Residential or commercial property and Conveyances" Subtitle III. Rental Conveyances" Chapter 12. Virginia Residential Landlord and Tenant Act" Article 1. General Provisions" § 55.1-1204. Terms and conditions of rental agreement; payment of rent; copy of rental arrangement for renter

Print

PDF

e-mail


Creating a Report: Check the sections you 'd like to appear in the report, then utilize the "Create Report" button at the bottom of the page to generate your report. Once the report is produced you'll then have the choice to download it as a pdf, print or email the report.

§ 55.1-1204. Terms of rental agreement; payment of rent; copy of rental contract for renter.

A. A property owner and renter may consist of in a rental arrangement terms not restricted by this chapter or other guideline of law, including lease, charges for late payment of rent, the regard to the contract, automated renewal of the rental arrangement, requirements for notification of intent to leave or terminate the rental contract, and other provisions governing the rights and responsibilities of the parties.

B. A property manager will use a potential occupant a written rental contract consisting of the terms governing the rental of the house system and setting forth the terms of the landlord-tenant relationship and shall offer with it the statement of renter rights and duties established by the Department of Housing and Community Development and published on its site pursuant to § 36-139. The parties to a composed rental contract shall sign the type developed by the Department of Housing and Community Development and posted on its website pursuant to § 36-139 acknowledging that the renter has actually gotten from the proprietor the declaration of tenant rights and duties. The written rental contract shall be effective upon the date signed by the parties.

If an occupant fails to sign the kind available pursuant to this subsection, the proprietor shall tape the date or dates on which he provided the form to the occupant and the truth that the occupant stopped working to sign such type. Subsequent to the efficient date of the occupancy, a landlord may, however will not be needed to, provide a renter with and enable such renter a chance to sign the kind explained pursuant to this subsection. The form will be existing since the date of delivery.

C. If a proprietor does not provide a composed rental contract, the tenancy will exist by operation of law, consisting of the following terms and conditions:

1. The arrangement of this chapter will be relevant to the dwelling unit that is being leased;

2. The period of the rental contract shall be for 12 months and will not go through automatic renewal, other than in case of a month-to-month lease as otherwise offered under subsection D of § 55.1-1253;

3. Rent will be paid in 12 equivalent periodic installments in a quantity concurred upon by the landlord and the tenant and if no amount is concurred upon, the installations shall be at fair market lease;

4. Rent payments will be due on the very first day of each month during the tenancy and shall be thought about late if not paid by the fifth of the month;

5. If the rent is paid by the tenant after the fifth day of any given month, the property manager will be entitled to charge a late charge as provided in this chapter;

6. The property owner might gather a down payment in an amount that does not exceed a total amount equivalent to 2 months of lease; and

7. The parties may enter into a composed rental agreement at any time during the 12-month occupancy produced by this subsection.

D. Except as provided in the written rental arrangement, or as supplied in subsection C if no written arrangement is offered, lease will be payable without need or notification at the time and location concurred upon by the parties. Except as supplied in the composed rental contract, lease is payable at the location designated by the property owner, and routine rent is payable at the beginning of any term of one month or less and otherwise in equal installments at the start of each month. If the proprietor receives from a tenant a composed ask for a written declaration of charges and payments, he will provide the tenant with a composed declaration revealing all debits and credits over the tenancy or the previous 12 months, whichever is shorter. The proprietor will offer such composed declaration within 10 business days of receiving the demand.

E. A property owner will not charge an occupant for late payment of lease unless such charge is provided for in the written rental contract. No such late charge will exceed the lower of 10 percent of the periodic lease or 10 percent of the remaining balance due and owed by the renter.

F. Except as offered in the written rental agreement or, as supplied in subsection C if no written contract is provided, the tenancy shall be week-to-week when it comes to a renter who pays weekly rent and month-to-month in all other cases. Terminations of tenancies shall be governed by § 55.1-1253 unless the rental arrangement offers a various notification period.

G. If the rental contract contains any arrangement permitting the proprietor to authorize or disapprove a sublessee or assignee of the renter, the proprietor shall, within 10 service days of receipt of the written application of the prospective sublessee or assignee on a kind to be offered by the landlord, approve or disapprove the sublessee or assignee. Failure of the landlord to act within 10 company days is evidence of his approval.

H. The property owner will supply a copy of the signed written rental contract and the declaration of tenant rights and obligations to the occupant within 10 organization days of the reliable date of the composed rental arrangement. The failure of the property manager to provide such a rental arrangement and declaration shall not affect the validity of the contract. However, the landlord will not submit or preserve an action, consisting of any summons for unlawful detainer, against the occupant in a law court for any supposed lease infraction up until he has actually provided the occupant with the statement of tenant rights and obligations.

The proprietor shall supply the tenant with an extra hard copy of such occupant's rental agreement as soon as per year upon demand or shall keep such rental arrangement in an electronic format that can be quickly accessed by or shown the occupant upon demand. Any additional electronic copy of a tenant's rental agreement supplied pursuant to this subsection will be supplied by the landlord at no charge to the tenant.

I. No unilateral change in the regards to a rental agreement by a property owner or occupant will stand unless (i) notice of the change is offered in accordance with the terms of the rental arrangement or as otherwise needed by law and (ii) both celebrations approval in composing to the modification.

J. 1. The landlord shall offer the occupant with a written receipt, upon demand from the tenant, whenever the tenant pays rent in the kind of money or money order. No proprietor will charge a renter any charge for the collection or processing of any payment of lease, security deposit, or any other costs, unless the property manager uses an alternative method of payment that does not include extra charges.

2. A landlord with four or less rental dwelling units, or approximately a 10 percent interest in 4 or fewer rental dwelling systems, shall not be needed to accept payment of regular rent and any security deposit by debit or credit card.

K. A property manager who owns more than four rental dwelling systems or more than a 10 percent interest in more than four rental residence units, whether separately or through an organization entity, in the Commonwealth will be required to provide written notice to any occupant who has the option to renew a rental arrangement or whose rental contract consists of an automatic renewal arrangement of any increase in lease during the subsequent rental agreement term. Such landlord shall also offer written notice of nonrenewal to any renter. Such notices shall be offered to the tenant no less than 60 days prior to completion of the rental agreement term. This subsection shall not use to any routine tenancy produced pursuant to subsection C of § 55.1-1253.

1974, c. 680, § 55-248.7; 1977, c. 427; 1983, c. 39; 1988, c. 68; 2000, c. 760; 2003, c. 424; 2012, cc. 464, 503; 2013, c. 563; 2017, c. 730; 2019, cc. 5, 45, 712; 2020, cc. 985, 986, 998, 1231; 2021, Sp. Sess. I, c.