Virginia Security Deposit Return Letter: Free Template and Generator for Landlords

The deadline for this notice is 45 days, and it is not 60. The only extra time is 15 days for an itemization of the damages and the cost of repair, where the damages exceed the deposit and need a third-party contractor and you have said so in writing within the 45 days (below). From July 1, 2023 through June 30, 2024 that extra period was 30 days, under a 2023 act that expired on its own terms, so a guide written in that year may still say 30. This page is for landlords preparing the notice; if you are a tenant looking for a demand letter, this is not that page.

Sample security deposit notices (Virginia)

Four versions, generated by the same engine as the tool: a full refund and an itemized notice with deductions here, the contractor notice and a notice for a tenant who left no forwarding address further down. Replace the names and figures with yours, keep the itemization honest, and review everything before you sign.

The sample facts: Dana Whitfield rented the apartment to Riley Chen at $1,500.00 a month, with a $2,000.00 deposit. That deposit is inside the cap of two months’ periodic rent, which is $3,000.00 here. The tenant vacated on May 28, 2026; the tenancy terminated on May 31, 2026. The later of the two is May 31, 2026, so day 45 is July 15, 2026. Each notice is dated June 19, 2026 and given by regular mail, and where money is due a cheque goes with it.

Full refund: nothing deducted

Even when nothing is kept, the written notice is the duty, and a cheque on its own does not meet it. This one states the deposit, says nothing was deducted, and goes with the full amount.

Deductions under two of the four uses, two tenants

Same dates, but two tenants are on the lease, Riley Chen and Sam Okafor; $400.00 of May’s rent was unpaid, and a bedroom window pane was cracked. A third party has been designated to receive duplicate copies of written notices.

The sample enters the rent under item (i), accrued rent, and the window under item (ii), damage from the tenant’s noncompliance with § 55.1-1227, less reasonable wear and tear. The letter lists the four uses once and marks each amount with the one it is applied to (below). With two tenants the refund is one cheque payable to both, and the footer cites subsection B (below). The certificate of service for this notice, with its line for the duplicate, is further down.

Generate this notice free

The free Virginia deposit tool takes both of your dates, computes day 45, does the deduction math, marks each deduction with the use it is applied to, and produces this notice with your facts filled in, with a certificate of service for your own file. No sign-up, no watermark, no charge, and nothing you type leaves your browser.

What the notice must contain, and what it does not

Whether you keep part of the deposit or return all of it, the deposit and any deductions, damages and charges must be itemized in a written notice given to the tenant, together with any amount due to the tenant, within the same 45 days.

The security deposit and any deductions, damages, and charges shall be itemized by the landlord in a written notice given to the tenant, together with any amount due to the tenant Va. Code § 55.1-1226(A)

The statute names what is itemized (the deposit, the deductions, the damages and the charges) and nothing else: it prescribes no headings, no receipts and no photographs for this notice. Listing every amount kept under the category it falls in, and showing the arithmetic down to the amount returned, is a practice we suggest; the text does not require it. The samples above are built that way.

The notice and the money go together. The duty is a written, itemized notice “given to the tenant” together with any money due, so a cheque on its own does not meet it. Separately, the deposit itself must be applied by day 45 (the deadline guide explains that second duty).

One document can do two jobs. After a move-out inspection, subsection G also calls for “a written security deposit disposition statement, including an itemized list of damages”; on our reading one document can serve both. (Va. Code § 55.1-1226(G))

The four things a deposit may be applied to

Four uses under subsection A, plus a withholding for a third-party utility balance under subsection C (below). Each amount in the notice should fall under one of them.

Upon termination of the tenancy or the date the tenant vacates the dwelling unit, whichever occurs last, such security deposit, whether it is property or money held by the landlord as security as provided in this section, may be applied by the landlord solely to (i) the payment of accrued rent, including the reasonable charges for late payment of rent specified in the rental agreement; (ii) the payment of the amount of damages that the landlord has suffered by reason of the tenant's noncompliance with § 55.1-1227, less reasonable wear and tear; (iii) other damages or charges as provided in the rental agreement; or (iv) actual damages for breach of the rental agreement pursuant to § 55.1-1251. Va. Code § 55.1-1226(A)

“Solely” makes this a closed list. The tool’s notice lists the four once, in the statute’s terms, and marks each amount with the one it is applied to, as the samples show. A charge that fits none of them cannot come out of the deposit; the section does not stop you recovering other damages the Act entitles you to.

Reasonable wear and tear is subtracted from item (ii). The Act does not define it, and we found no Virginia decision that does; this page does not supply a definition or a list. The deductions guide takes the four uses one by one.

Late charges under item (i) must be provided for in the written lease and may not exceed the lesser of 10 percent of the periodic rent or 10 percent of the remaining balance due. (Va. Code § 55.1-1204(E))

Maintenance and repair fees. A landlord may not require a tenant to pay a fee for the maintenance or repair of the unit unless the tenant’s violation of a requirement of the Act made it necessary. On our reading this limits what item (iii), “other damages or charges as provided in the rental agreement”, can cover; we found no Virginia decision reading the two provisions together. (Va. Code § 55.1-1208(C))

A utility balance. An amount withheld for the balance on a water, sewer or other utility account the tenant owes a third-party provider is marked “utility” in the tool’s notice. It needs prior written notice advising the tenant of the tenant’s rights and obligations under the section, given in one of the three ways subsection C sets out, and once the balance is paid the landlord must give the tenant written confirmation, with any balance due, within 10 days. “Reasonable portion” is not defined, and we do not put a number on it. (Va. Code § 55.1-1226(C))

When the damages exceed the deposit and need a contractor

Where damage to the premises exceeds the deposit and needs a third-party contractor, the landlord gives the tenant written notice of that within the 45 days, and then has an additional 15 days to provide an itemization of the damages and the cost of repair.

In the event that damages to the premises exceed the amount of the security deposit and require the services of a third-party contractor, the landlord shall give written notice to the tenant advising him of that fact within the 45-day period required by subsection A. If notice is given as prescribed in this subsection, the landlord shall have an additional 15-day period to provide an itemization of the damages and the cost of repair. Va. Code § 55.1-1226(E)

All three conditions are needed: the damages exceed the deposit, they require a third-party contractor, and the written notice saying so is given within the 45 days. What is extended is “an itemization of the damages and the cost of repair”, nothing else: the written notice is still due by day 45. The sample below is that notice. It states the deposit, enters the damage at the landlord’s best current estimate and marks it as one, returns nothing because the amounts exceed the deposit, and says, in the statute’s terms, that the damages exceed the deposit and require a third-party contractor. It carries no date for the itemization, because the statute does not say when the additional days start.

Same parties and dates. This time the bathroom floor and subfloor need replacing after the bathtub overflowed, the work needs a contractor, and the contractor’s figure is not final when the notice is given, so the $2,300.00 is marked as an estimate.

Notice that the damages exceed the deposit (contractor)

In this example day 45 is July 15, 2026. The statute does not say when the additional 15 days start; on our reading they follow day 45, which puts their end on July 30, 2026. Another reading counts them from the day the contractor notice is given, so providing the itemization within 15 days of the day you give this notice is inside both readings. The deposit section governs what may be applied from the deposit, and it does not stop you recovering other damages the Act allows: the notice can show the full amount claimed and the deposit applied against it, and collecting the remainder is a separate matter.

How the notice is given

The statute’s verb for the notice is “given”, and the Act defines what giving is.

A person "notifies" or "gives" a notice or notification to another by taking steps reasonably calculated to inform another person, whether or not the other person actually comes to know of it. Va. Code § 55.1-1200 ("Notice")

What counts is the steps you took, so keep a record of them. On our reading, a course that meets the wording of both of the Act’s definitions of a notice (below) is:

• Regular mail or hand delivery. Electronic delivery is allowed only if the rental agreement provides for electronic notices and the tenant has not chosen paper, and it meets the wording of “written notice” but not of “notice”, which names regular mail or hand delivery. If you deliver electronically, keep proof of the electronic delivery.
• To the tenant’s last known place of residence, which may be the rental unit itself (Va. Code § 55.1-1202(B)).
• A duplicate to any third party the tenant designated to receive copies of the landlord’s written notices, mailed at the same time the notice is mailed to or served on the tenant.
• A certificate of service you prepare yourself, kept with your copy (below).

If the rental agreement so provides, the landlord and tenant may send notices in electronic form; however, any tenant who so requests may elect to send and receive notices in paper form. If electronic delivery is used, the sender shall retain sufficient proof of the electronic delivery, which may be an electronic receipt of delivery, a confirmation that the notice was sent by facsimile, or a certificate of service prepared by the sender confirming the electronic delivery. Va. Code § 55.1-1202(A)

Proof of electronic delivery can be an electronic receipt of delivery, a confirmation that a fax was sent, or a certificate of service the sender prepares confirming the electronic delivery. Without a lease clause, give the deposit notice on paper.

Where such a third party has been designated by the tenant, the landlord shall mail the duplicate copy of any summons issued pursuant to § 8.01-126 or notice to the designated third party at the same time the summons or notice is mailed to or served upon the tenant. Va. Code § 55.1-1209(C)

“Given”, not “sent”. The deposit section’s word for the notice is “given”. “Sent” is its word for the refund cheque where there is more than one tenant, and “mail” is the duplicate rule’s word for the copy to a designated third party.

The certificate of service: your own record

The Act defines “notice” as notice in writing by regular mail or hand delivery, with the sender keeping proof in the form of a certificate of service.

"Notice" means notice given in writing by either regular mail or hand delivery, with the sender retaining sufficient proof of having given such notice in the form of a certificate of service confirming such mailing prepared by the sender. Va. Code § 55.1-1200 ("Notice")

This is our reading. The deposit section requires “a written notice”, and the Act defines “written notice” separately, as notice given under § 55.1-1202 in any form that can be retrieved and read, on paper or electronic.

"Written notice" means notice given in accordance with § 55.1-1202, including any representation of words, letters, symbols, numbers, or figures, whether (i) printed in or inscribed on a tangible medium or (ii) stored in an electronic form or any other medium, retrievable in a perceivable form, and regardless of whether an electronic signature authorized by the Uniform Electronic Transactions Act (§ 59.1-479 et seq.) is affixed. Va. Code § 55.1-1200 ("Written notice")

We do not say which definition a court would apply to the deposit notice. Giving it by regular mail or by hand to the tenant’s last known place of residence, and keeping a certificate of service you prepare yourself, is a course that meets the wording of both definitions. Electronic delivery, where the lease provides for it and the tenant has not chosen paper, meets the wording of “written notice” but not of “notice”. Every Virginia notice the tool prepares comes with a certificate of service, as a separate record for your own file that is not part of what the tenant receives. This is the one generated with the two-tenant sample above. Its date is a blank on purpose: fill in the day you actually give the notice, which need not be the date on the letter.

More than one tenant

Where more than one tenant is on the lease, the deposit is disposed of with one cheque payable to all of them, sent to a forwarding address one of them provides, unless every tenant has agreed otherwise in writing.

Where there is more than one tenant subject to a rental agreement, unless otherwise agreed to in writing by each of the tenants, disposition of the security deposit shall be made with one check being payable to all such tenants and sent to a forwarding address provided by one of the tenants. Va. Code § 55.1-1226(B)

This sentence is about how the money is paid; the itemized written notice is still due by day 45 under subsection A. A written agreement by each of the tenants can displace the single cheque. If the tenant has an assignee or sublessee, the landlord may hold a deposit from only one party (§ 55.1-1226(H)). The two-tenant sample above shows the line the notice prints: “One refund check, payable to all tenants: Riley Chen and Sam Okafor”.

If the tenant left no forwarding address

Virginia does not make the tenant give a forwarding address, and the 45 days do not wait for one. If none is given, the landlord must still make the disposition within the 45 days but may continue to hold the money in escrow.

The landlord shall make the security deposit disposition within the 45-day time period required by subsection A, but if no forwarding address is provided to the landlord, the landlord may continue to hold such security deposit in escrow. Va. Code § 55.1-1226(B)

So the written notice is still due by day 45, given at the tenant’s last known place of residence, which may be the rental unit itself. Only the handing over of the money may wait.

In the case of the tenant, notice is served at the tenant's last known place of residence, which may be the dwelling unit. Va. Code § 55.1-1202(B)

Same dates, one tenant, and no forwarding address. The notice is addressed to the rental unit, the tenant’s last known place of residence; it itemizes one deduction and says the balance of $1,780.00 is being held until the tenant provides a forwarding address. No cheque goes with it.

Notice with the balance held (no forwarding address)

If the tenant still gives no forwarding address, then once a year has run from the end of the 45 days (in this example, to July 15, 2027), the landlord may remit the money to the State Treasurer as unclaimed property, on the administrator’s form, which includes each tenant’s name, social security number if known, and last known address. “May”, not “must”: the statute permits the remittance; it does not require it at that point.

If a tenant fails to provide a forwarding address to the landlord to enable the landlord to make a refund of the security deposit, upon the expiration of one year from the date of the end of the 45-day time period, the landlord may remit such sum to the State Treasurer as unclaimed property on a form prescribed by the administrator that includes the name; social security number, if known; and last known address of each tenant on the rental agreement. Va. Code § 55.1-1226(B)

The deposit section does not say what kind of account “escrow” means here. Virginia’s general unclaimed property law separately presumes property abandoned when it has gone unclaimed for more than five years after it became payable (§ 55.1-2501); we have not read how that law’s reporting rules apply to a deposit held under this subsection.

What missing day 45 costs

The statute. If a landlord willfully fails to comply with the deposit section, the court must order the whole deposit returned to the tenant, with actual damages and reasonable attorney fees. If the tenant owes rent, the statute directs an amount equal to the deposit credited against the rent due; it does not say whether actual damages and attorney fees are still awarded then.

If the landlord willfully fails to comply with this section, the court shall order the return of the security deposit to the tenant, together with actual damages and reasonable attorney fees, unless the tenant owes rent to the landlord, in which case the court shall order an amount equal to the security deposit credited against the rent due to the landlord. Va. Code § 55.1-1226(E)

A late notice is not by itself a forfeiture, and a willful failure costs the whole deposit and more. The trigger is a willful failure to comply with any part of the section (the cap, the notices during the tenancy, the records, the inspection notice), not only day 45. The section has no multiplier, and it does not stop either side from recovering other damages the Act allows. “Willfully” is not defined. The only published opinion we found that applies it to a deposit is one Roanoke City circuit court judge’s, in 2015 (Reed v. Smith): on its facts, a landlord who gave no notice or itemization after the tenant would not give a forwarding address, and who sued within days of the tenant leaving, was found at most negligent, not willful. A circuit court opinion binds no other court, and it decides nothing about what willful means in another case.

Willfulness is the gate for the whole-deposit order, not for every claim. Separately, another section of the Act, on a tenant ending the lease for the landlord’s noncompliance, also lets a tenant recover damages for a landlord’s noncompliance with the rental agreement or the Act, and reasonable attorney fees unless the landlord proves its actions were reasonable under the circumstances; that text has no willfulness requirement. We found no decision on whether it applies to a deposit violation. (Va. Code § 55.1-1234)

Give the notice, with any amount due, by day 45. The deadline guide sets out the remedy, the one opinion and where “double the deposit” is not, in full.

Who this covers

The Act applies to occupancy in all single-family and multifamily dwelling units in Virginia, with the exclusions below. There is no exemption for an owner of only a few rental houses, though some individual rules still turn on how many units a landlord has (card payments, for one, § 55.1-1204(J)(2)). (Va. Code § 55.1-1201(B)) The samples here are for an ordinary residential tenancy. The tool does not prepare a notice for the eight occupancies the Act says are not residential tenancies, for hotel, motel or similar transient lodging that is outside the Act (it comes inside only for a primary residence of more than 90 consecutive days, or under a written lease for more than 90 days), for a manufactured home lot rental (the same deposit section governs those deposits, with one difference, Va. Code § 55.1-1302(C), (E)), or for a tenancy ended because the unit was uninhabitable at the start, which has its own refund clock: unless the landlord asserts in writing that the termination is unjustified, the 15th business day after the later of the termination notice being delivered and the tenant vacating. (Va. Code § 55.1-1201(A), (C), (D); Va. Code § 55.1-1234.1(A))

About this page

Every passage quoted above is the wording of the Code of Virginia as published by the Virginia General Assembly, read against that source rather than against a summary, and re-checked weekly by an automated watch. How we verify the law explains the process and what a “last verified” date does and does not promise. This is general information that cites the statute, not legal advice, and Orygn LLC is not a law firm. For advice about your situation, talk to a licensed Virginia attorney.

Sources

• Code of Virginia, Title 55.1, Chapter 12 (Virginia Residential Landlord and Tenant Act)
• Va. Code § 55.1-1226(A): the 45-day written notice, the later-of trigger, the four permitted uses
• Va. Code § 55.1-1226(E): the contractor notice and the additional 15 days; the remedy
• Va. Code § 55.1-1226(B): no forwarding address, the one-year date, and one cheque for several tenants
• Va. Code § 55.1-1200 ("Notice"); Va. Code § 55.1-1200 ("Written notice"): what giving a notice is, and the two definitions
• Va. Code § 55.1-1202(A); Va. Code § 55.1-1202(B): electronic notices, and where a notice to the tenant is served
• Va. Code § 55.1-1209(C): the duplicate to a designated third party
• Va. Code § 55.1-1204(E): the late-charge ceiling
• Va. Code § 55.1-1208(C): maintenance and repair fees
• Reed v. Smith, 90 Va. Cir. 220 (Roanoke City Cir. Ct. 2015): one trial judge’s reading of “willfully”
• Va. Code § 55.1-1234: a tenant’s damages and attorney fees for a landlord’s noncompliance, with no willfulness requirement in the text
• The Virginia security deposit tool and full cited rules
• The same rules as machine-readable JSON