A Virginia month-to-month rental agreement is a contract (not necessarily in writing) which allows a tenant to rent property from a landlord, for one month at a time, in exchange for a fee (“rent”). The rental renews monthly, until either party gives proper notice to end it.
Basics of a Virginia Month-to-Month Rental Agreement
In Virginia, a landlord and tenant create a month-to-month lease by agreeing to rent a property according to acceptable terms. Written rental agreements are clearer and legally stronger, but oral leases are legal in a month-to-month context.
Parties under a month-to-month lease enjoy full rights under Virginia landlord-tenant law. The tenant must use the property in a responsible way and pay rent on time. The landlord must keep essential features of the property in habitable condition, and protect the tenant’s quiet enjoyment of the lease.
The main difference between a month-to-month lease and a fixed-term lease is that month-to-month leases can be terminated (with proper notice) by either party for any reason without penalty. Landlords also can usually modify terms from one month to the next, again with proper notice.
Required Disclosures for Month-to-Month Rentals in Virginia
Virginia landlords may not rent a property out without making the following disclosures to a potential tenant, as relevant:
- Landlord’s Name and Address – Landlords must give the tenant their name and address, or that of their authorized agent, to enable smooth communication of legal notice.
- Shared Utilities – Landlords renting a unit that shares a utility meter with other parts of the property must disclose how utilities are billed for the property.
- Move-In Checklist – Landlords must provide tenants with a move-in checklist to take inventory of existing property damage before move-in.
- Statement of Tenant Rights and Responsibilities – Landlords must accompany every new lease with a Statement of Tenant Rights and Responsibilities produced by the state Department of Housing and Community Development.
- Fee Disclosure Statement – Landlords must disclose the total rent and all fees which may be charged under the lease, together with a statement that the landlord is not allowed to charge fees which aren’t in the disclosure (and aren’t agreed later in an addendum).
- Mold Disclosure Virginia landlords must disclose any visible evidence of mold in the rental unit, in writing, with any initial inventory of the rental property.
- Demolition/Displacement Notice – Virginia landlords who plan to displace tenants within six months of move-in due to property demolition, rehabilitation, or conversion must disclose the incoming displacement in the rental agreement.
- Military Air Installation Disclosure – Virginia rentals must disclose a risk for noise disturbances and/or accidents, when located near a relevant military air installation.
- Defective Drywall Disclosure – Virginia rental property with knowledge of potentially hazardous defective drywall must disclose this fact in the rental agreement.
- Methamphetamine Disclosure – Virginia landlords must disclose any knowledge relating to methamphetamine manufacturing or contamination on rental property.
- Lead-Based Paint – Landlords must provide an EPA-approved disclosure and informational pamphlet to tenants renting any property built before 1978.
The state page for fixed-term leases may have more detailed information on required disclosures.
Required Notice To End a Month-to-Month Rental in Virginia
Virginia lets both the landlord or tenant terminate a month-to-month lease with at least 30 days of advance notice. In general, any reason that isn’t landlord retaliation is a legal and valid grounds for ending a month-to-month lease.
Virginia requires written notice to end a month-to-month lease. In some cases, this notice can be electronic. Specific notice standards differ in Virginia depending on whether or not the housing unit is regulated by a rental assistance or public housing program.
Required Notice To Raise the Rent on a Virginia Month-to-Month Lease
Virginia has no specific notice requirement before raising the rent, which means it’s reasonable for a landlord to follow the standard 30-day written notice procedure for things like termination or change of other terms.
Eviction in Virginia Month-to-Month Rentals
Virginia tenants may face eviction for violating a month-to-month lease or remaining on the property after the notice period allowed by a valid termination. Evictions in Virginia typically take two to four months.
For more information on the eviction process in Virginia, click here.
Sources
- 1 Va. Code § 55.1-1253(A) & (B)
-
A. The landlord or the tenant may terminate a week-to-week tenancy by serving a written notice on the other at least seven days prior to the next rent due date. The landlord or the tenant may terminate a month-to-month tenancy by serving a written notice on the other at least 30 days prior to the next rent due date, unless the rental agreement provides for a different notice period. The landlord and the tenant may agree in writing to an early termination of a rental agreement. In the event that no such agreement is reached, the provisions of § 55.1-1251 shall control.
B. Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection A, any 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 shall serve written notice on each such tenant at least 60 days prior to allowing such tenancy to expire. For the purposes of this subsection, 60 days’ notice shall not be required to allow a tenancy to expire where the tenant has failed to pay rent in accordance with the rental agreement.
Source Link - 2 Va. Code § 55.1-1202
-
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.
C. Notice, knowledge, or a notice or notification received by an organization is effective for a particular transaction from the time it is brought to the attention of the person conducting that transaction, or from the time it would have been brought to his attention if the organization had exercised reasonable diligence.
D. No notice of termination of tenancy served upon a tenant by a public housing authority organized under the Housing Authorities Law (§ 36-1 et seq.) shall be effective unless it contains on its first page, in type no smaller or less legible than that otherwise used in the body of the notice, the name, address, and telephone number of the legal aid program, if any, serving the jurisdiction in which the premises is located.
No notice of termination of tenancy served upon a tenant receiving tenant-based rental assistance through (i) the Housing Choice Voucher Program, 42 U.S.C. § 1437f(o), or (ii) any other federal, state, or local program by a private landlord shall be effective unless it contains on its first page, in type no smaller or less legible than that otherwise used in the body of the notice, the statewide legal aid telephone number and website address.
E. The landlord may, in accordance with a written agreement, delegate to a managing agent or other third party the responsibility of providing any written notice under this chapter. The landlord may also engage an attorney at law to prepare or provide any written notice under this chapter or legal process under Title 8.01. Nothing herein shall be construed to preclude use of an electronic signature as defined in § 59.1-480, or an electronic notarization as defined in § 47.1-2, in any written notice under this chapter or legal process under Title 8.01.
Source Link - 3 Va. Code § 55.1-1243.2
-
A. If the tenant gave notice to the landlord during the tenancy that his dwelling unit was in violation of an applicable building code, such violation posed a substantial risk to the health, safety, or welfare of a tenant, and such violation resulted in the tenant being excluded from his dwelling unit due to such unit being condemned, the landlord shall be liable to the tenant for actual damages. The landlord shall also return to the tenant any (i) prepaid rent that had not become due as of the date of condemnation, (ii) security deposit, or (iii) rent paid, if any, to the landlord subsequent to the unit being condemned.
B. No landlord shall be liable pursuant to this section if:
1. The condemnation of the dwelling unit was caused by (i) the deliberate or negligent act or omission of the tenant, an authorized occupant, or a guest or invitee of the tenant or (ii) an act of God; or
2. The lease was properly terminated pursuant to § 55.1-1240.
Source Link - 4 Va. Code § 55.1-1204(B)
-
A landlord shall offer a prospective tenant a written rental agreement containing the terms governing the rental of the dwelling unit and setting forth the terms and conditions of the landlord-tenant relationship and shall provide with it the statement of tenant rights and responsibilities developed by the Department of Housing and Community Development and posted on its website pursuant to § 36-139. The parties to a written rental agreement shall sign the form developed by the Department of Housing and Community Development and posted on its website pursuant to § 36-139 acknowledging that the tenant has received from the landlord the statement of tenant rights and responsibilities. The written rental agreement shall be effective upon the date signed by the parties.
If a tenant fails to sign the form available pursuant to this subsection, the landlord shall record the date or dates on which he provided the form to the tenant and the fact that the tenant failed to sign such form. Subsequent to the effective date of the tenancy, a landlord may, but shall not be required to, provide a tenant with and allow such tenant an opportunity to sign the form described pursuant to this subsection. The form shall be current as of the date of delivery.
Source Link - 5 Va. Code § 55.1-1204.1
-
A landlord shall provide, beginning on the first page of the written rental agreement, a description of any rent and fees to be charged to the tenant in addition to the periodic rent. Immediately above the list of fees, the written rental agreement shall state: No fee shall be collected unless it is listed below or incorporated into this agreement by way of a separate addendum after execution of this rental agreement.
Source Link
