Virginia Notice to Vacate: 2026 Landlord Rules & VRLTA Timeline

Va. Code § 55.1-1245(A) uses both periods together for a remediable material breach. The written notice must specify the acts and omissions constituting the breach and state that the rental agreement will terminate on a date not less than 30 days after receipt if the breach is not remedied in 21 days. If the tenant adequately remedies the breach before the date specified in the notice, the rental agreement does not terminate. A non-remediable breach uses the 30-day termination notice under § 55.1-1245(C) without a cure window.

Two layers apply. The federal Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (50 U.S.C. § 3955) provides residential lease-termination protections for servicemembers. Virginia adds a parallel state early-termination right under Va. Code § 55.1-1235 for a member of the Armed Forces or National Guard who receives permanent change of station orders to depart 35 miles or more, temporary duty orders longer than three months to depart 35 miles or more, a discharge or release from active duty, or orders to report to government-supplied quarters. Termination is generally effective not less than 30 days after the next rent payment is due following the written notice, and the landlord may not charge liquidated damages for the early military termination.

Virginia notices must be in writing and meet the content rules of § 55.1-1245 and § 55.1-1253. A nonpayment notice must state the nonpayment and the landlord's intention to terminate if rent is not paid within the five-day period. A breach notice must specify the acts and omissions constituting the breach and state the termination date. A periodic-termination notice must give the required 30 days (month-to-month) or 7 days (week-to-week) before the next rent due date. Oral notice does not satisfy the statute. A notice that misses these requirements, or that is not served by a method allowed under § 55.1-1202, can undermine the later unlawful detainer. Attorney review of the notice before service is available as an option.

No. Va. Code § 55.1-1258 prohibits a landlord from retaliating by increasing rent or decreasing services, or by bringing or threatening to bring an action for possession, or by causing a termination of the rental agreement, in response to protected tenant actions such as complaining to a governmental agency about a building or housing code violation, organizing or joining a tenant organization, or testifying in a court proceeding. A retaliation defense is a common tenant response to an eviction filing, so a landlord should keep records showing an independent, lawful ground for the notice.

Yes, within limits. Under Va. Code § 55.1-1253(B), if a tenant remains in possession without the landlord's consent after the rental agreement has terminated, the landlord may bring an action for possession and may also recover actual damages, reasonable attorney fees, and court costs, unless the tenant proves by a preponderance of the evidence that the failure to vacate was reasonable. The landlord may include in the rental agreement a reasonable liquidated damage penalty not to exceed an amount equal to 150 percent of the per diem of the monthly rent for each day the tenant remains after the termination date.

Yes, in a specific situation. Under Va. Code § 55.1-1253(A), an owner of a multifamily premises that fails to renew the greater of either 20 or more month-to-month tenancies, or 50 percent of the month-to-month tenancies, within a consecutive 30-day period in the same multifamily premises must serve written notice on each such tenant at least 60 days before allowing the tenancy to expire. The 60-day notice is not required to let a tenancy expire where the tenant has failed to pay rent in accordance with the rental agreement.

No. Virginia does not impose a statewide just-cause eviction requirement. A landlord may decline to renew an expired lease or end a periodic tenancy by giving the § 55.1-1253 notice, subject to the § 55.1-1258 retaliation prohibition and the Virginia Fair Housing Law. As a Dillon Rule state, Virginia does not authorize municipal rent control, so no Virginia locality operates a rent-control or just-cause-only ordinance overriding the VRLTA notice defaults.