot use the security deposit for it.

What Can I Do About People Posting Lies About Me On Social Media?

The anonymity of the internet has made it incredibly easy to talk trash about someone. That trash talk can have serious consequences. People can lose their job or relationships as a result of a lie.

So what do you do when you are being targeted by someone on the internet?

What Are My Rights? If someone is talking trash about you online you definitely have rights. Although the Untied States takes free speech seriously, there are limits. The biggest limit on free speech is a type of lawsuit known as defamation. Defamation is generally either the intentional posting or sharing with other people of false statements about another person. If someone is defaming you online, you may have the option of filing a lawsuit to stop it. But you have to be careful and make sure its actually defamation or you open a different can of worms.

What is Defamation? As stated above, defamation is when someone intentionally shares false information about you to a third party. Defamation can be split up into libel and slander. There are many different types of defamatory statements out there. The type of statements being made usually depend on the relationship between the person making the statements and the person the statements are about.

People in a romantic relationship will sometimes spread lies about infidelity or how they are being treated in the relationship. These kinds of lies can cause people to lose friends or business opportunities.

Business partners will sometimes spread lies about the quality of your work. This might be to gain a competitive advantage and to pull some of your clients aware.

Either way, if someone is intentionally spreading lies about you then you may have a claim of defamation.

How Do I Sue For Defamation? Defamation is a civil lawsuit. It is typically initiated by filing a document known as a complaint with the court. There are different rules depending on how much damage you have suffered and where everyone lives.

The Complaint will usually detail a few things including a) the identity of the person making the false statements, b) what statements are being identified as false, and c) how those false statements have harmed you. In order to be successful in a defamation lawsuit, you need solid evidence proving who was making the lies, that they were in fact lies, and that you have financially suffered as a result. The Court can go so far as to order someone posting lies to take the defamatory statements down.

If you are the victim of defamation please reach out to our office and we would be happy to discuss your rights.

Nasty Breakup: How Do I Get My Stuff Back?

Are you going through a nasty break up and your ex is refusing to give you your stuff back? This happens more often than you think. I get a lot of calls from people who are trying to get their property back from an ex that is trying to keep all their stuff. Even if you were not married, there are ways of getting your property back and taking your ex to Court.

Make A List

The first thing you need to do is to make a list of all the property that is being kept. You will eventually need that list to prove to the court what property is being unlawfully withheld. Your list needs to be very detailed and needs to outline things like makes and models of the property that they are keeping. For example, if your ex is refusing to return your lawn mower you need to list out what kind of lawn mower it is.

Get Your Receipts

If your ex ultimately refuses to return the property, you will need to prove the “provenance” of the property. The provenance is the proof of ownership and where the property came from. Before the Court can return the property, you will have to prove that you are entitled to its return. You do not want to be in a situation where your ex claims it was their property and you have no proof.

If you purchased the property by credit card, get your credit card statements. If you paid cash, try to find your receipts. If you paid with a check, go to your bank and get the canceled checks. Either way, you are going to need proof of ownership before the Court can return anything.

Talk It Out

Before going to Court, the Judge is going to want to see that you tried to get your stuff back the easy way. You want to start by sending a certified letter to your ex explaining what property they are refusing to give back. Attach the list and the receipts to the letter and make sure you make that letter certified to prove they received it.

Go To Court

If all else fails, you will need to take this to Court. The proper way of taking this issue to Court is by filing a “Warrant in Detinue.” This is a type of lawsuit that tells the Court what property is being withheld and what the value of the property is. That is why the lists and the receipts mentioned above are very important. You need to get those items together before you file.

Once you go to Court, the Court will review your proof of ownership. If you have enough proof, the Court will either order the items to be returned or order your ex to pay you for the fair market value. You may even be entitled to legal fees depending on how things play out.

What Can I Do If My Neighbor's Dog Barks All The Time?

It can be really annoying to have your relaxing evening interrupted by hysterical barking from your neighbor’s yard. Having a loud dog next door is one of the most common problems people have with their neighbors. Your neighbor is also likely to be touchy about their dog as they consider the dog part of their family. So how do you approach your neighbor to resolve the issue, and what do you do if your neighbor won’t fix the problem?

Virginia allows local towns, cities and counties to make rules about how dogs are supposed to be handled. There are a lot of different restrictions about when dogs are allowed outside, how to handle a loud dog, and other registration and vaccination requirements. Each city or town is different, so you want to make sure that you become familiar with your local rules on dog ownership.

For example, the City of Winchester as a lot of rules about dogs that you can read up on if you live in Winchester. These rules change often, so make sure to check back at that link occasionally for updates. When it comes to loud dogs, Winchester has the following rules:

a) If a dog is loud and frequently or habitually barking or howling and causes a disturbance to the neighborhood, it can be unlawful to keep that dog.

b) Any person annoyed by such loud, frequent, or habitual barking or howling may enter his own complaint by summons returnable to the general district court.

In other words, if your neighbor has an annoying dog you absolutely have the right to pursue a warrant against the dog’s owner and the General District Court has the power to impose various sanctions on the dog owner ranging from a fine to jail time depending on the situation.

Court, however, is the nuclear option. The best way to handle a loud dog is to first talk it out with your neighbor. You might be able to come to an understanding with your neighbor about the situation and come up with an agreement that works for you both. It never hurts to try and talk it out.

Regardless, if your neighbor’s dog is loud and the neighbor won’t fix it, consider talking to an attorney to pursue court action to make it stop so you can get back to enjoying your relaxing weekend.

Neighborly Nuisances: How Do I Handle A Loud Neighbor?

Have you just moved into a new neighborhood and have a noisy neighbor? Maybe someone moved in next to you and is being loud. It’s hard to enjoy your home when your neighbor is causing a ruckus. Whether your neighbor is another resident or a business, you have certain legal rights that might help you reduce the noise.

Noise law can be split up into two different areas; local based laws and state based laws. Virginia law permits a town, city or county to pass local noise ordinances. These noise ordinances set restrictions on a few different activities. The noise ordinances and restrictions vary depending upon time of day, area you live and the type of neighbor you have.

The very first place you want to look when you have a loud neighbor is your local noise ordinances. For example, the City of Winchester’s rules can be found by clicking this link .

The City of Winchester makes it unlawful to:

1) Sound a vehicular horn for longer than two (2) minutes in a single block area;

2) Play music or other recorded sounds that are louder than a certain volume depending on how far you are from the source;

3) Create sound louder than a certain level in residential areas.

There are also time based restrictions that make enforcement more strict after 10:00PM. Any violation of these restrictions can result in a criminal charge at the discretion of law enforcement.

Every town, city or county may have their own rules of how they handle noise pollution. However, the best way to handle noisy neighbors is usually the same. The first thing you want to do is make sure you document the loud noises through a video recording or a security camera. Law enforcement is more likely to take the matter seriously if you can show that this is a common occurrence.

After you have documented the loud noises, then you want to contact your local government agency responsible for noise complaints. You can find out which local agency is responsible for noise complaints by looking at your local government’s website. Follow that agency’s requirements for making noise complaints.

If things do not stop at that point, you may want to consider a nuisance lawsuit. A nuisance lawsuit allows you to file a lawsuit against the loud neighbor. You can seek a court order that prevents your neighbor from making loud noises. If they violate a court order, they could be looking at jail time.

Either way, if your neighbor does not stop being a nuisance after going through the proper channels, your next step will be to hire a lawyer to help you through the nuisance lawsuit process and to make sure you finally stop the loud noises.