Free Virginia Notice to Pay Rent or Quit

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The Virginia notice to pay rent or quit is the written demand a landlord must serve before filing an eviction for nonpayment of rent. Under Va. Code § 55.1-1245(F) of the Virginia Residential Landlord and Tenant Act, the law gives the tenant 14 days to pay in full before the tenancy may be terminated. Virginia’s period rose from five days to 14 on July 1, 2026, which is why so many templates still print five. Generate a compliant notice below.

Pay or Quit Va. Code § 55.1-1245(F) VRLTA Free PDF

A Virginia Notice to Pay Rent or Quit is the written notice a landlord must serve on a tenant who has failed to pay rent before filing an unlawful detainer (eviction) for nonpayment. It is governed by Va. Code § 55.1-1245(F) of the Virginia Residential Landlord and Tenant Act (VRLTA), with the redemption right at § 55.1-1250, service consistent with § 55.1-1202 and § 8.01-296, and removal through the General District Court. One point causes confusion, so this page is built to resolve it: § 55.1-1245(F) gives the tenant 14 days to pay, but for decades it gave only five. The 2026 General Assembly replaced five with 14 by HB 15 and SB 48 (2026 Acts of Assembly cc. 353 and 354), effective 1 July 2026. That is why the phrase “Virginia five-day notice” is still everywhere and why competing templates still print five – they are printing the old rule. The form on this page uses 14 days. Our Virginia eviction notice laws guide covers the full process, and the Virginia landlord-tenant laws overview covers deposits, late fees, and entry.

The Virginia Notice to Pay Rent or Quit is the written notice a landlord must serve on a tenant who has failed to pay rent when due under a rental agreement covered by the Virginia Residential Landlord and Tenant Act. It is the procedural prerequisite to filing an unlawful detainer action for nonpayment under Va. Code § 55.1-1245(F). Without a properly drafted, properly served notice, the General District Court will not enter a judgment for possession based on nonpayment.

The notice does three things in one document. First, it demands the past-due rent. The pay-or-quit under § 55.1-1245 is a rent demand, so the amount the tenant must pay to cure should be the unpaid rent, stated clearly. Keeping the rent figure separate from any contracted late charge lets the tenant know exactly what has to be paid to keep the tenancy.

Second, it gives the tenant a defined period to pay or quit. Under § 55.1-1245(F), the tenant has 14 days after the notice is served to pay the rent in full or the landlord may terminate the rental agreement and proceed. Paying the full amount within the period cures the default, and the tenancy continues. Fourteen is a recent number: the subsection read five days until 1 July 2026, so any form, article or checklist written before that date states a period the statute no longer allows.

Third, it states the consequences of nonpayment. The notice tells the tenant that if the rent is not paid by the deadline, the landlord will file an unlawful detainer action in the General District Court to recover possession of the dwelling, the rent owed, and any court costs and attorney fees the rental agreement and law allow. That statement, together with the correct period and precise amount, is what makes the notice a reliable foundation for the case.

The Virginia pay-or-quit is governed by the Virginia Residential Landlord and Tenant Act, codified in Title 55.1, Chapter 12 of the Virginia Code. The core statute is Va. Code § 55.1-1245, which sets out a landlord’s remedies for a tenant’s breach. Subsection F is the nonpayment remedy: if rent is unpaid when due and the tenant fails to pay within the statutory period after written notice, the landlord may terminate the rental agreement.

The notice period changed on 1 July 2026, and this is the detail landlords miss. § 55.1-1245(F) now gives the tenant 14 days after written notice to pay before the landlord may terminate. Until 1 July 2026 the same subsection said five days: the operative words were “within five days after written notice is served on him… if the rent is not paid within the five-day period.” The 2026 General Assembly struck five and inserted 14 through identical companion bills, HB 15 and SB 48, chaptered as 2026 Acts of Assembly cc. 353 and 354. The section’s history line at law.lis.virginia.gov now records that 2026 amendment. A landlord who serves a five-day notice today gives the tenant a period shorter than the statute requires, and that shortfall can void the notice and cost the case.

The redemption right at Va. Code § 55.1-1250 is a defining feature of Virginia nonpayment practice. Even after the notice period ends and the landlord files an unlawful detainer, the tenant, or a third party on the tenant’s behalf, may pay the landlord or pay into court all rent due and owing as of the court date, any contracted charges and fees, contracted late charges as provided by law, reasonable attorney fees as contracted and as provided by law, and the costs of the proceeding – at or before the first return date – and the unlawful detainer is dismissed. In limited circumstances the tenant may redeem after judgment, no less than 48 hours before a scheduled eviction. This right is subject to statutory limits, including a general once-per-12-month cap, and it does not save a case that also seeks possession on grounds beyond nonpayment.

Service rules flow from Va. Code § 55.1-1202, which directs how notices under the VRLTA are given, together with the service methods in Va. Code § 8.01-296 used for termination notices. Valid methods are personal delivery to the tenant, delivery to a family member 16 or older at the dwelling unit, and posting a copy on the main entrance door of the unit with a copy mailed to the tenant. Where the rental agreement permits, the parties may exchange notices electronically, but a tenant who requests paper notice is entitled to it.

Other VRLTA figures round out the framework: security deposits are capped at two months’ periodic rent and must be returned within 45 days of the tenancy ending with an itemized statement under § 55.1-1226, and late fees may not exceed 10% of the periodic rent or 10% of the remaining balance due, whichever is less, under § 55.1-1204. One rule binds all of this together: the notice must match the statute in effect on the day it is served. A period that is too short, an amount that is wrong, or service by a method the statute does not authorize can void the notice and restart the clock.

The heart of this notice is the number of days, and Virginia changed that number on 1 July 2026. Getting it right is the difference between a notice that supports an eviction and one a tenant can defeat – and almost every Virginia pay-or-quit template still in circulation gets it wrong in the same direction.

The rule today: 14 days. Under § 55.1-1245(F), the tenant has 14 days after the written notice is served to pay the rent in full. The statute reads: “If rent is unpaid when due, and the tenant fails to pay rent within 14 days after written notice is served on him notifying the tenant of his nonpayment, and of the landlord’s intention to terminate the rental agreement if the rent is not paid within the 14-day period, the landlord may terminate the rental agreement and proceed to obtain possession of the premises as provided in § 55.1-1251.” If the tenant pays within those 14 days, the default is cured and the tenancy continues. The 14 days run from service, so accurate documentation of when and how the notice was served fixes the start of the clock.

The rule until 1 July 2026: five days. The identical sentence used to say five. Virginia’s nonpayment notice was a five-day notice for decades, which is exactly why “Virginia 5 day notice to pay rent or quit” is still the phrase landlords, tenants and paralegals type into a search box, and why the URL of this page carries it. HB 15 and SB 48 of the 2026 regular session – identical House and Senate companions, chaptered as 2026 Acts of Assembly cc. 353 and 354 – struck “five” and inserted “14” throughout the subsection. The change took effect on 1 July 2026, Virginia’s ordinary effective date for acts of a regular session.

Nothing is going the other way. This is worth stating plainly, because § 55.1-1245 is published in three separate versions with different effective dates, and the future dates on them are easy to mistake for a pending cut. There is the version in effect until 1 July 2027; the version effective 1 July 2027 until the later of 1 July 2028 or seven years after the COVID-19 pandemic state of emergency expires; and the version effective on that later date. All three say 14 days. No published version of the statute, now or on any future effective date, gives the tenant five days. If a source tells you Virginia is about to return to a five-day notice, it has misread the version list.

What this means in practice. Serve 14 days. A five-day notice served on a Virginia residential tenant after 1 July 2026 gives less time than § 55.1-1245(F) requires, and a defective notice is a complete answer to an unlawful detainer for nonpayment – the landlord starts over with a corrected notice and a fresh 14-day clock, having lost weeks. Giving more than 14 days is never a defect; the extra time simply works in the tenant’s favour. The form on this page is built on the 14-day count.

The pay-or-quit period is counted in calendar days that run from service of the notice. Unlike some states, Virginia’s nonpayment period is not defined in business days, so weekends are included in the count – but the practical mechanics still reward care.

When the clock starts. The period runs from the date the notice is served. For personal delivery, that is the day of hand delivery. For posting-and-mailing, best practice is to treat the clock conservatively and give the mailed copy time to arrive, so the tenant has the full statutory period after actual receipt. Documenting the exact service date and method is what proves the period ran correctly if the case reaches court.

Worked example – the 14-day rule. A notice personally delivered on the 3rd of the month gives the tenant through the 17th to pay in full. If the tenant has not paid by the end of the 17th, the landlord may terminate and file an unlawful detainer in the General District Court on or after the 18th.

What the old five-day count looked like, and why it matters. Under the pre-1 July 2026 rule the same delivery on the 3rd would have given the tenant only through the 8th – and a landlord working from an old form would file on the 9th. Filing nine days early is not a technicality: the notice period had not run, so the unlawful detainer is subject to dismissal and the landlord must re-serve and wait the full 14 days. The nine-day gap between the old count and the new one is the practical size of the mistake.

Why a cushion helps. Because a posted-and-mailed copy needs delivery time, many Virginia landlords add a short cushion beyond the 14-day statutory minimum. A notice that gives more than the required days is enforceable as a compliant notice; the extra time works in the tenant’s favor and creates no defect. The cushion also protects against a miscount or a dispute about the service date. The generator on this page defaults to 14 days and computes the pay-by date from the service date so the deadline printed on the notice is internally consistent.

Complete the form below to generate a Virginia Notice to Pay Rent or Quit. The form computes the pay-by date from the service date and the selected notice period, states the amount owed, and includes the consequences and service language. Serve consistent with § 55.1-1202 and § 8.01-296, and keep a proof of service.