Virginia landlord entry laws

Q: How much notice does a landlord have to give before entering in Virginia?

72 hours for routine maintenance. At least 72 hours' notice of routine maintenance, entry only at reasonable times, and the landlord may not abuse the right of access or use it to harass the tenant.

How much notice your landlord owes you before coming in, when they may enter without it, and what Virginia law lets you do about it.

Notice required

72 hours for routine maintenance

At least 72 hours' notice of routine maintenance, entry only at reasonable times, and the landlord may not abuse the right of access or use it to harass the tenant.

Va. Code § 55.1-1229(A)(4)

When they may enter without notice

Entry without consent is allowed in an emergency.

What you can do about a violation

The access section states no remedy of its own, but § 55.1-1234 lets a tenant 'recover damages and obtain injunctive relief for noncompliance by the landlord with the provisions of the rental agreement or of this chapter' — and § 55.1-1229 is part of that chapter.

Va. Code § 55.1-1234

What to do right now

Note the 72 hours. Virginia gives you three times the notice most states do for routine maintenance, and it is widely reported as 24.

Put it in writing

We'll write a letter citing Va. Code § 55.1-1229(A)(4), listing each entry with its date and time, and stating what the statute provides. Free to generate and download.

Write my Virginia entry letter

Other Virginia tenant rights

Landlords who get one of these wrong often get another wrong too.

Virginia security deposit lawHow long your landlord has to return it, and what they owe if they don't.Virginia rent late fee lawsWhat a landlord may charge for late rent, and when they may charge it.Virginia landlord repair lawsWhat your landlord must fix, how long they get, and your options if they don't.

How this page was checked

Read from the source. Every deadline, cap and penalty here was taken from Virginia's published text — the statute, session law or administrative code itself.
No legal-information websites. Commercial summaries were used only to find a provision, never as authority for it. An automated check fails our build if any state we serve cites a secondary source.
Locked against drift. The verified figures are pinned by regression tests, so a later edit cannot quietly change a deadline or a penalty.
Last verified August 21, 2026. Laws change — confirm the current text before relying on it.

General information, not legal advice. We are not a law firm.

Compare all 51 jurisdictions — notice periods range from 12 hours to 72, and thirteen states have no rule at all.