tenant rights in Va; a simple question

my wife and I signed a lease for a home in virginia, in may 2006 with a move in date of june 15. the lease expired/s july 15 2007. this was agreed upon 13 month lease for our special circumstance. my wife and I bought a new home out of state and were leaving the property 17 days before the end of our lease. our renters insurance ran the full length of the actual lease. we had informed our landlord we were leaving a few weeks early in april, 2007. our landlord showed the home to potential renters for several months prior to our move out with a move in date of july 1st which was finw with us. she would retroactive our rent if she could find someone to move in on july 1st.

we moved out, cleaned and took our landlord on a walk-through prior to leaving. the house was clean and there were zero issues. she informed us according to virginia law she had 45 days form the end of our lease to refund our deposit which we understood. what we found out later is that she entered the home during the final two weeks of our lease and had new carpet installed in 3 rooms without our knowledge or consent. does she have the right to make these repairs without our consent? this was not an emergent repair, merely an upgrade to an aging home.

we feel simply we are entitled to retroactive rent return dating to the date she had work done on the home. is this something we should persue?

thank you for your time....

You could sue her in small claims yes for the deposit. She cannot upgrade, only replace items you damaged etc.

[annjd]

Based on what you say here, you could file suit against her (or at least threaten to do so) in small claims court or in regular court; filing in small claims court is easier and requires no attorney...you could try to collect all of the costs and damages that you suffered due to her behavior.