Bought Our Home From Our Landlord And Now He Won’t Return The Initial Security Deposit

Location: Virginia, USA

The title basically says it all.

We began renting a townhome in 2023 with a 1-year lease. We put $1200 down for the security deposit. 1 year later, we signed another lease with the same landlord. This time, there was an “Option to buy” clause that stated:

“Upon a successful closing of a ratified purchase agreement between both parties this rental agreement would become null and void to include a full refund of the security deposit.”

We were able to agree on a fair price and moved forward with the process. We closed the purchase at the end of April and so did not owe rent for May (Rent is due on the 1st of each month). If closing would’ve leaked into early May, I would’ve insisted on discussing prorating the rent amount.

I mentioned the security deposit to the ex-landlord/property owner prior to closing and he verbally confirmed we would sort it out after the closing.

Well I reached out multiple times after closing and was met with no reply. I finally got a response once I referenced Virginia code § 55.1-1226 (time frame of 45 days to return the deposit) in an email.

His reply was confusing. He didn’t outright decline to return the deposit, but that was clearly the implication. He said I should be showing gratitude, respect, and common sense because he could have delayed closing til May and made me pay the full rent amount for that month.

Once the 45 days had elapsed, I sent another email saying I would give him 3 days to contact me so we could figure this out, otherwise I would be forced to pursue legal action. He never replied, so here we are.

I have my “Warrant in debt” to file, but I am unsure which general district court I should take it to. Unfortunately the lease agreement had a venue clause (aka forum selection clause) that specified the district court where he lives (2 hours away from the property location).

My questions are: Can I file the claim with the local district court, even though he specified the venue in the lease agreement? It seems unreasonable (even though we signed) that court proceedings would be held over 100 miles away from the property in question.

Is this my only option? As far as I was aware, there is no organization in Virginia that will help. The only solution seems to be submitting a “warrant in debt” for civil claims.