A Virginia Tenant Notice to Vacate is the written 30 days notice a tenant gives a landlord to end a periodic tenancy under Code of Virginia § 55.1-1253. It identifies the rental unit, sets the last day of tenancy, provides a forwarding address for the security deposit, and creates the documentary record that protects you if the move-out is later disputed. The form on this page handles the statutory content automatically — you fill in the blanks, the PDF generates a clean, signature-ready notice, and you deliver it to your landlord.

In Virginia, a tenant ends a month-to-month tenancy by serving written notice on the landlord at least 30 days before the next rent due date, unless the rental agreement provides a different notice period, and a week-to-week tenancy by written notice at least seven days before the next rent due date (Va. Code § 55.1-1253(A)). Serve it at the landlord’s place of business where the rental agreement was made or any other place the landlord holds out for notices, or electronically if the rental agreement provides for it (Va. Code § 55.1-1202). The deposit, with any itemized deductions, is due within 45 days after the tenancy ends or you vacate, whichever is later (Va. Code § 55.1-1226(A)).

What this form does and when to use it

The Virginia Tenant Notice to Vacate is a written notice from the tenant to the landlord ending a periodic (typically month-to-month) tenancy under Code of Virginia § 55.1-1253. It serves three purposes at once: it gives the landlord the statutorily required 30 days’ notice that the tenancy will end, it specifies the last day of tenancy so rent obligations stop on a defined date, and it provides the forwarding address the landlord needs to send the deposit, which is due within 45 days after the tenancy ends or you vacate, whichever is later, under Va. Code § 55.1-1226. Without a properly written and delivered notice, a tenant who simply moves out remains exposed to claims for additional rent and may have a harder time recovering the security deposit.

Use this notice when you have a periodic tenancy — month-to-month is the most common form, but the same rule applies to week-to-week or other periodic arrangements (a week-to-week tenancy needs written notice at least seven days before the next rent due date under § 55.1-1253(A)). The 30 days notice for month-to-month applies regardless of how long you have lived in the unit. Many states impose longer notice obligations on landlords than on tenants — those longer landlord rules do not flow back to tenants. As a tenant on a month-to-month tenancy in Virginia, you give the 30 days stated in Va. Code § 55.1-1253 unless your rental agreement provides a different notice period.

This is not the right form for a fixed-term lease. If you have a lease with a defined end date and you intend to leave at the natural end of the term, the lease itself sets the end date — although it is good practice to send a written notice anyway to confirm your intent and trigger the security deposit clock. If you want to leave a fixed-term lease early, the 30 days notice does not apply: you need either a lease provision authorizing early termination, the landlord’s written agreement to release you, or a statutory ground (uninhabitable conditions, domestic violence early termination, or military deployment under federal SCRA at 50 U.S.C. § 3955). Sending a § 55.1-1253 notice on a fixed-term lease without one of those grounds typically does not end your rent liability under Virginia law.

Related Resources

• Virginia lease termination laws
• Virginia eviction notice laws
• Virginia breaking lease laws
• Virginia landlord tenant laws
• Virginia habitability laws
• Lease termination laws by state