How many days notice does a Virginia landlord give for unpaid rent?

Fourteen days, not five. Va. Code 55.1-1245(F) requires written notice of the nonpayment and of the landlord's intention to terminate if the rent is not paid within the fourteen-day period. The section is published in three versions with different effective dates and every one of them says fourteen days. Every ranking Virginia lease template still prints a five-day notice to pay or quit.

How long does a Virginia landlord have to return a security deposit?

Forty-five days, but the clock starts on the later of two dates. Va. Code 55.1-1226(A) requires the itemized written notice and any amount due within forty-five days after the termination date of the tenancy OR the date the tenant vacates, whichever occurs last. Where damages exceed the deposit and require a third-party contractor, the landlord must say so in writing within the forty-five days and then has an additional fifteen days to itemize.

How much notice must a Virginia landlord give before entering?

Seventy-two hours, but only for routine maintenance the tenant did not request. Va. Code 55.1-1229(A)(4) requires notice of intent to enter and entry at reasonable times, with no hour figure attached to ordinary entry; it adds seventy-two hours for routine maintenance not requested by the tenant, unless impractical; and it says that if the tenant makes a request for maintenance the landlord is not required to provide notice at all. Routine maintenance must then be performed within fourteen days of delivery of the notice, and the notice must state the last date on which it may possibly be performed.

Does a Virginia lease have to carry a fee disclosure on the first page?

Yes. Va. Code 55.1-1204.1 requires the landlord to provide, beginning on the first page of the written rental agreement, an itemization of the security deposit, the rent due per payment period, and any additional one-time charges due before the commencement date or included in the first rental payment. Immediately above that itemized list the agreement must state that no additional security deposits or rent shall be charged unless they are listed below or incorporated by a separate addendum executed after the agreement. Only one ranking Virginia page names the section and none quotes the prescribed sentence.

Does Virginia have a five-day rent grace period?

Not as a general rule. The fifth-of-the-month figure comes from Va. Code 55.1-1204(C), which supplies terms by operation of law only where the landlord does not offer a written rental agreement at all. In that situation the tenancy runs twelve months, rent is due on the first and is considered late if not paid by the fifth. Where there is a written lease, the due date and any late charge are what the lease says, subject to the 10% cap in 55.1-1204(E).

What notice ends a Virginia month-to-month tenancy?

Thirty days' written notice served at least thirty days prior to the next rent due date, under Va. Code 55.1-1253(A), unless the rental agreement provides for a different notice period. A week-to-week tenancy takes seven days on the same measure. Virginia has no general rent-increase notice statute; the only sixty-day duty is 55.1-1204(K), which binds a landlord owning more than four rental dwelling units and applies to a renewal-term rent increase and to nonrenewal; from 1 July 2027 the renewal-term rent-increase notice under that subsection is ninety days, while nonrenewal stays at sixty.

Does a Virginia lease renew automatically?

No, not by operation of law. Automatic renewal is permitted as a lease term by Va. Code 55.1-1204(A), so it happens only if the lease says so. The rule that a rental agreement of one year or more renews automatically on the same terms is Va. Code 55.1-1302, which sits in the Manufactured Home Lot Rental Act and governs lot tenancies. Where no written agreement is offered at all, 55.1-1204(C)(2) creates a twelve-month tenancy that is expressly not subject to automatic renewal.

Which lease clauses are prohibited in Virginia?

Eight, under Va. Code 55.1-1208(A): waiver of rights or remedies under chapter 12; waiver of rights pertaining to the one hundred twenty day conversion or rehabilitation notice; confession of judgment; agreement to pay the landlord's attorney fees except as the chapter provides; exculpation, limitation of the landlord's liability or indemnity; a firearm prohibition as a condition of tenancy in public housing unless federal law requires it; a pre-tenancy deposit plus insurance premiums exceeding two months periodic rent; and a pre-dispute waiver of Servicemembers Civil Relief Act rights. Any such provision is unenforceable, and if the landlord brings an action to enforce it the tenant recovers actual damages and reasonable attorney fees under 55.1-1208(B). Subsection (C) separately forbids charging the tenant any fee for maintenance or repair not necessitated by the tenant's own violation.

Can a Virginia tenant repair and deduct?

Yes, but only through a licensed third party. Va. Code 55.1-1244.1 gives the landlord fourteen days from the tenant's written notice to take reasonable steps to repair a condition that is a material noncompliance or that will become a fire hazard or serious threat to life, health or safety. If the landlord does not, the tenant may contract with a third-party contractor licensed by the Board for Contractors or, for a rodent infestation, a licensed pesticide business, and may recover the actual costs incurred, not exceeding the greater of one month's rent or one thousand five hundred dollars. The tenant may not do the work personally, and the remedy is a deduction on an itemized statement with receipts, not a withholding of rent.

What can a Virginia tenant do if the unit is uninhabitable at move-in?

Walk away with everything back. Va. Code 55.1-1234.1 lets a tenant terminate and receive a full refund of all deposits and rent paid where a condition existing at the beginning of the tenancy constitutes a fire hazard or serious threat to life, health or safety, including rodent infestation or a lack of heat, hot or cold running water, electricity or adequate sewage disposal. The tenant must give written notice of the intent to terminate within seven days of the date possession was to have transferred. The landlord must refund on or before the fifteenth business day following the later of delivery of the notice or the tenant vacating, and a landlord who disputes the termination must give written reasons within fifteen business days. The prevailing party in any resulting action recovers attorney fees. No ranking Virginia lease page mentions the section.

What happens if a Virginia landlord locks a tenant out?

It costs at least five thousand dollars. Va. Code 55.1-1243.1 gives the general district court power to restore possession, resume an interrupted essential service or fix a condition the landlord made unsafe, with the initial hearing within five calendar days of filing. At the full hearing the tenant recovers actual damages, statutory damages of five thousand dollars or four months' rent whichever is greater, and reasonable attorney fees, and the court may terminate the lease and order the whole deposit returned. Va. Code 55.1-1252 separately forbids recovering possession by diminishing services or refusing access without a court order.

What disclosures does a Virginia lease require?

Five are due in every tenancy: the Statement of Tenant Rights and Responsibilities under 55.1-1204(B) and (H); the first-page fee disclosure statement under 55.1-1204.1; identification of the manager and of an owner under 55.1-1216(A); the move-in inspection report within five days under 55.1-1214; and the visible-mold statement within that report under 55.1-1215. Federal law adds lead-based paint for pre-1978 housing. Conditional duties cover military air installation zones under 55.1-1217, defective drywall under 55.1-1218, prior methamphetamine manufacture under 55.1-1219, a condominium filing or six-month displacement plan under 55.1-1216(C), the personal-property and flood notice under 55.1-1206(D) where the lease does not require renter's insurance, submetering under 55.1-1212, a nonresident owner's resident agent under 55.1-1211, and foreclosure under 55.1-1237. Virginia requires no radon, bed bug, asbestos or sex-offender-registry lease disclosure.

Is the tourism activity zone disclosure required in a Virginia lease?

No, on two grounds. Va. Code 55.1-707 says an owner of residential property located within a designated tourism activity zone MAY disclose that fact, so it is permissive on its face. And 55.1-701 confines the whole Virginia Residential Property Disclosure Act to transfers by sale, exchange, installment land sales contract, or lease with an option to buy, of residential real property of not less than one nor more than four dwelling units. An ordinary residential lease is outside it. A ranking template page lists the tourism activity zone as a required lease disclosure citing that section.

Does a Virginia lease need to be notarized?

No. Virginia requires neither subscribing witnesses nor notarization for a residential lease. Va. Code 11-2(6) requires a writing signed by the party to be charged for any contract for the lease of real estate for more than a year, so a tenancy of a year or less can rest on an oral agreement while chapter 12 still governs it. Va. Code 55.1-1207 adds that where a rental agreement is given effect only by acceptance of rent or possession without reservation, and it provides for a term longer than one year, it is effective for one year only.

When can a Virginia landlord dispose of a tenant's abandoned property?

Twenty-four hours after one of three notices, and only if the notice itself said so. Va. Code 55.1-1254 lets the landlord treat property left behind after termination and delivery of possession as abandoned, but only where the landlord has given either a termination notice stating that property would be disposed of within twenty-four hours after termination, or the 55.1-1249 seven-day abandonment notice with the same statement, or a separate written notice stating disposal within twenty-four hours after a ten-day period. The tenant may remove property at reasonable times during the twenty-four hours, sale proceeds go to the tenant's account, and any remainder is treated as a security deposit. Once a writ of eviction has been executed, 55.1-1255 governs instead.

Does Virginia allow a holdover penalty in the lease?

Yes, capped. Va. Code 55.1-1253(C) lets the landlord include in the rental agreement a reasonable liquidated damage penalty not exceeding 150% of the per diem of the monthly rent for each day the tenant remains after the termination date specified in the landlord's notice. Where the unit is a public housing unit or otherwise subject to regulation by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, the penalty may not exceed 100% of the per diem. The same subsection awards the landlord actual damages, reasonable attorney fees and court costs on a holdover unless the tenant proves by a preponderance of the evidence that the failure to vacate was reasonable.

Is Virginia landlord-tenant law changing in 2027?

Substantially. Nine chapter 12 sections are published in more than one version. On 1 January 2027 the fire-or-casualty notice in 55.1-1240 moves from fourteen days to twenty-one with a new meet-and-confer precondition, the retaliation section 55.1-1258 is replaced wholesale, and 55.1-1212.1 commences so a landlord of more than four units may not prohibit a small portable solar generation device. On 1 July 2027 the 55.1-1204(K) rent-increase notice rises from sixty to ninety days, 55.1-1202 gains a requirement that a nonpayment termination notice carry a statement of charges and payments, 55.1-1203 gains a pre-application notice of fees and screening criteria, and 55.1-1245 gains a mandatory payment-plan offer for landlords of more than four units. A third version of 55.1-1245 commences on the later of 1 July 2028 or seven years after the COVID-19 pandemic state of emergency expires.

Can a Virginia landlord charge a fee to process a rent payment?

Only with a free alternative, and only at cost. Va. Code 55.1-1204(J)(1) requires the landlord to accept payment of periodic rent and any security deposit by cheque and money order, to give a written receipt whenever the tenant pays in cash or by money order, and forbids any fee for the collection or processing of any payment unless the landlord offers an alternative method carrying no additional fee. Where a fee is charged, the landlord may not require the tenant to pay more than the actual out-of-pocket expense charged to the landlord by the third party processing a credit card, debit card or electronic payment. A landlord with four or fewer units need not accept debit or credit cards at all.

Who must a Virginia lease identify?

Two people, and sometimes a third. Va. Code 55.1-1216(A) requires written disclosure at or before the beginning of the tenancy of the name and address of the person authorized to manage the premises, and of an owner of the premises or other person authorized to act for and on behalf of the owner, for the purpose of service of process and of receiving and issuing receipts for notices and demands. The information must be kept current, the duty binds successor landlords and owners, and a person who fails to comply becomes an agent of each landlord for service of process under 55.1-1216(D). Where the owner is a nonresident individual or group of individuals, Va. Code 55.1-1211 requires the lease itself to designate a Virginia resident agent and office address, filed with the State Corporation Commission, and bars the owner from maintaining an action in Virginia courts until the designation is filed.

Does the Virginia landlord-tenant act apply to a small landlord?

Yes. Va. Code 55.1-1201(B) applies the chapter to occupancy in all single-family and multifamily dwelling units in the Commonwealth, and the eight exclusions in 55.1-1201(C) contain no unit-count test. What varies with portfolio size is four specific rules inside the Act: a landlord of four or fewer units need not accept card payments (55.1-1204(J)(2)) and may limit the right of redemption to once per lease period on written notice (55.1-1250(A)); a landlord of more than four owes the renewal-term rent-increase and nonrenewal notices (55.1-1204(K)), is bound by the pandemic-period screening restriction (55.1-1245(J)), and from 1 January 2027 may not prohibit a small portable solar generation device (55.1-1212.1). A separate two-hundred-unit threshold triggers the key-policy duties in 55.1-1209.1.

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Virginia lease forms: Residential Lease Agreement Move-In / Move-Out Checklist Deposit Itemization Notice to Enter All Landlord Forms

Free Virginia Residential Lease Agreement

Virginia residential lease agreement walk-through

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A configurable Virginia residential lease agreement that generates a signable multi-page PDF. Built to the Virginia Residential Landlord and Tenant Act — the fourteen-day rent notice every template still gets wrong, the first-page fee statement, and the two-month ceiling that also caps insurance premiums.

Virginia Va. Code Title 55.1 ch. 12 14-Day Rent Notice Free PDF 2026 Edition

Updated Q3 2026 By Tenant Screening Background Check Editorial Team Scope Virginia ~18 min read

A Virginia residential lease agreement is the written contract governed by the Virginia Residential Landlord and Tenant Act, codified at Va. Code Title 55.1, Chapter 12 and running from section 55.1-1200 to 55.1-1262. Virginia is one of the hardest states in the country to template correctly, for three reasons. The Act was renumbered out of Title 55 in 2019, so the section numbers circulating in most free forms point at nothing. Its nonpayment notice is fourteen days, not the five that every ranking Virginia template still prints. And nine of its sections are currently published in more than one version, with amendments queued for 1 January 2027, 1 July 2027 and a floating date in 2028 or later — so reading the wrong block on the official site publishes law that is not yet in force. On top of that, Virginia regulates the first page of the lease itself: section 55.1-1204.1 requires an itemization of every move-in charge there, under a sentence the statute writes for you. The generator below builds a lease that reflects each of those rules as the statute actually reads, verified against the official Code of Virginia and its own 2026 sections-affected table on 2026-08-06.

Virginia Lease Rules at a Glance

Security Deposit Cap

2 Months

Deposit Accounting

45 Days

Rent Notice

14 Days

Month-to-Month Notice

30 Days

The number every Virginia template gets wrong: Va. Code 55.1-1245(F) requires fourteen days after written notice before a Virginia landlord may terminate for unpaid rent and proceed to possession. Not five. The section is published in three versions with three different effective dates, and every one of them says fourteen. All nine of the top-ranking Virginia lease template pages still describe a five-day notice to pay or quit, and several sell a five-day notice form to go with it.

Five Virginia Rules That Catch Landlords Out

First, the lease has a compulsory first page. Va. Code 55.1-1204.1 requires an itemization of the security deposit, the periodic rent, and every one-time charge due before commencement or in the first rent payment to appear beginning on the first page, immediately below a sentence the statute dictates word for word. Second, the two-month deposit ceiling is not only about the deposit: 55.1-1208(A)(7) makes it a prohibited lease provision to require the tenant to pay a deposit plus damage-insurance premiums plus renter’s-insurance premiums exceeding two months’ periodic rent before the tenancy commences, and 55.1-1200 folds any pet deposit into the deposit itself. Third, the seventy-two hour entry figure is narrower than it looks: 55.1-1229(A)(4) attaches it to routine maintenance the tenant did not request, requires the work to be done within fourteen days, requires the notice to name the last possible date, and imposes no notice at all where the tenant asked for the maintenance. Fourth, the deposit clock runs from the later of two dates — termination or the date the tenant vacates — not from move-out. Fifth, the Statement of Tenant Rights and Responsibilities is a precondition to suing: 55.1-1204(H) bars the landlord from filing or maintaining any action, including a summons for unlawful detainer, for any alleged lease violation until it has been provided.

How to Fill Out This Virginia Lease Agreement

The Eight-Step Virginia Sequence

1. Name the parties, the manager and the owner

Va. Code 55.1-1216(A) requires written disclosure, at or before the beginning of the tenancy, of the name and address of the person authorized to manage the premises and of an owner of the premises or other person authorized to act for and on behalf of the owner. That is two identifications, and 55.1-1216(D) makes a person who fails to give them an agent for service of process. If the owner is a nonresident individual or group of individuals, 55.1-1211 requires the lease itself to designate a Virginia resident agent and office address.

2. Describe the premises and answer the unit-count question

Enter the address and the county or independent city — Virginia has independent cities that sit outside any county, so the form does not assume one. Then say whether the landlord owns four or fewer rental dwelling units or more than four. That single answer changes four separate rules, and the generator branches on it.

3. Set the term and the notice to vacate

Choose a fixed term or a periodic tenancy. Va. Code 55.1-1253(A) gives thirty days for a month-to-month tenancy and seven for a week-to-week tenancy, in each case served before the next rent due date — and expressly allows the rental agreement to provide for a different notice period, which is why the form asks rather than assumes.

4. Set rent, the late charge and the returned-payment fee

Va. Code 55.1-1204(E) permits a late charge only where the written rental agreement provides for one, and caps it at the lesser of 10% of the periodic rent or 10% of the remaining balance due. The returned-payment charge is not the general civil bad-cheque statute: 55.1-1200 defines it as the processing fee specified in the rental agreement, capped at fifty dollars.

5. Set the deposit inside the real ceiling

Two months’ periodic rent, however denominated, under 55.1-1226(A). The form collects the pet deposit and any damage-insurance and renter’s-insurance premiums separately so the total you are actually collecting before commencement is visible on the page, because 55.1-1208(A)(7) prices an overshoot as a prohibited provision.

6. Allocate the utilities and declare any submetering

Assign electricity, gas, water, sewer, trash, internet and grounds care. Submetering equipment, energy allocation equipment, a ratio utility billing system, or an allocation of local government fees may be used only where it is clearly stated in the rental agreement, under 55.1-1212(B) and (H) — and the administrative service charge has to be agreed there too.

7. Choose the rights that exist only if the lease says so

Four Virginia entitlements are drafting-conditional. The recovery of damages, costs and fees for an unjustified refusal to permit exhibition exists only if the rental agreement so provides (55.1-1229(A)(3)). The extended-absence notice duty only bites if the lease requires it (55.1-1249). Holdover liquidated damages of up to 150% of the per diem rent must be in the lease (55.1-1253(C)). And a landlord of four or fewer units may limit the tenant’s right of redemption to once per lease period only on written notice of the limitation (55.1-1250(A)).

8. Check the disclosures, generate, and diarise the deadlines

Provide the Statement of Tenant Rights and Responsibilities with the signed acknowledgment form. Complete the move-in report, including the visible-mold statement, within five days of occupancy. Deliver the signed lease and the statement within ten business days. Then calendar the forty-five day deposit accounting from the later of termination or the date the tenant vacates.

Build Your Virginia Residential Lease Agreement

Complete the fields below to generate a Virginia residential lease agreement as a signable multi-page PDF. Every field you fill is written into the document, including the utility allocations, the unit-count answer, the drafting-conditional elections, and each disclosure you check, and the generated lease cites the controlling Virginia section at each point. Before you hand keys to anyone, run proper tenant screening — the lease governs the relationship, screening decides whether you want it. Pair the signed lease with a Virginia move-in / move-out checklist, because the statutory move-in report under 55.1-1214 is due within five days and is deemed correct if nobody objects.

Virginia Residential Lease Agreement Builder

1. Parties, Manager and Owner

Va. Code 55.1-1216(A) requires written disclosure, at or before the beginning of the tenancy, of the name and address of the person authorized to manage the premises AND of an owner or other person authorized to act for the owner. That is two identifications, not one, and a person who fails to give them becomes an agent for service of process under 55.1-1216(D).

Landlord (as named on the lease)

Landlord phone

Person authorized to manage the premises (55.1-1216(A)(1))

Manager address for notices and demands

Owner, or person authorized to act for the owner (55.1-1216(A)(2))

Owner address for service of process

Is the owner a nonresident individual or group of individuals? (55.1-1211)

Resident agent name (required in every lease by a nonresident owner)

Resident agent office address in Virginia

Tenant 1 full legal name

Tenant 2 full legal name (if any)

Additional tenants (comma-separated)

Authorized occupants who are not tenants (55.1-1200)

Third party the tenant designates to receive duplicate notices (55.1-1209(C))

2. Premises

Rental property address (street, unit, city, ZIP)

County or independent city

Property type

Year built (before 1978 triggers the federal lead disclosure)

Bedrooms / bathrooms

How many rental dwelling units does this landlord own in Virginia?

This answer is load-bearing in four places. A landlord of four or fewer units need not accept card payments (55.1-1204(J)(2)) and may limit the tenant’s right of redemption to once per lease period (55.1-1250(A)). A landlord of more than four owes the renewal-term rent-increase and nonrenewal notices under 55.1-1204(K) (sixty days before the end of the term; from 1 July 2027 the rent-increase notice is ninety days), is bound by the pandemic-era screening restriction in 55.1-1245(J), and from 1 January 2027 may not prohibit a small portable solar generation device under 55.1-1212.1.

3. Term and Notice to Vacate

Lease type

Term length in months (if other)

Lease start date

Lease end date (if fixed term)

Notice period to end a month-to-month tenancy, in days (55.1-1253(A) sets thirty unless the lease says otherwise)

Automatic renewal term — expressly permitted as a lease term by 55.1-1204(A). Virginia law does NOT renew a dwelling-unit lease automatically on its own

Landlord approval required for any sublease or assignment — 55.1-1204(G) then gives the landlord ten business days to decide, and silence is evidence of approval

4. Rent, Late Charges and the First-Page Fee Itemization

Va. Code 55.1-1204.1 requires the written rental agreement to carry, BEGINNING ON ITS FIRST PAGE, an itemization of the security deposit, the rent due per payment period, and any one-time charges due before commencement or included in the first rental payment — with a prescribed sentence immediately above the list. The generator places both on page one automatically.

Monthly rent (in dollars)

Rent due day of the month

Place where rent is payable (55.1-1204(D))

Accepted payment methods — cheque and money order are compulsory under 55.1-1204(J)(1)

Charge a late fee — 55.1-1204(E) allows one only if the written lease provides for it, capped at the LESSER of 10% of the periodic rent or 10% of the balance due

Late fee percentage (statutory ceiling is ten)

Returned-payment processing fee, in dollars (55.1-1200 caps it at fifty and requires it to be specified here)

A processing fee is charged for some payment methods — 55.1-1204(J)(1) then requires a no-fee alternative and limits any card or electronic fee to the landlord’s actual out-of-pocket third-party cost

Prepaid rent collected, in dollars (55.1-1205 escrow)

Escrow depository for prepaid rent

Any other one-time charges due before commencement or in the first rent payment (itemize)

5. Security Deposit and Insurance in Lieu

The ceiling is two months’ periodic rent however denominated (55.1-1226(A)), a pet deposit is a security deposit by definition (55.1-1200), and 55.1-1208(A)(7) with 55.1-1206(C) applies the SAME two-month ceiling to deposit plus damage-insurance premiums plus renter’s-insurance premiums collected before the tenancy commences.

Security deposit, in dollars

Pet deposit, in dollars (counts toward the same ceiling)

What secures performance

Damage-insurance premium collected before commencement, in dollars

Renter’s-insurance premium collected before commencement, in dollars

Offer expedited deposit disposition for an administrative fee — lawful only where the lease provides for it AND the tenant requests it in a separate written document (55.1-1226(D))

Reserve the right to withhold a reasonable part of the deposit for a final water, sewer or other utility balance owed to a third-party provider (55.1-1226(C))

6. Utilities, Submetering and Allocated Fees

Assign each utility. Every selection is written into the lease. Submetering, energy allocation equipment, a ratio utility billing system or an allocation of local government fees may be used ONLY if clearly stated in the rental agreement (55.1-1212(B), (H)).

Electricity

Natural gas

Water

Sewer

Trash and recycling

Internet and television

Lawn and grounds care

Other utilities or services

Billing system used for utilities or local government fees

Allocation formula, where a ratio system or local-fee allocation is used

Monthly billing or administrative service charge, in dollars

Late charge on a utility bill, in dollars (55.1-1212 caps it at five)

7. Access, Absence and Security Devices

Va. Code 55.1-1229(A)(4) requires notice of intent to enter and entry at reasonable times, gives seventy-two hours for routine maintenance the tenant did NOT request, and requires no notice at all where the tenant did request it. Routine maintenance must then be performed within fourteen days of delivery of the notice, and the notice must state the last date on which it may possibly be performed.

Reserve the right to exhibit the unit for sale or lease — 55.1-1229(A)(3) awards damages, costs and attorney fees for an unjustified refusal ONLY where the rental agreement so provides

Require notice of an anticipated absence longer than seven days — 55.1-1249 gives the landlord actual damages if the lease requires it and the tenant does not give it

Recite the tenant’s right to install security systems on the 55.1-1229(D) conditions, and the carbon monoxide alarm right in 55.1-1229(E)

8. Insurance

Renter’s insurance is required as a condition of tenancy (55.1-1206(B)). Leave this UNCHECKED and 55.1-1206(D) obliges the landlord to give the written personal-property and flood notice before the lease is executed

Minimum renter’s-insurance coverage, if required

9. Virginia Disclosures

The first five are due in every Virginia tenancy. The rest are conditional and each carries its own remedy for nondisclosure. Virginia requires no radon, bed bug, asbestos or sex-offender-registry notice in a residential lease, and the tourism-activity-zone and property-condition statements belong to the sales-only Residential Property Disclosure Act.

Statement of Tenant Rights and Responsibilities — required, with the signed acknowledgment form (55.1-1204(B), (H); 36-139(26))

Fee disclosure statement on the first page — required with prescribed wording (55.1-1204.1)

Manager and owner identification — required (55.1-1216(A))

Move-in inspection report within five days — required (55.1-1214)

Visible evidence of mold — required as part of the move-in report (55.1-1215)

Federal lead-based paint — required for housing built before 1978

Military air installation zone — required where the locality has one (55.1-1217)

Defective drywall — required on actual knowledge (55.1-1218)

Prior methamphetamine manufacture — required on actual knowledge where the unit has not been cleaned up (55.1-1219)

Condominium or cooperative filing, or a six-month displacement plan — required for a multifamily unit (55.1-1216(C))

Personal-property and flood notice — required where the lease does not require renter’s insurance (55.1-1206(D))

Submetering, allocation or ratio utility billing — must be clearly stated in the lease where used (55.1-1212)

Nonresident owner’s resident agent — every such lease must designate the agent and office address (55.1-1211)

Mortgage default or foreclosure notice — five business days, single-family residence (55.1-1237)

10. Other Provisions

Va. Code 55.1-1208(A)(4) makes a promise to pay the landlord’s attorney fees a PROHIBITED provision except as chapter 12 itself provides. The chapter provides in 55.1-1245(H) and (I), which permit reasonable attorney fees as contracted for in the rental agreement. This generator therefore emits a reciprocal prevailing-party clause and nothing wider.

Reciprocal prevailing-party attorney fee clause

Holdover liquidated damages — 55.1-1253(C) permits up to 150% of the per diem of the monthly rent per day, reduced to 100% for a public housing or federally regulated unit

Holdover liquidated damages, as a percentage of the per diem rent

Limit the tenant’s right of redemption to once per lease period — available ONLY to a landlord of four or fewer units, and only on written notice of the limitation (55.1-1250(A))

Recite the abandoned-property procedure and the twenty-four hour statement each notice must carry (55.1-1254)

Pets permitted

Monthly pet rent, in dollars (rent, not a deposit)

Smoking permitted (otherwise prohibited)

Permit tenant-operated child care that meets state and local law — expressly allowed as a lease term by 55.1-1208.1

Allow notices in electronic form — 55.1-1202(A) lets any tenant elect paper on request, and the sender must retain proof of delivery

Special terms and additional provisions

✓ PDF downloaded. Give the tenant the signed lease and the Statement of Tenant Rights and Responsibilities within ten business days, complete the move-in report within five days, and calendar the forty-five day deposit accounting.

What Is the Virginia Residential Landlord and Tenant Act?

The Virginia Residential Landlord and Tenant Act, usually shortened to the VRLTA, is the statute that supplies the terms a Virginia residential lease cannot contract around. It sits at Va. Code Title 55.1, Chapter 12, sections 55.1-1200 through 55.1-1262, divided into seven articles: general provisions, landlord obligations, tenant obligations, tenant remedies, landlord remedies, retaliatory action, and the Eviction Diversion Program.

Two structural facts about the Act do more work than any single rule. The first is reach. Va. Code 55.1-1201(A) says the chapter applies to all jurisdictions in the Commonwealth and may not be waived or otherwise modified, in whole or in part, by the governing body of any locality or by the courts, and 55.1-1201(E) says it supersedes all other local ordinances or regulations concerning landlord and tenant relations and the leasing of residential property. Virginia therefore has no local rent control, no local just-cause eviction regime, and no city-specific lease addendum requirements of the kind that complicate drafting in other states. What a locality can do is narrow: establish a purely reconciliatory mediation commission, and enforce local property maintenance codes.

The second is scope. Va. Code 55.1-1201(B) applies the chapter to occupancy in all single-family and multifamil