A Virginia eviction notice form is a legal demand for a tenant to comply with the terms of the rental agreement or else move out of the premises. Virginia landlords may deliver an eviction notice because of unpaid rent, lease violations, or illegal activity on the rental property.
Types of Virginia Eviction Notice Forms
Notice Form | Grounds | Curable? |
5 Day Notice To Quit | Unpaid Rent | Yes |
30 Day Notice To Comply or Vacate | Lease Violation | Yes |
30 Day Notice of Termination | Repeat Violation /
Criminal Activity |
No |
30 Day Notice To Vacate | No Lease | No |
Virginia 5 Day Notice To Quit
A Virginia 5 Day Notice To Quit evicts a tenant for nonpayment of rent. In Virginia, a landlord can file this notice the day after rent is due, with no grace period for the tenant. The tenant must pay all past due rent or else move out within five (5) calendar days.
Virginia currently has a Nonpayment Pilot Program active to put certain low-income tenants on a payment plan when they’re behind on rent. As of this writing, the program is in force until January 1, 2024.
Virginia 30 Day Notice To Comply or Vacate
A Virginia 30 Day Notice To Comply or Vacate demands correction of a lease violation that is “curable” i.e., the tenant gets a chance to fix the situation rather than be evicted. A curable lease violation might include failure to maintain health and safety on the rental property, interfering with the quiet enjoyment of neighbors, or refusing reasonable access to the landlord for necessary inspections and repairs. Tenants must take the necessary corrective actions or move out within thirty (30) calendar days.
Virginia 30 Day Notice of Termination
A Virginia 30 Day Notice of Termination evicts a tenant for repeating a lease violation during the tenancy, or committing a willful, criminal act on the premises. The tenant is not given an opportunity to take corrective action and must move out within thirty (30) calendar days.
Virginia 30 Day Notice To Vacate
A Virginia 30 Day Notice To Vacate terminates a rental agreement, including a month-to-month or year-to-year lease as well as an expired lease or a situation with no written lease where the tenant pays rent monthly. The non-terminating party must receive notice at least thirty (30) days before the date of termination.
How To Write an Eviction Notice in Virginia
To help ensure the legal compliance of an eviction notice:
- Use the tenant’s full name and address
- Specify the lease violation as well as any balance due
- Specify the date of termination
- Print name and sign the notice, including the landlord’s address of record
- Note 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 Calculate Expiration Date in Virginia
The “clock” for an eviction notice period starts “ticking” the day after the notice gets delivered (served). For example, to give at least 30 days of notice and begin court action as of June 30th, delivery of the eviction notice must be no later than May 31st.
In most jurisdictions, if the last day of a notice period is a Saturday, Sunday, or legal holiday, the notice period continues to run until the end of the next day that is not a Saturday, Sunday, or legal holiday. This is called the “next judicial day;” in other words, the next day a courthouse is open.
How To Serve an Eviction Notice in Virginia
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 other party
- 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 § 1-210
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When an act of the General Assembly or rule of court requires that an act be performed a prescribed amount of time before a motion or proceeding, the day of such motion or proceeding shall not be counted against the time allowed, but the day on which such act is performed may be counted as part of the time. When an act of the General Assembly or rule of court requires that an act be performed within a prescribed amount of time after any event or judgment, the day on which the event or judgment occurred shall not be counted against the time allowed.
B. When the last day for performing an act during the course of a judicial proceeding falls on a Saturday, Sunday, legal holiday, or any day or part of a day on which the clerk’s office is closed as authorized by an act of the General Assembly, the act may be performed on the next day that is not a Saturday, Sunday, legal holiday, or day or part of a day on which the clerk’s office is closed as authorized by an act of the General Assembly.
Source Link - 2 Va. Code § 55.1-1202
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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.
In the case of the tenant, notice is served at the tenant’s last known place of residence, which may be the dwelling unit.
Source Link - 3 VA Code § 8.01-296
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Manner of serving process upon natural persons.
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