Virginia renter rights: the basics for first-time renters
Most Virginia rentals are covered by the Virginia Residential Landlord and Tenant Act (VRLTA). Your landlord must give you the state's Statement of Tenant Rights and Responsibilities before you sign. Here are the rules first-time renters run into most.
Quick facts
| Security deposit max | 2 months' rent (including any damage-insurance premiums) |
|---|---|
| Deposit returned within | 45 days, with an itemized written notice of deductions |
| Late fee cap | 10% of monthly rent or 10% of the unpaid balance, whichever is less |
| Application fee cap | $50, plus actual third-party screening costs |
| Statewide rent control | No |
| Rent increase notice | 60 days before the lease ends (landlords with 5+ units, renewing leases) |
| Month-to-month: notice to end | 30 days before the next rent due date (unless the lease says otherwise) |
| Landlord entry | 72 hours' notice for routine maintenance you didn't request |
| Unpaid rent notice | 14 days to pay before an eviction suit |
| Repair-and-deduct | Yes, for serious problems — up to $1,500 or 1 month's rent, whichever is more |
Quick facts are simplified. Read the sections below for exceptions, and check your city or county too.
Security deposits
- Cap: up to two months' rent. If you also pay for damage insurance in place of part of the deposit, the two together can't exceed two months' rent.
- Move-in report: you have five days after moving in to object in writing to anything in the landlord's move-in inspection report. Do it — it protects your deposit later.
- Move-out inspection: you have the right to be present; it must happen within 72 hours after you hand back possession.
- Return: within 45 days after the tenancy ends (or you move out, whichever is later), the landlord must send a written, itemized list of deductions along with any money owed to you.
Rent increases and late fees
Virginia has no statewide rent control. If your lease has a renewal option or renews automatically, a landlord who owns more than four rental units in Virginia must tell you in writing about a rent increase or nonrenewal at least 60 days before the lease ends.
A late fee is allowed only if the lease includes one, and it can't be more than 10% of the monthly rent or 10% of the unpaid balance, whichever is less. Unless the lease says otherwise, rent is due on the 1st. Landlords must accept checks and money orders and must offer at least one way to pay that has no extra processing fee.
Ending a month-to-month tenancy
Either you or the landlord can end a month-to-month tenancy with written notice at least 30 days before the next rent due date, unless your lease sets a different notice period. Week-to-week tenancies need 7 days. Put it in writing and keep a copy.
When the landlord can come in
You must allow reasonable access for maintenance, inspections, and services. Except in an emergency, the landlord should give notice and come at reasonable times — and for routine maintenance you didn't ask for, at least 72 hours' notice, with the work done within 14 days. If you asked for the repair, no notice is required. The landlord can't use entry to harass you.
Repairs and living conditions
Your landlord must keep the unit fit and habitable under the Uniform Statewide Building Code. Request repairs in writing and give a reasonable amount of time.
- Repair and deduct: for problems that affect life, health, or safety or seriously affect habitability, if the landlord hasn't started fixing it within 14 days of your written notice, you can hire a licensed contractor (up to $1,500 or one month's rent, whichever is more) and deduct the actual cost, sending the landlord the invoice and receipt.
- Tenant's assertion: you can ask the General District Court to order repairs and pay your rent into a court escrow. (Through 2026 you must be current on rent to file; that requirement ends Jan. 1, 2027.) Virginia does not allow simply withholding rent outside these processes.
- Bad at move-in: if the unit has a serious hazard when your tenancy starts, you may end the lease within seven days in writing and get your money back.
Write it all down from day one. The 12-page First Apartment Move-In Kit has a first-week timeline, lease and building facts, a utilities board, room-by-room unpacking, and a first-month money sheet — so your lease facts, notice dates, and move-in notes live in one place. $9.99 on Etsy. Undated.
Get the kit — $9.99 on EtsyEviction basics
- Unpaid rent: the landlord sends written notice of the amount owed. If you don't pay within 14 days, they can file an unlawful detainer (eviction) case.
- Pay and stay: you can pay the full balance on or before the court date to end the case, and after a judgment you can pay up to 48 hours before the sheriff's eviction. Small landlords can limit this to once per lease with written notice.
- Court only: only the sheriff can remove you, under a court-issued writ. Lockouts and shutting off essential services are illegal; you can go to court and get a hearing within five days.
Retaliation and discrimination
A landlord can't raise rent, cut services, or threaten eviction because you complained to a government agency about code violations, complained to or sued the landlord over a violation of the VRLTA, joined a tenant organization, or testified in court against the landlord. Victims of family abuse, sexual assault, stalking, or trafficking can end a lease early with the right court paperwork.
The Virginia Fair Housing Law bans discrimination on the federal bases (race, color, religion, national origin, sex, disability, familial status) plus additional state categories such as source of funds, sexual orientation, gender identity, elderliness, and military status.
Move-in checklist for Virginia renters
- ☐ Get a written lease and read all of it before signing
- ☐ Get a receipt for the deposit and any move-in money
- ☐ Photograph every room, dated, before you unpack
- ☐ Fill out (or write your own) move-in condition list and keep a copy
- ☐ Note the rent due date, grace period, and late fee
- ☐ Write down how to request repairs, and do it in writing
- ☐ Save the landlord's legal name and address for notices
- ☐ Put your notice deadline for moving out in your calendar
Still apartment hunting? Our list of questions to ask a landlord before signing a lease covers deposits, fees, repairs, and move-out rules you will want answered in writing.
Where to get help in Virginia
- Virginia DHCD — Tenant and Landlord Resources — the Statement of Tenant Rights and the VRLTA handbook.
- Virginia Fair Housing Office (DPOR) — housing discrimination complaints.
- Find free legal aid near you — the federal Legal Services Corporation's directory of local legal aid offices.
- File a housing discrimination complaint with HUD — the federal fair housing agency.
More help
Nonprofit and legal aid resources (not government sources):
- Virginia Legal Aid — find legal help — free legal help; phone 866-534-5243.
Official sources
These are the official state law and government pages we checked for every fact on this page. The law itself controls if anything here differs.
- Virginia DHCD, Statement of Tenant Rights and Responsibilities (July 1, 2026)
- Va. Code § 55.1-1204 (lease terms, late fees, rent increase notice)
- Va. Code § 55.1-1226 (security deposits)
- Va. Code § 55.1-1229 (landlord access)
- Va. Code § 55.1-1244.1 (repair and deduct)
- Va. Code § 55.1-1245 (nonpayment notice)
- Va. Code § 55.1-1253 (ending periodic tenancies)
- Va. Code § 55.1-1258 (retaliation)
- Va. Code § 36-96.3 (Virginia Fair Housing Law)
Not legal advice; laws change and cities may add rules. Check the official sources below or a local legal aid office. This page is a plain-language summary written by First Apartment Kit, not the law itself. Last reviewed: October 2026.