Virginia Lease Agreement: What to Include

A Virginia residential lease needs to reflect this state's actual rules on security deposits, entry notice, late fees, and required disclosures — not a generic template written for a different state. The figures below come from Virginia's residential landlord-tenant statute; where the state sets no fixed number, that's stated plainly rather than glossed over, since "the state doesn't specify" is itself something you need to know.

Security deposit

Security deposit limit: 2 months rent. Virginia does not require interest on held deposits. Return deadline after move-out: 45 Days.

Entry notice, late fees, and rent increases

Entry notice: 72 Hours unless impractical/emergency; reasonable times. Late fees: Late fee capped at 10% of monthly rent or past-due amount, whichever less, with a grace period of 5. Rent increase notice for month-to-month tenancies: 30 days. (Entry notice citation: No statewide statute.)

Required disclosures

A Virginia lease should include or accompany:

• • Federal lead-based paint
• • mold
• • military zone
• • defective drywall
• • move-in inspection
• • tenant rights/responsibilities statement

Eviction notice for nonpayment

For nonpayment of rent, Virginia's standard notice period is 5 days. This is the minimum notice before you can move to the next step in the eviction process — actual court timelines run longer once a case is filed. (Eviction notice citation: Va. Code Ann. § 55.1-1245(F) (5 days).)

What actually distinguishes Virginia

Virginia caps the security deposit at: 2 months rent.

Virginia requires 72 hours unless impractical/emergency; reasonable times notice before a landlord enters an occupied unit for routine, non-emergency purposes.

Sources and the bottom line

The figures above reflect Virginia's residential landlord-tenant statute as summarized on LeasePilot HQ's Virginia landlord-tenant law page, which lists the specific sources behind each number. Security deposit rules specifically are codified at Va. Code Ann. § 55.1-1226 (2 months), with the return deadline set by Va. Code Ann. § 55.1-1226 (45 days). Primary and cross-reference sources used in compiling this page:

• • https://law.lis.virginia.gov/vacode/title55.1/chapter12/section55.1-1226/
• • https://ipropertymanagement.com/laws/security-deposits
• • https://www.justia.com/real-estate/landlord-tenant/information-for-landlords/right-of-entry/
• • https://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/state-landlord-tenant-laws

State landlord-tenant law changes through legislative sessions and court decisions — treat the numbers above as a starting point, verify against Virginia's current statute (linked above) before relying on them for an actual lease, and see LeasePilot HQ's full Virginia landlord-tenant law summary for the complete breakdown, or generate a lease with Virginia-specific clauses built in automatically.