The rule
- Deposit limit
- 2 months’ rent
- Return deadline
- 45 days
- Interest owed
- Not required
- Itemized deductions
- Required
- The deadline
- Within 45 days after the tenancy ends or the tenant vacates, whichever is later, with a written itemization of deductions.
- Interest
- State law doesn’t require interest on the deposit.
- Deductions
- The landlord must give you an itemized list of anything kept from the deposit.
- If it isn’t returned
- Willful noncompliance: the court orders return of the deposit plus actual damages and reasonable attorney fees (or credits it against rent owed).
Law: Va. Code § 55.1-1226
Last reviewed September 30, 2026
Not legal advice. Statutes change; check the linked section.