Virginia · State Breaking a Lease Guide

Virginia Breaking Lease Laws: When a Tenant Can End a Lease Early

Virginia lets an abuse victim end a lease early under Code section 55.1-1236, protects military servicemembers under both state law and the federal SCRA, and preserves the landlord’s duty to mitigate under section 55.1-1251. Here is how breaking a lease works in 2026.

Breaking a lease early in Virginia sits between two rules. A fixed-term lease is a binding contract, so a tenant cannot simply walk away without consequences – but the Virginia Residential Landlord and Tenant Act (the VRLTA, codified at Title 55.1, Chapter 12) carves out specific grounds to terminate without penalty, and even when none applies, the landlord’s duty to mitigate limits what the tenant owes. Knowing which rule applies is what decides the bill. This guide covers the statutory grounds, the military protections, the habitability remedies, the duty to re-rent, and what a tenant owes with no justification. If you are filling a unit a tenant left early, our overview of how to screen tenants step by step pairs well with the rules below.

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Video: a plain-language walkthrough of Virginia early lease-termination rules – the legal grounds to break a lease and the landlord’s duty to mitigate.

Key Takeaways: Virginia Breaking Lease Laws

• Abuse victims may terminate under Virginia Code section 55.1-1236 – family abuse, sexual abuse or other criminal sexual assault, stalking, or trafficking – with written notice and a protective order or conviction order.
• The 55.1-1236 termination is effective 28 days after the tenant serves the notice; the tenant owes rent only through that effective date, and the landlord may not charge liquidated damages.
• Military servicemembers may terminate under both Virginia Code section 55.1-1235 and the federal Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (50 U.S.C. 3955) on change-of-station, deployment, or qualifying orders.
• An uninhabitable unit can support termination under Virginia Code section 55.1-1234 – written notice that the lease ends in not less than 30 days if a material breach is not cured within 21 days – backed by section 55.1-1220’s fit-and-habitable duty.
• The landlord must mitigate under Virginia Code section 55.1-1251 – a good-faith effort to re-rent – and may not win a judgment for accelerated rent through the end of the term.
• The deposit returns within 45 days under Virginia Code section 55.1-1226, with an itemized statement; it may not exceed two months’ rent and may be applied only up to the mitigated amount owed.
• Self-help is barred – no utility shut-offs, no lock changes – and a tenant who is wrongfully denied an essential service has remedies under section 55.1-1239.

Legal Reasons to Break a Lease in Virginia

Virginia recognizes several distinct legal grounds to end a lease before the term is up. Each has its own notice clock and documentation requirement, and getting those details right is what separates a penalty-free exit from full contract liability. The grounds below cover abuse victims, military servicemembers, an uninhabitable unit, and landlord misconduct. Our companion guide to Virginia lease termination laws covers the separate mechanics of ending a month-to-month or fixed-term tenancy at its natural end.

Abuse-Victim Termination – Code Section 55.1-1236

The clearest early-out for a victim is Virginia Code section 55.1-1236, titled “Early termination of rental agreements by victims of family abuse, sexual abuse or other criminal sexual assault, or stalking.” A tenant may terminate the rental agreement if the tenant is a victim of family abuse as defined in section 16.1-228, sexual abuse or other criminal sexual assault under the Virginia criminal code, stalking under section 18.2-60.3, or trafficking. The exit is built around documentation and a fixed notice window, not a judge’s discretion.

The mechanics are precise. The tenant gives the landlord written notice of termination, and that termination is effective 28 days after the tenant serves the notice. The tenant remains responsible for rent through the effective date – not beyond it – and continues to owe the ordinary tenant obligations under section 55.1-1227 through that date. Critically, the statute bars the landlord from charging any liquidated damages for the early exit. The result is a clean, penalty-free release on a roughly four-week runway, available the moment the qualifying documentation is in hand.

Military Servicemembers – Code Section 55.1-1235 and the Federal SCRA

Virginia gives servicemembers two overlapping early-termination rights, and a tenant may use whichever fits. The state statute is Virginia Code section 55.1-1235, “Early termination of rental agreement by military personnel.” It lets a member of the Armed Forces or the National Guard on full-time duty terminate after a permanent-change-of-station order, a temporary-duty order exceeding three months, a discharge or release from active duty, an order to report to government-supplied quarters, or a qualifying stop-movement order tied to an emergency lasting 30 or more days. The tenant delivers written notice with the official orders, and the termination is effective at least 30 days after the next rent payment is due. The landlord may not charge liquidated damages, and the full mechanics are covered in the dedicated military section below.

Layered on top is the federal Servicemembers Civil Relief Act, codified at 50 U.S.C. section 3955, which preempts state law and any lease clause that tries to waive it. The SCRA lets a servicemember who enters active duty, or who receives permanent-change-of-station or 90-day-plus deployment orders, terminate a residential lease 30 days after the next rent due date following written notice with a copy of the orders. Because the two paths can produce slightly different timing, a Virginia servicemember should pick the one that matches their orders and gives the cleanest effective date.

Uninhabitable Unit and Material Noncompliance

An uninhabitable unit can supply grounds to leave, but Virginia ties this to a specific repair-and-notice procedure rather than a free walk-away. Under Virginia Code section 55.1-1220 the landlord must keep the unit fit and habitable – complying with building and housing codes, making necessary repairs, supplying running water and reasonable hot water and heat in season, maintaining electrical and plumbing systems, and remediating mold. When the landlord fails to meet that duty, the tenant’s termination route is section 55.1-1234, detailed in the habitability section below, along with rent escrow, repair-and-deduct, and the essential-service remedy. Our guide to Virginia habitability laws covers the repair standards in full.

Landlord Harassment, Unlawful Entry, and Self-Help

Landlord misconduct is its own ground. Virginia Code section 55.1-1229 limits when and how a landlord may enter, generally requiring at least 72 hours’ notice for routine maintenance the tenant did not request, and barring the landlord from abusing the right of access or using it to harass. Virginia separately prohibits landlord self-help: a landlord may not willfully interrupt essential services or remove the doors, windows, or locks to try to force a tenant out. A landlord who crosses those lines can make the unit unfit for its intended use, which Virginia treats as a constructive eviction and a ground for the tenant to leave. For periodic tenancies, a month-to-month tenant ends the arrangement on the statutory written notice, and our look at Virginia eviction notice laws covers the separate process if the tenancy instead ends in nonpayment.

Uninhabitable Units and Repair Remedies in Virginia

Virginia habitability law gives a tenant facing a serious defect several distinct remedies, and they are not interchangeable – choosing the wrong one can leave the tenant owing rent or facing eviction. The starting point is the landlord’s duty under Virginia Code section 55.1-1220 to keep the unit fit and habitable: compliance with applicable building and housing codes affecting health and safety, all repairs necessary to keep the premises habitable, working electrical, plumbing, heating, ventilating, and air-conditioning systems, running water and reasonable hot water, seasonal heat where the landlord controls it, mold prevention and remediation, and proper trash receptacles. That duty cannot be waived by lease language.

The termination remedy is section 55.1-1234, “Noncompliance by landlord.” For a remediable breach that materially affects health and safety, the tenant serves written notice that specifies the violation and states the rental agreement will terminate on a date not less than 30 days after the landlord receives the notice if the breach is not remedied within 21 days. If the landlord fixes the problem in that 21-day window, the lease continues; if it does not, the tenancy ends on the stated date. For a non-remediable breach, or a repeat of the same violation, the tenant may serve notice that the agreement ends on a date not less than 30 days out, without the cure window. The tenant may also recover damages and reasonable attorney fees unless the landlord proves its noncompliance was reasonable.

Short of leaving, two remedies let a tenant force repairs or stop paying for a defective unit. Repair-and-deduct under Virginia Code section 55.1-1244.1 applies after written notice of a material condition – a lack of heat, hot or cold running water, light, electricity, or adequate sewage facilities. The landlord then has 14 days to take reasonable steps to repair; if it does not, the tenant may contract with a licensed third-party contractor and recover the actual cost, capped at the greater of one month’s rent or $1,500. Separately, rent escrow under section 55.1-1244 lets a tenant ask a court to pay rent into escrow when a material noncompliance exists, and the court may abate the rent by an equitable amount reflecting the condition.

The dedicated essential-service remedy is section 55.1-1239, “Wrongful failure to supply an essential service.” When the landlord wrongfully fails to supply heat, running water, hot water, electricity, or gas after written notice and a reasonable time to correct, the tenant may recover damages based on the reduced fair rental value of the unit, or procure reasonable substitute housing and be excused from paying rent during the landlord’s noncompliance, plus reasonable attorney fees. That section is a stay-and-recover or relocate-temporarily remedy; the clean lease-ending exit for a serious, uncured habitability defect is section 55.1-1234 or, in an extreme case, constructive eviction.

The Landlord’s Duty to Mitigate in Virginia

Virginia is firmly a duty-to-mitigate state. Virginia Code section 55.1-1251, “Remedy after termination,” sets the landlord’s recovery when a tenant breaks the lease and the landlord retakes the unit, and it expressly preserves the duty to mitigate: nothing in the section diminishes the landlord’s duty to mitigate actual damages for breach of the rental agreement. The same section bars a judgment for accelerated rent through the end of the term and requires the deposit to be credited under section 55.1-1226. So the landlord cannot let the unit sit empty and bill the departed tenant for the whole remaining term; it must make a reasonable, good-faith effort to re-rent.

A Virginia tenant who leaves early therefore owes rent only for the time the unit sits vacant before a reasonable re-rental would have filled it, plus the landlord’s actual re-rental costs such as advertising or a leasing commission – not the rest of the lease. A landlord who makes no genuine effort to re-rent forfeits the rent that effort would have replaced, which is why the documented re-rental record decides what the tenant actually owes.

What a Tenant Actually Owes – A Worked Example

Put real numbers on it. Suppose the rent is one thousand eight hundred dollars a month, the tenant leaves with six months left, and a diligent landlord would re-rent in about two months. The remaining rent is six months at that rate, or ten thousand eight hundred dollars. Because section 55.1-1251 keeps the duty to mitigate and forbids an accelerated-rent judgment, the landlord must subtract what a reasonable re-rental recovers – here the four months after a two-month vacancy, or seven thousand two hundred dollars. The tenant’s exposure is the two-month gap of three thousand six hundred dollars, plus actual re-rental costs such as roughly two hundred dollars in advertising. Net, the tenant owes about three thousand eight hundred dollars, not the full ten thousand eight hundred.

The arithmetic flips against a landlord who does nothing. If that landlord never lists the unit and lets it sit all six months, the duty to mitigate still measures damages by what a reasonable re-rental would have avoided – the seven thousand two hundred dollars – so the landlord cannot recover it and cannot fall back on the accelerated-rent claim the statute forbids. The failure to try erases most of the claim, which is why the documented listing date, asking rent, showings, and applications are the evidence that decides the bill.

Military Servicemembers and Early Termination – Code Section 55.1-1235 and 50 U.S.C. 3955

A Virginia servicemember has two early-termination rights, and the cleanest practice is to read both and use the one that fits the orders. Start with the state statute, Virginia Code section 55.1-1235. It lets a member of the Armed Forces of the United States or a member of the National Guard serving on full-time duty terminate the rental agreement after a qualifying triggering event: permanent-change-of-station orders, a temporary-duty order for a period exceeding three months, a discharge or release from active duty, an order to report to government-supplied quarters, or a stop-movement order issued in response to a local, national, or global emergency that is effective for 30 or more days.

The state-law mechanics are specific. The servicemember delivers written notice of termination, accompanied by the official orders or a letter from a commanding officer confirming them. The effective date of termination must be not less than 30 days after the first date on which the next rental payment is due after the notice is delivered, and the statute keeps the effective date within 60 days before the required reporting or departure date. As with the abuse-victim exit, the landlord may not charge any liquidated damages, and rent is owed only through the effective date.

The federal layer is the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act, 50 U.S.C. section 3955, which covers residential leases nationwide and overrides any conflicting state rule or lease waiver. Under the SCRA, a person who signs a lease and then enters military service may terminate it, and a servicemember already in service who receives permanent-change-of-station orders or deployment orders of 90 days or more may terminate. The servicemember delivers written notice with a copy of the orders – by hand, by private carrier, or by return-receipt mail – and for a lease that pays rent monthly, the termination takes effect 30 days after the first date on which the next rent payment is due after the notice is delivered.

Under either path a Virginia landlord may not charge an early-termination penalty, hold the servicemember liable for the unpaid balance of the term, or withhold the deposit on that basis, and the deposit returns under the normal Virginia rules in section 55.1-1226. The SCRA also blocks eviction of a servicemember or dependents from a modest-rent home during service without a court order.

Early-Termination Fees and Liquidated Damages in Virginia

Many Virginia leases include a flat early-termination or buyout fee – one month’s rent, two months’ rent, or a fixed figure – that the landlord treats as the price of leaving early. How that fee fares depends entirely on the path out. On Virginia’s statutory exits, the question is settled against the landlord: both the abuse-victim termination under section 55.1-1236 and the military termination under section 55.1-1235 expressly bar the landlord from charging any liquidated damages, so a lease fee simply does not apply when one of those rights is invoked.

Outside the statutory exits, a no-cause break is governed by the duty to mitigate. A freely negotiated buyout – the tenant and landlord agreeing at the exit on a sum to release the tenant – is a settlement and is generally enforceable. A pre-set fee written into the lease is more fraught: under section 55.1-1251 the landlord cannot win a judgment for accelerated rent, and the duty to mitigate caps recovery at the actual, re-rental-reduced loss, so a landlord generally cannot stack a flat penalty on top of mitigated damages. The practical rule is that the tenant owes the genuine, mitigated shortfall, and a lease fee that tries to exceed it runs into the mitigation ceiling.

When There Is No Legal Justification in Virginia

If no statutory ground and no military protection applies, a Virginia tenant who breaks the lease is responsible for the rent – but not automatically for the entire remaining term. Because the landlord must mitigate under section 55.1-1251 and cannot obtain an accelerated-rent judgment, the tenant’s liability runs only until the unit is re-rented or the lease ends, less the rent a reasonable re-rental would recover. The tenant’s best move is to manage the mitigation directly: give written notice, present a qualified replacement, and document everything – handing the landlord an approved replacement effectively performs the mitigation and cuts the vacancy to near zero.

Security Deposit at an Early Exit – Code Section 55.1-1226

The deposit is handled separately from the rent claim, and its rules are strict. Under Virginia Code section 55.1-1226, a landlord may not demand or receive a security deposit larger than two months’ periodic rent. When the tenancy ends and the tenant vacates, the landlord must return the deposit, or the balance after lawful deductions, within 45 days after the later of the date the tenancy ends or the date the tenant vacates, together with an itemized written statement of each deduction. The landlord must keep records of the deductions for two years and let the tenant inspect them.

At a lease break the deposit and the rent claim interact directly: the landlord may apply the deposit to accrued rent and late fees, to damage beyond ordinary wear and tear, and to other charges the agreement allows – but the rent it absorbs is still capped by the mitigation analysis under section 55.1-1251, not the full remaining term. A landlord who keeps more than the itemized, mitigated total, or misses the 45-day deadline, exposes itself to the tenant’s statutory deposit remedies. Our overview of Virginia security deposit laws covers the deduction rules and the deadline in full.

Subletting, Assignment, and the No-Sublet Clause

Subletting or assigning the lease is often the cleanest way to leave early, and it interacts with the duty to mitigate in the tenant’s favor. In a sublet, the original tenant stays on the hook to the landlord but installs a new occupant who pays the rent; in an assignment, the new tenant steps fully into the lease. Most Virginia leases require the landlord’s written consent before either, and that consent requirement is enforceable – a tenant who sublets in violation of a no-sublet clause has breached the lease.

But the no-sublet clause does not let the landlord ignore mitigation. When a departing tenant presents a qualified, creditworthy replacement in writing and the landlord unreasonably refuses, that refusal works against the landlord: by rejecting a tenant who would have filled the unit, the landlord fails the section 55.1-1251 good-faith duty to mitigate, and the rent the replacement would have paid becomes loss the landlord could have avoided – powerful evidence that the resulting vacancy was the landlord’s choice, not the tenant’s debt.

Early Termination, Retaliation, and Fair Housing in Virginia

How a landlord responds to an early-termination request is governed by anti-retaliation and fair housing law. A Virginia landlord may not retaliate against a tenant for lawfully exercising a right – for example, by raising rent, decreasing services, or bringing an eviction in response – and may not refuse a statutory termination right or apply a harsher early-exit standard because of race, color, religion, national origin, sex, elderliness, familial status, disability, or another protected characteristic under the Virginia Fair Housing Law and the federal Fair Housing Act. The safeguard is a uniform policy: honor the statutory grounds, mitigate in every case, and treat comparable tenants the same. For the federal baseline on protected characteristics, see our Fair Housing Act guide for landlords.

Screening the Replacement Tenant

When a tenant leaves early, filling the unit is itself the duty to mitigate – and screening is what makes the replacement reliable. Screen every applicant to the same standard: get written consent, pull a consumer report for a permissible purpose under the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act, and send an adverse action notice if the report drives a denial. Our Virginia tenant screening laws page and the broader tenant screening laws by state guide cover the screening half of the picture.

Step-by-Step: Breaking a Lease in Virginia

Whether you are the tenant invoking a ground or the landlord responding to a request, the order of operations is the same, and following it is what keeps the exit penalty-free and defensible.

1. Identify the legal ground first. Check whether a statutory exit applies – abuse victim under section 55.1-1236, a military order under section 55.1-1235 or the federal SCRA, or an uninhabitable unit under sections 55.1-1220 and 55.1-1234. The ground decides the notice period and whether any rent is owed.
2. Match the notice clock to the ground. Section 55.1-1236 runs on a 28-day effective date after notice; section 55.1-1234 sets termination not less than 30 days out with a 21-day cure window; section 55.1-1235 and the SCRA terminate roughly 30 days after the next rent due date; a no-cause month-to-month exit needs the statutory written notice.
3. Gather the documentation the statute names. A protective order or conviction order for an abuse claim; the official military orders or a commanding officer’s letter for a service termination; the dated written repair notices for a habitability claim.
4. Deliver written notice with proof. Put the ground, the effective date, and a forwarding address in writing, and deliver it by a method that creates a record – personal delivery with a signed receipt or return-receipt mail.
5. Mitigate, or help the landlord mitigate. With no statutory ground, the duty to re-rent under section 55.1-1251 caps the bill; a tenant who presents a qualified replacement effectively performs the mitigation and cuts the vacancy.
6. Close out the deposit. Within 45 days under section 55.1-1226, the landlord delivers an itemized statement and returns the balance, deducting only the mitigated rent owed and damage beyond ordinary wear.

Virginia Lease-Break Documentation Checklist

Keep this file from the day the tenant first raises an early exit. It is the record that answers a disputed balance or a fair housing inquiry.

• The written termination request and the legal ground claimed.
• The supporting documentation – a protective order or conviction order, or military orders and the commanding officer’s letter.
• The written notice itself, with its delivery date and proof of service – and, for a 55.1-1236 exit, confirmation that the 28-day clock was correctly counted.
• For a habitability exit, the dated repair notices, the 21-day cure period, and the landlord’s response or silence under section 55.1-1234.
• The re-rental record: the listing date, the asking rent, showings, and applications received – the section 55.1-1251 evidence.
• The date the unit was actually re-rented and the new rent.
• The deposit accounting and itemized statement delivered within 45 days under section 55.1-1226.

Common Mistakes That Create Liability

The recurring Virginia errors are refusing a valid abuse-victim or military termination, billing a departed tenant for the full remaining term without trying to re-rent, charging a liquidated-damages fee on a statutory exit that forbids it, mishandling or missing the 45-day deposit deadline, and failing to document the re-rental effort. Almost every one turns on the statutory grounds and the duty to mitigate, which is where Virginia law actually limits the landlord – so the records that prove honored grounds and a diligent re-rental are the landlord’s strongest rebuttal to a disputed balance or a fair housing inquiry. Our guide to verifying tenant income rounds out the financial side of managing a tenancy in Virginia.

Virginia Breaking Lease Laws: FAQ

Can a Virginia tenant break a lease for domestic violence?

Yes. Under Virginia Code section 55.1-1236, a tenant who is a victim of family abuse, sexual abuse or other criminal sexual assault, stalking, or trafficking may terminate the rental agreement by giving written notice effective 28 days after the notice is served, accompanied by a copy of a protective order or a conviction order. The tenant owes rent through the effective date, and the landlord may not charge liquidated damages.

How much notice does a Virginia Code 55.1-1236 abuse-victim termination require?

The termination is effective 28 days after the tenant serves the written termination notice, and the tenant remains responsible for rent through that effective date. The notice must be accompanied by a copy of either a protective order or a conviction order, warrant, summons, information, or indictment for the qualifying offense.

Can a Virginia tenant break a lease for military service?

Yes, on two tracks. Virginia Code section 55.1-1235 lets a servicemember terminate after permanent-change-of-station orders, temporary duty over three months, discharge, or certain other orders, with written notice effective at least 30 days after the next rent due date. The federal Servicemembers Civil Relief Act, 50 U.S.C. section 3955, separately ends the lease 30 days after the next rent due date following notice with a copy of the orders. Neither path allows a penalty.

Does a Virginia landlord have to mitigate damages?

Yes. Virginia Code section 55.1-1251 preserves the landlord’s duty to mitigate actual damages for a breach of the rental agreement, and bars a judgment for accelerated rent through the end of the term. A tenant who leaves early owes the rent lost until a reasonable re-rental would have filled the unit, not the entire remaining term.

What does a Virginia tenant owe for breaking a lease without cause?

Rent for the time the unit sits vacant until a reasonable re-rental would have filled it, plus the landlord’s actual re-rental costs such as advertising or a commission. Because section 55.1-1251 keeps the duty to mitigate and forbids accelerated-rent judgments, the tenant does not automatically owe the entire remaining term.

Can a Virginia tenant break a lease if the unit is uninhabitable?

Possibly. The landlord must keep the unit fit and habitable under Virginia Code section 55.1-1220. If a material noncompliance affecting health or safety is not remedied, the tenant may terminate under section 55.1-1234 by written notice stating the lease ends not less than 30 days after receipt if the breach is not fixed within 21 days. Tenants also have rent escrow, repair-and-deduct, and essential-service remedies.

What is the landlord’s repair deadline and the repair-and-deduct cap in Virginia?

Under Virginia Code section 55.1-1244.1, after written notice of a material condition such as a lack of heat, running water, or electricity, the landlord has 14 days to take reasonable steps to repair. If it does not, the tenant may hire a licensed third-party contractor and recover the actual cost, not exceeding the greater of one month’s rent or $1,500.

When must a Virginia landlord return the security deposit after a lease break?

Within 45 days after the tenancy ends and the tenant vacates, whichever is later, under Virginia Code section 55.1-1226, with an itemized written statement of any deductions. The deposit may not exceed two months’ rent, and the landlord may apply it to the mitigated rent owed and to damage beyond ordinary wear, but not to the full remaining term.

How much notice must a Virginia landlord give to enter the unit?

Under Virginia Code section 55.1-1229, a landlord must generally give at least 72 hours’ notice before entering for routine maintenance not requested by the tenant, and may not abuse the right of access or use it to harass. Repeated unlawful entry can support a tenant remedy and, in a serious case, a constructive-eviction claim.

Is a flat early-termination fee enforceable in Virginia?

It depends on the lease. Virginia’s statutory exits – abuse-victim under section 55.1-1236 and military under section 55.1-1235 – bar any liquidated-damages charge. For a no-cause break, a freely agreed early-termination or buyout fee in the lease may apply, but the landlord’s recovery is still bounded by the duty to mitigate under section 55.1-1251, which forbids stacking a penalty on top of accelerated rent.

Can a Virginia tenant sublet to get out of a lease?

Often, but most Virginia leases require the landlord’s written consent, and subletting without it breaches the lease. The upside is mitigation: if the tenant presents a qualified replacement and the landlord unreasonably refuses, that refusal works against the landlord under the section 55.1-1251 duty to mitigate, because the landlord chose the resulting vacancy.

Can a Virginia landlord shut off utilities or change the locks to force a tenant out?

No. Virginia bars landlord self-help: a landlord may not willfully interrupt essential services or remove doors, windows, or locks to oust a tenant. A landlord who does so exposes itself to tenant remedies, and the disruption can make the unit unfit, which a tenant may treat as a constructive eviction and a ground to leave.

Related Virginia Breaking a Lease and Rental Guides

• Breaking lease laws by state – compare Virginia to the rest of the country.
• Virginia lease termination laws – month-to-month notice, non-renewal, and holdover rules.
• Virginia security deposit laws – the two-month cap and the 45-day return deadline.
• Virginia eviction notice laws – notice periods and the unlawful-detainer timeline.
• Virginia habitability laws – the repairs a landlord must make and the repair remedies.
• Virginia landlord entry laws – the 72-hour notice rule under section 55.1-1229.
• Virginia rent increase laws – notice periods and the limits on raising rent.
• Virginia late fee laws – the statutory cap on late charges.
• Virginia tenant screening laws – what you can check before renting.
• Free Virginia lease agreement form – a configurable, fillable Virginia lease PDF.
• Tenant screening laws by state – screen the replacement tenant.

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About the Author

Published by Tenant Screening Background Check · Editorial Team

Established 2004. Our editorial team has spent two decades helping landlords and property managers run lawful, FCRA-compliant tenant screening across all 50 states. We translate state landlord-tenant codes and federal screening rules into processes you can actually follow.

Updated 2026

Legal Disclaimer

This article is for general informational purposes only and is not legal advice. Virginia and federal laws change, and how they apply depends on your specific facts. Before acting on any termination, fee, deposit, or fair housing question, consult a licensed attorney in Virginia. Reading this page does not create an attorney-client relationship.