A Virginia 30 Day Notice To Comply or Vacate evicts a tenant for a lease violation, such as failing to maintain the premises in a clean and sanitary manner. The tenant must take appropriate corrective action or else move out within thirty (30) calendar days of receiving notice.
When To Use a Virginia 30 Day Notice To Comply or Vacate
A Virginia 30 Day Notice To Comply or Vacate begins an eviction in these situations:
- If the tenant failed to maintain the rental unit in a clean and sanitary manner
- If the tenant allowed unauthorized occupants to reside in the rental unit
- If the tenant parked in an unauthorized area on the premises
- If the tenant violated any other provisions of the lease
Some types of Virginia lease termination notice may allow different reasons for termination, or different notice periods. This may also apply to an eviction notice issued because of a lease or legal violation.
How To Write a Virginia 30 Day Notice To Comply or Vacate
To help ensure the legal compliance of a Notice To Comply or Vacate:
- Use the full name of the receiving party, and address of record, if known
- Specify the basis upon which the tenancy will terminate
- Specify the termination date of the lease or tenancy
- Fill in the full address of the rental premises
- Provide updated/current address and phone number information
- Print name and sign the notice
- Complete the certificate of service by indicating the date and method of notice delivery, along with printed name and signature
It is easy to lose an otherwise justified legal action because of improper notice. Check carefully to ensure enough time after notice is delivered, not when it’s sent.
How To Serve a Virginia 30 Day Notice To Comply or Vacate
Virginia law isn’t strict or specific on method of delivery for an initial eviction notice. The law requires notice in writing. Electronic notice is allowed if provided for in the rental agreement, although the tenant can opt into paper notice upon request. Notice must be delivered to the tenant’s last known place of residence.
For maximum legal compliance, these are the methods of service accepted for an action in court:
- Hand delivery to the tenant
- Only if personal service is not possible: Hand delivery to a family member at least age 16 who is residing at the property
- Only if no form of hand delivery is possible: Posting the notice at the front door or entrance of the property, PLUS mailed notice by first class mail including a certificate of mailing
Mailed notice extends a notice period by (3) calendar days, to account for variable delivery times.
Sources
- 1 VA Code § 55.1-1227
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In addition to the provisions of the rental agreement, the tenant shall:
1. Comply with all obligations primarily imposed upon tenants by applicable provisions of building and housing codes materially affecting health and safety;
2. Keep that part of the dwelling unit and the part of the premises that he occupies and uses as clean and safe as the condition of the premises permit;
3. Keep that part of the dwelling unit and the part of the premises that he occupies free from insects and pests, as those terms are defined in § 3.2-3900, and promptly notify the landlord of the existence of any insects or pests;
4. Remove from his dwelling unit all ashes, garbage, rubbish, and other waste in a clean and safe manner and in the appropriate receptacles provided by the landlord;
5. Keep all plumbing fixtures in the dwelling unit or used by the tenant as clean as their condition permits;
6. Use in a reasonable manner all utilities and all electrical, plumbing, sanitary, heating, ventilating, air-conditioning, and other facilities and appliances, including an elevator in a multifamily premises, and keep all utility services paid for by the tenant to the utility service provider or its agent on at all times during the term of the rental agreement;
7. Not deliberately or negligently destroy, deface, damage, impair, or remove any part of the premises or permit any person, whether known by the tenant or not, to do so;
8. Not remove or tamper with a properly functioning smoke alarm installed by the landlord, including removing any working batteries, so as to render the alarm inoperative. The tenant shall maintain the smoke alarm in accordance with the uniform set of standards for maintenance of smoke alarms established in the Statewide Fire Prevention Code (§ 27-94 et seq.) and subdivision C 6 of § 36-105, Part III of the Uniform Statewide Building Code (§ 36-97 et seq.);
9. Not remove or tamper with a properly functioning carbon monoxide alarm installed by the landlord, including the removal of any working batteries, so as to render the carbon monoxide alarm inoperative. The tenant shall maintain the carbon monoxide alarm in accordance with the uniform set of standards for maintenance of carbon monoxide alarms established in the Statewide Fire Prevention Code (§ 27-94 et seq.) and subdivision C 6 of § 36-105, Part III of the Uniform Statewide Building Code (§ 36-97 et seq.);
10. Use reasonable efforts to maintain the dwelling unit and any other part of the premises that he occupies in such a condition as to prevent accumulation of moisture and the growth of mold and promptly notify the landlord of any moisture accumulation that occurs or of any visible evidence of mold discovered by the tenant;
11. Not paint or disturb painted surfaces or make alterations in the dwelling unit without the prior written approval of the landlord, provided that (i) the dwelling unit was constructed prior to 1978 and therefore requires the landlord to provide the tenant with lead-based paint disclosures and (ii) the landlord has provided the tenant with such disclosures and the rental agreement provides that the tenant is required to obtain the landlord’s prior written approval before painting, disturbing painted surfaces, or making alterations in the dwelling unit;
12. Be responsible for his conduct and the conduct of other persons, whether known by the tenant or not, who are on the premises with his consent, to ensure that his neighbors’ peaceful enjoyment of the premises will not be disturbed;
13. Abide by all reasonable rules and regulations imposed by the landlord;
14. Be financially responsible for the added cost of treatment or extermination due to the tenant’s unreasonable delay in reporting the existence of any insects or pests and be financially responsible for the cost of treatment or extermination due to the tenant’s fault in failing to prevent infestation of any insects or pests in the area occupied; and
15. Use reasonable care to prevent any dog or other animal in possession of the tenant, authorized occupants, or guests or invitees from causing personal injuries to a third party in the dwelling unit or on the premises, or property damage to the dwelling unit or the premises.
Source Link - 2 Va. Code § 55.1-1202(A) & (B)
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A. If the rental agreement so provides, the landlord and tenant may send notices in electronic form; however, any tenant who so requests may elect to send and receive notices in paper form. If electronic delivery is used, the sender shall retain sufficient proof of the electronic delivery, which may be an electronic receipt of delivery, a confirmation that the notice was sent by facsimile, or a certificate of service prepared by the sender confirming the electronic delivery.
B. In the case of the landlord, notice is served on the landlord at his place of business where the rental agreement was made or at any place held out by the landlord as the place for receipt of the communication.
Source Link - 3 VA Code § 8.01-296
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Subject to the provisions of § 8.01-286.1, in any action at law or in equity or any other civil proceeding in any court, process, for which no particular mode of service is prescribed, may be served upon natural persons as follows:1. By delivering a copy thereof in writing to the party in person; or2. By substituted service in the following manner: a. If the party to be served is not found at his usual place of abode, by delivering a copy of such process and giving information of its purport to any person found there, who is a member of his family, other than a temporary sojourner or guest, and who is of the age of 16 years or older; orb. If such service cannot be effected under subdivision 2 a, then by posting a copy of such process at the front door or at such other door as appears to be the main entrance of such place of abode, provided that not less than 10 days before judgment by default may be entered, the party causing service or his attorney or agent mails to the party served a copy of such process and thereafter files in the office of the clerk of the court a certificate of such mailing. In any civil action brought in a general district court, the mailing of the application for a warrant in debt or affidavit for summons in unlawful detainer or other civil pleading or a copy of such pleading, whether yet issued by the court or not, which contains the date, time and place of the return, prior to or after filing such pleading in the general district court, shall satisfy the mailing requirements of this section. Source Link - 4 Virginia Supreme Court Rules of Civil Procedure - Rule 1:7(c)
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Three days will be added to the prescribed time if the paper is served by mail. With respect to Parts Five and Five A of the Rules, this Rule applies only to the time for filing a brief in opposition.
Source Link
