Last updated 2026-07-25
TL;DR
Virginia landlord tenant law runs mostly through the Virginia Residential Landlord and Tenant Act (VRLTA), Va. Code § 55.1-1200 et seq. It caps security deposits at two months' rent, requires 5 days' notice for nonpayment before eviction filing, and sets rules for entry, habitability, and lease termination. Cities layer on their own rental registration or inspection rules on top of state law.
What does Virginia landlord tenant law actually cover?
Virginia's core landlord-tenant statute is the Virginia Residential Landlord and Tenant Act, found at Va. Code § 55.1-1200 through § 55.1-1262 [1]. It applies to most residential rentals in the state, though there are exceptions for owner-occupied buildings with four or fewer units and a few other categories spelled out in § 55.1-1201 [1]. The VRLTA sets the floor for security deposits, notice periods, habitability duties, and remedies for both sides. It preempts a lot of what a lease can say, meaning a landlord can't just write around it. If you're renting out a single-family home or a duplex in Virginia, this is the statute you actually need to read, more than skim. Separately from the state code, some Virginia cities and counties add their own rental registration, licensing, or inspection ordinances on top of the VRLTA. Those are local government programs, not state law, so the rules and fees vary by jurisdiction. If your property sits in a locality with a rental inspection district or registration requirement, confirm the specifics with your city rental licensing office, because Richmond's rules aren't Alexandria's rules aren't Virginia Beach's rules.
What is landlording, and what is a landlord under Virginia law?
"Landlording" is just the ongoing job of owning and operating a rental property: collecting rent, maintaining the unit, handling repairs, managing turnover, and staying compliant with whatever laws apply. It's not a legal term, it's industry shorthand for the work. Under Virginia law, a "landlord" is defined at Va. Code § 55.1-1200 as "the owner, lessor, or sublessor of the dwelling unit or the building of which it is a part" [1]. That definition matters because it pulls in property managers and sublessors too, more than the person on the deed. If you own the property but hired a management company, you're still the landlord under the statute; the manager is acting as your agent. Being a landlord in Virginia comes with specific statutory duties: maintaining the property in a fit and habitable condition (§ 55.1-1220) [1], making repairs within a reasonable time after notice, and complying with building and housing codes that materially affect health and safety. It's a real legal role with real obligations, more than a label for whoever collects the rent check.
How do you become a landlord in Virginia?
There's no state license required to rent out property in Virginia, but there's a checklist worth working through before you hand over keys. First, confirm you can legally rent the unit. Check your locality's zoning and, if applicable, its rental registration or licensing ordinance. Some Virginia cities, including parts of Richmond, Norfolk, and others, require landlords to register rental units or obtain a certificate of occupancy or inspection before renting. There's no single statewide database, so confirm with your city rental licensing office directly. Second, get your lease right. Under the VRLTA, a written lease isn't mandatory but it's the smart move; oral leases default to month-to-month terms and leave a lot of gaps [1]. Third, budget for a security deposit that can't exceed two months' periodic rent under § 55.1-1226 [1]. Fourth, set up systems for maintenance requests, rent collection, and record-keeping, because Virginia law requires landlords to provide an itemized list of deductions from a security deposit within 45 days of lease termination (§ 55.1-1226) [1]. Fifth, decide on your screening criteria and apply it consistently. Federal fair housing law under the Fair Housing Act (42 U.S.C. § 3601 et seq.) prohibits discrimination based on race, color, national origin, religion, sex, familial status, and disability [2], and Virginia's own Fair Housing Law at Va. Code § 36-96.1 et seq. adds source of funds (including housing vouchers) as a protected class [3]. That last one catches new Virginia landlords off guard fairly often; you can't refuse an applicant just because they're paying with a Section 8 voucher.
How much notice does a landlord have to give in Virginia?
| Nonpayment of rent | 5 days | Va. Code § 55.1-1245 |
|---|---|---|
| Lease violation (curable) | 21 days to cure, 30 days total | Va. Code § 55.1-1245 |
| End month-to-month tenancy | 30 days | Va. Code § 55.1-1253 |
| Routine entry for repairs/inspection | 24 hours | Va. Code § 55.1-1229 |
It depends what you're giving notice for. For nonpayment of rent, Virginia law requires a 5-day written notice before a landlord can file an unlawful detainer action, per Va. Code § 55.1-1245 [4]. That notice has to state the rent owed and give the tenant the chance to pay before you can go to court. For lease violations other than nonpayment, § 55.1-1245 generally requires a 30-day notice with a 21-day cure period (often called "21/30" notice) for most breaches, though certain serious violations, like criminal activity or repeated breaches within 12 months, allow faster termination [4]. For ending a month-to-month tenancy, Virginia requires written notice at least 30 days before the end of the rental period, per § 55.1-1253 [5]. If you're the one wanting to end it, you give 30 days. If the tenant wants to end it, they also owe you 30 days. For entering the unit, the VRLTA requires landlords to give tenants "notice of at least 24 hours" and to enter "at reasonable times," per § 55.1-1229 [6]. Emergencies are the exception; if there's a fire, flood, or similar hazard, you can enter without notice. | Notice type | Required notice | Statute |
What rights do tenants have without a lease in Virginia?
A tenant without a signed lease still has real rights in Virginia. If there's no written agreement, or the written agreement has expired and the tenant stayed with the landlord's consent, Virginia law treats it as a month-to-month tenancy under § 55.1-1253 [5]. The tenant still gets the full protections of the VRLTA: habitability, the 5-day notice before eviction filing for nonpayment, the 24-hour entry notice, and the security deposit cap, if a deposit was collected [1][4][6]. What a no-lease tenant does lose is certainty. Rent can be raised with proper notice more easily on a month-to-month basis than under a fixed-term lease, and either side can end the tenancy with 30 days' notice rather than waiting out a full lease term [5]. But "no lease" does not mean "no rights." Virginia courts still require landlords to go through the formal unlawful detainer process to remove a tenant, lease or no lease; self-help eviction (changing locks, shutting off utilities, removing belongings) is illegal under Va. Code § 55.1-1243 regardless of whether there's a written lease [7].
What is a rental inspection, and what can a landlord look at during one?
A rental inspection can mean two different things, and mixing them up causes a lot of confusion. One is a landlord's own routine inspection of the unit, done under the entry rights in § 55.1-1229, to check on maintenance, look for lease violations, or document condition [6]. The other is a government inspection tied to a local rental licensing or registration ordinance, which some Virginia cities require before issuing or renewing a rental permit. For a landlord's own inspection, Virginia law lets you enter to inspect the premises, make repairs, supply services, or show the unit to prospective tenants or buyers, with 24 hours' notice and at a reasonable time [6]. You can look at things related to habitability and lease compliance: smoke detector function, HVAC condition, plumbing leaks, signs of unauthorized occupants or pets, and general upkeep. You generally can't use an inspection as a pretext to harass a tenant or search for unrelated personal information. For a government-mandated rental inspection under a city program, the scope is usually set by that city's rental inspection ordinance and often mirrors a locally adopted version of the Virginia Uniform Statewide Building Code, referred to as the USBC [8]. Inspectors typically check smoke alarms, egress windows, electrical and plumbing systems, structural condition, and pest issues. Confirm with your city rental licensing office exactly what their inspection checklist covers, because it varies by locality and whether the city has adopted a formal rental inspection district. A related question people search for is who's responsible for a rental property walk-through inspection in California; that's a different state's law entirely (California Civil Code § 1950.5 governs move-out inspections there [9]), but the underlying principle carries over to Virginia too: the landlord or their agent conducts the walk-through, and the tenant has the right to be present for move-out inspections and to receive an itemized deduction list, which in Virginia is the 45-day requirement under § 55.1-1226 [1].
Why do landlords require renters insurance in Virginia?
Virginia law doesn't require renters insurance by default, but the VRLTA explicitly lets landlords require it as a lease condition. Under Va. Code § 55.1-1206, a landlord may require a tenant to obtain renters insurance, or may obtain a policy on the tenant's behalf and charge the cost as additional rent, as long as the lease discloses this and the fee is reasonable [10]. Landlords require it for a fairly simple reason: your own landlord policy (dwelling coverage) protects the building and your liability as owner, but it doesn't cover the tenant's personal belongings or the tenant's liability if they cause a fire, flood, or injury inside the unit. Renters insurance shifts that risk to the tenant's own policy instead of your landlord policy or your out-of-pocket losses. It also gives you a claims path if a tenant's negligence damages the unit beyond normal wear. Most renters insurance policies run somewhere in the range of $15 to $30 a month depending on coverage limits and location, though actual pricing depends on the insurer and isn't something Virginia law sets. If you require it, put the requirement and any fee structure clearly in the lease, consistent with § 55.1-1206's disclosure rule [10].
What can't a landlord do (and how does this compare across states like Ohio)?
People searching Virginia landlord law often also search "what a landlord cannot do in Ohio," usually because they're comparing notes or just moved. The short answer: the broad prohibitions are similar across most states, including both Virginia and Ohio, even though the statutes are numbered differently. In Virginia, a landlord cannot: lock a tenant out, shut off utilities, or remove a tenant's belongings without a court order, all of which count as illegal self-help eviction under § 55.1-1243 [7]. A landlord cannot retaliate against a tenant for reporting a code violation or exercising a legal right, per § 55.1-1258 [11]. A landlord cannot enter without the required 24-hour notice except in an emergency, per § 55.1-1229 [6]. A landlord cannot keep a security deposit beyond two months' rent, per § 55.1-1226 [1]. And a landlord cannot discriminate based on a protected class under the Virginia Fair Housing Law, § 36-96.1 et seq., which specifically includes source of funds [3]. Ohio's landlord-tenant law, the Ohio Revised Code Chapter 5321, imposes very similar bans: no self-help eviction, no retaliatory action, and a duty to maintain habitable premises . The details differ (Ohio doesn't cap security deposits by statute the way Virginia does, for instance) but the underlying structure, habitability duty, no self-help, no retaliation, is close to universal across states with modern landlord-tenant acts. If you're managing property in more than one state, don't assume the numbers transfer; always check the specific statute for that state.
How do you actually be a landlord day to day in Virginia?
Being a landlord in practice is mostly a maintenance and communication job, with a legal compliance layer underneath. Day to day, that means: responding to repair requests within a reasonable time (the VRLTA doesn't set a fixed number of days for most repairs, but courts and local codes look at what's "reasonable" given the severity) [1], keeping the property meeting the locally adopted building code, handling rent collection and late notices consistently, and documenting everything, condition reports, communications, and repair records, in case of a dispute. It also means staying current with your local rental licensing status if your city has one. Rental registration or licensing renewal deadlines, fees, and inspection cycles vary widely by locality in Virginia; some cities require annual renewal, others every two or three years. There's no way to generalize this across the state, so confirm renewal timing and fee amounts with your city rental licensing office directly rather than assuming a statewide standard. A lot of first-time landlords underestimate the paperwork side. If you're getting ready for a city rental inspection or license renewal and want a structured way to organize what your city typically asks for (checklists, document lists, inspection prep), the $79 City Rental License & Inspection Prep Packet is built around exactly that gap between what state law requires and what local rental programs additionally check.
What happens if a landlord violates Virginia's landlord-tenant law?
Consequences depend on which rule got broken. If a landlord fails to maintain the unit in a habitable condition after written notice, § 55.1-1234 lets the tenant terminate the lease or pursue repair-and-deduct remedies, and § 55.1-1244 allows the tenant to sue for damages [1]. For illegal self-help eviction under § 55.1-1243, a tenant can recover actual damages, and courts have authority to order the landlord to restore possession or utilities [7]. For retaliation under § 55.1-1258, if a landlord tries to raise rent, cut services, or terminate a tenancy in retaliation for a tenant's protected complaint within the prior year, the tenant has a defense and can recover damages, court costs, and reasonable attorney fees [11]. For security deposit violations, if a landlord fails to provide the itemized list of deductions within 45 days or wrongfully withholds a deposit, § 55.1-1226 allows the tenant to recover the wrongfully withheld amount plus potentially attorney's fees [1]. Separately, if you're violating a local rental registration or inspection ordinance, that's typically handled as a code enforcement matter by the city, with its own civil penalty schedule, sometimes a few hundred dollars per violation, sometimes escalating for repeat offenses. Those penalty amounts are set locally, not by the state, so confirm the actual fine schedule with your city rental licensing office rather than relying on a statewide figure.
Frequently asked questions
What is landlording?
Landlording is the everyday work of owning and running a rental property: collecting rent, handling repairs and maintenance, managing tenant relationships, and staying compliant with state landlord-tenant law and any local rental registration or licensing rules. It's not a legal title, just the common term for the job of being a landlord.
What is a landlord under Virginia law?
Virginia Code § 55.1-1200 defines a landlord as the owner, lessor, or sublessor of the dwelling unit or the building it's part of. That includes property managers and anyone acting as the owner's agent, more than the person whose name is on the deed.
How do you become a landlord in Virginia?
There's no state license requirement, but you should confirm local zoning and rental registration rules with your city, draft a written lease consistent with the VRLTA, cap any security deposit at two months' rent (Va. Code § 55.1-1226), and apply screening criteria consistently to comply with Virginia and federal fair housing law.
What rights do tenants have without a lease in Virginia?
A tenant with no written lease, or an expired one they stayed on with the landlord's consent, is treated as a month-to-month tenant under Va. Code § 55.1-1253. They still get full VRLTA protections: habitability rights, the 5-day nonpayment notice before eviction filing, 24-hour entry notice, and security deposit protections.
How much notice does a landlord have to give before entering in Virginia?
Virginia's VRLTA (Va. Code § 55.1-1229) requires landlords to give at least 24 hours' notice and enter at reasonable times, except in genuine emergencies like fire or flooding, where no notice is required.
How much notice does a landlord have to give to end a month-to-month tenancy?
Virginia requires at least 30 days' written notice to end a month-to-month tenancy, under Va. Code § 55.1-1253. Either the landlord or the tenant can give this notice, and it must be in writing.
What can a landlord look at during an inspection?
During a routine landlord inspection with proper 24-hour notice, a landlord can check habitability items: smoke detectors, plumbing, HVAC, structural condition, and lease compliance like unauthorized occupants or pets. Government rental inspections tied to a city licensing program typically check code items like egress, electrical safety, and smoke alarms; confirm the exact checklist with your city rental licensing office.
Who is responsible for a rental property walk-through inspection in California?
In California, the landlord or their agent conducts the move-out walk-through inspection, and tenants have the right to be present under California Civil Code § 1950.5. That's California-specific; Virginia's equivalent process runs through the security deposit itemization rule in Va. Code § 55.1-1226.
Why do landlords require renters insurance?
Landlords require renters insurance because their own dwelling policy doesn't cover a tenant's belongings or the tenant's personal liability for damage or injury inside the unit. Virginia law, under Va. Code § 55.1-1206, specifically allows landlords to require tenants carry renters insurance or to buy a policy on the tenant's behalf and bill it as additional rent.
What can't a landlord do in Virginia?
A Virginia landlord can't lock out a tenant, cut utilities, or remove belongings without a court order (illegal self-help eviction under § 55.1-1243), can't retaliate against a tenant for reporting code violations (§ 55.1-1258), can't skip the 24-hour entry notice, and can't hold a security deposit above two months' rent.
What can't a landlord do in Ohio, compared to Virginia?
Ohio Revised Code Chapter 5321 bans the same core things Virginia bans: no self-help eviction, no retaliation against tenants, and a duty to keep the unit habitable. The specific numbers differ; Ohio doesn't cap security deposits by statute the way Virginia's two-month cap does, so always check the state-specific figure.
How much can a Virginia landlord charge for a security deposit?
Under Va. Code § 55.1-1226, a Virginia landlord cannot require a security deposit exceeding two months' periodic rent. The landlord must return the deposit, with an itemized list of any deductions, within 45 days after the lease terminates and the tenant vacates.
Do Virginia cities have their own rental licensing rules on top of state law?
Yes. Some Virginia localities run rental registration, licensing, or inspection district programs separate from the VRLTA, with their own fees, renewal cycles, and inspection checklists. These vary by city, so confirm current requirements directly with your city rental licensing office rather than assuming a statewide rule applies.
Sources
- Virginia Law, Code of Virginia Title 55.1, Chapter 12 (Virginia Residential Landlord and Tenant Act): VRLTA structure, landlord definition, habitability duty, and security deposit cap/45-day itemization rule
- U.S. Department of Justice, Fair Housing Act overview: Federal Fair Housing Act protected classes
- Virginia Law, Code of Virginia § 36-96.1: Virginia Fair Housing Law protected classes including source of funds
- Virginia Law, Code of Virginia § 55.1-1245: 5-day notice for nonpayment and 21/30-day notice for lease violations
- Virginia Law, Code of Virginia § 55.1-1253: 30-day notice requirement to terminate month-to-month tenancy
- Virginia Law, Code of Virginia § 55.1-1229: 24-hour notice requirement for landlord entry, reasonable times, emergency exception
- Virginia Law, Code of Virginia § 55.1-1243: Prohibition on self-help eviction (lockout, utility shutoff, removal of belongings)
- California Legislative Information, California Civil Code § 1950.5: California move-out inspection and security deposit itemization rules
- Virginia Law, Code of Virginia § 55.1-1206: Landlord may require tenant to obtain renters insurance or obtain it on tenant's behalf as additional rent
- Virginia Law, Code of Virginia § 55.1-1258: Prohibition on retaliatory conduct by landlords against tenants who exercise legal rights
- Ohio Laws and Rules, Ohio Revised Code Chapter 5321: Ohio landlord-tenant law bans on self-help eviction, retaliation, and habitability duty