Northern Virginia landlord rules come almost entirely from state law: the Virginia Residential Landlord and Tenant Act, or VRLTA, in Title 55.1, Chapter 12 of the Code of Virginia, together with the Virginia Fair Housing Law. Fairfax County, Arlington County and the City of Alexandria cannot impose rent control and add only a handful of local requirements, but the state rules themselves changed significantly in 2024, 2025 and again on July 1, 2026, with more changes scheduled for July 1, 2027.
For apartment owners in the region, that means the lease forms, notices and fee schedules that worked three years ago may no longer comply. This guide walks through the rules that matter most for multifamily buildings, citing the current statute text on the Virginia Legislative Information System. Fairfax County alone had an estimated 1,167,873 residents on July 1, 2025, according to Census QuickFacts for Fairfax County, which makes it the most populous jurisdiction in the state.
Where Northern Virginia landlord rules come from
The VRLTA applies to residential leases across Virginia, and it applies to virtually every apartment building of any size. Some provisions, however, apply only to larger landlords. Several sections draw the line at owners of more than four rental dwelling units, or more than a 10% interest in more than four units. For an owner of a 5-unit building or larger, assume the stricter tier applies.
Three layers sit on top of each other:
- State landlord-tenant law in the VRLTA, which sets deposits, notices, fees, entry, maintenance and eviction procedure.
- The Virginia Fair Housing Law, which bans discrimination on protected bases including source of funds.
- Local codes in Fairfax, Arlington and Alexandria, which deal mainly with property maintenance, occupancy, zoning and voluntary mediation rather than rents.
Lease signing and required disclosures
Before a tenant signs, Virginia requires several documents and disclosures.
The Statement of Tenant Rights and Responsibilities
Under Va. Code § 55.1-1204, a landlord must give prospective tenants the Statement of Tenant Rights and Responsibilities published by the Virginia Department of Housing and Community Development, and both sides sign an acknowledgment. The landlord must then give the tenant copies of the signed lease and the statement within 10 business days. DHCD’s landlord-tenant resources page carries the current version, dated July 1, 2026. Until the statement is provided, a landlord cannot file an eviction action based on a lease violation, which makes this form one of the cheapest and most important compliance steps in the state.
The fee and deposit summary on page one
Section 55.1-1204.1, added in 2024 and amended in 2025, requires the first page of a written lease to itemize the security deposit, the rent for each payment period and any one-time charges. Directly above that list, the lease must include the required notice that no additional security deposits or rent shall be charged unless they are listed below. In practice, anything not listed on that first-page summary is difficult to collect later.
Physical-condition and location disclosures
Virginia also requires specific disclosures tied to the unit and its location:
- Mold: under § 55.1-1215, the move-in inspection report must state whether there is visible evidence of mold. If there is, the tenant can terminate, or the landlord must remediate within five business days.
- Military air installations: under § 55.1-1217, a landlord must disclose before signing if the property sits in a noise zone or accident potential zone. If the disclosure is missing, the tenant may terminate within the first 30 days. This matters in parts of the region near military airfields.
- Defective drywall: under § 55.1-1218, a landlord who actually knows of unremediated defective drywall must disclose it before the lease is signed.
Security deposits and inspections
Virginia’s deposit rules are among the clearest in the VRLTA, set out in Va. Code § 55.1-1226:
- The security deposit may not exceed two months’ periodic rent. On a $2,200 apartment, that is a ceiling of $4,400 in total security deposits.
- Within 45 days after the tenancy ends or the tenant vacates, whichever is later, the landlord must return the deposit with an itemized list of any deductions.
- A move-out inspection must take place within 72 hours of the tenant delivering possession, and the tenant may attend.
The move-in side is in § 55.1-1214. The landlord must give the tenant a written report of existing damage within five days after occupancy. The report is considered correct unless the tenant objects in writing within five days after receiving it. Owners who skip or rush the move-in report often lose deposit disputes later, because the burden of showing damage beyond normal wear falls on the landlord.
Rent, late fees and payment methods
Virginia has specific rules about how rent can be charged and collected, and several of them changed recently.
The late fee cap
Section 55.1-1204(E) allows a late fee only if it is in the written lease, and caps it at the lesser of 10% of the periodic rent or 10% of the remaining balance due. On a $2,200 apartment with the full month unpaid, the maximum late fee is $220. If the tenant has paid $1,800 and owes $400, the cap is $40.
How tenants can pay
Changes effective July 1, 2026 under HB 1005 and SB 313 require landlords to accept rent and deposits by check and money order and to provide written receipts for cash or money-order payments. A processing fee for other methods is allowed only when a no-fee option is offered, and it is limited to the landlord’s actual third-party cost. Landlords with four or fewer units do not have to accept credit or debit cards.
Rent increase notice
For landlords with more than four units, § 55.1-1204(K) currently requires written notice of a rent increase or of nonrenewal at least 60 days before the end of the lease term. Beginning July 1, 2027, under HB 678, the notice period for a rent increase rises to at least 90 days, and the notice must give the tenant a deadline to respond of at least 30 days after delivery. The 60-day period for nonrenewal stays the same. Owners who send renewal offers on a fixed calendar, such as 75 days out, will need to move those dates earlier once the 2027 change takes effect.
Is there rent control in Northern Virginia?
No. Virginia localities operate under the Dillon Rule and need express authority from the General Assembly to regulate rents. The City of Alexandria states plainly in a budget memo on rent control that rent control is not allowed in Virginia without General Assembly authorization or a charter change, and Arlington County gives the same answer to tenants.
Bills to change that keep appearing. In the 2026 session, legislation that would have let localities cap annual increases at 3% failed, and the Senate version was continued to 2027. The Virginia Housing Commission held workgroup discussions on the topic in June 2026 without a recorded recommendation. For now, rents in Fairfax, Arlington and Alexandria are set by the market, subject only to the notice rules above.
Alexandria does publish voluntary rent guidelines adopted by City Council resolution, and its Office of Housing offers mediation when both sides agree. Those guidelines are not binding.
Nonpayment, violations and the eviction path
The biggest change for Northern Virginia apartment owners in 2026 is the notice period for unpaid rent.
The 14-day pay-or-quit notice
Under Va. Code § 55.1-1245(F), a landlord may terminate the lease if the tenant fails to pay rent within 14 days after written notice. This replaced the long-standing five-day notice on July 1, 2026, under HB 15 and SB 48. The same 14-day period applies to bounced checks and rejected electronic payments, and in that case the landlord can require payment by cash, cashier’s or certified check, or a completed electronic transfer.
A sample timeline under the new notice
Consider a $2,200 apartment with rent due on the first of the month and a lease that permits a late fee. If rent is still unpaid on the 6th, the landlord can charge the late fee allowed by the lease, capped at $220, and serve the written 14-day notice. If the tenant has not paid in full by the end of the 14 days after receiving that notice, the landlord may terminate the rental agreement and pursue possession through the General District Court. Under the old five-day rule, the same notice would have expired around the 11th of the month; now it runs to roughly the 20th, before any court filing is made.
For cash-flow planning, the change adds more than a week to the earliest point at which a nonpayment case can be filed. Owners should update notice templates, property-management software and any lender reporting that assumes a five-day cycle.
Payment plans starting July 1, 2027
HB 95 of 2026 adds a further step. Beginning July 1, 2027, landlords with more than four rental units, or more than a 10% interest in more than four units, must offer a payment plan when a tenant owes up to one month’s rent plus late fees. Payments are in equal monthly installments over the lesser of six months or the remaining lease term, and the plan only has to be offered once during the term.
Other lease violations
For breaches other than rent, § 55.1-1245(A) and (B) require a notice stating that the lease will end not less than 30 days after receipt if the breach is not remedied within 21 days. If the tenant fixes the problem in time, the lease continues.
Month-to-month tenancies
Under § 55.1-1253, either side can end a month-to-month tenancy with written notice at least 30 days before the next rent due date. A rent change for a holdover tenant takes effect only on the next rent due date that falls 30 days after the notice. There is an important multifamily rule here as well: if an owner declines to renew 20 or more month-to-month tenancies, or 50% of them, at one multifamily property within a 30-day period, 60 days’ notice is required.
Entry, access and day-to-day operations
Under § 55.1-1229, a landlord must give at least 72 hours’ notice before entering for routine maintenance the tenant did not request. That is longer than the 24-hour figure many owners assume. Other entries require notice and must be at reasonable times. No notice is needed in an emergency or when the tenant asked for the work.
For buildings with on-site maintenance staff, that 72-hour rule affects scheduling of filter changes, smoke detector checks, pest control and preventive maintenance. Posting a building-wide notice well in advance of planned work is the simplest way to stay inside the rule.
Fair housing and the source-of-funds rule
Virginia’s Fair Housing Law makes it unlawful to discriminate on the basis of source of funds. Under Va. Code § 36-96.3 and the definitions in § 36-96.1:1, source of funds means any source that lawfully provides funds to or on behalf of a renter, including housing vouchers and other assistance, benefit or subsidy programs.
Two exemptions matter. Under § 36-96.2, the source-of-funds rule does not apply to an owner of four or fewer rental units in Virginia, or an owner with a 10% or smaller interest in them. A denial is also not unlawful if the funding source has not approved the tenancy within 15 days of the request. For owners of 5-unit and larger buildings, the practical effect is that a policy of refusing Housing Choice Vouchers is not permitted.
Fairfax County’s Human Rights Ordinance adds a local layer of housing discrimination protection, enforced by the county’s Office of Human Rights and Equity Programs.
Local requirements in Fairfax, Arlington and Alexandria
Local governments in the region focus on information, mediation and property standards rather than rent regulation. According to Fairfax County’s tenant-landlord laws page:
- County Code § 12-1-2 requires landlords to post a sign telling tenants how to reach the county’s Consumer Affairs office.
- Zoning limits a single dwelling to no more than four unrelated people.
- Consumer Affairs offers voluntary mediation of landlord-tenant disputes.
- The county’s Tenant-Landlord Commission remains active, with its most recent annual report covering FY 2024.
Arlington’s Housing Division and its Tenant-Landlord Commission provide information and referrals and run seminars for small landlords. Alexandria’s Office of Housing offers mediation by mutual agreement and publishes its voluntary rent guidelines.
What this means for Northern Virginia apartment owners
A practical compliance checklist for 2026 and 2027:
- Replace five-day pay-or-quit notices with the 14-day version now required under § 55.1-1245(F).
- Confirm every new lease includes the DHCD Statement of Tenant Rights and Responsibilities, the signed acknowledgment, and copies delivered within 10 business days.
- Rebuild the first page of the lease to match the fee and deposit summary required by § 55.1-1204.1, with nothing collected that is not listed.
- Check late fees against the 10% cap and payment-processing fees against actual third-party cost.
- Move renewal and rent-increase notices to at least 60 days now, and to at least 90 days for rent increases once the July 1, 2027 change takes effect.
- Build a payment-plan offer into collections procedures before July 1, 2027.
- Train staff on the 72-hour entry rule and the source-of-funds rule.
These rules also matter at sale. A buyer reviewing a rent roll will ask whether leases, notices and deposit records comply, because non-compliant notices can delay evictions and invite claims. Our guide to selling a rental property with tenants in place covers how lease files and estoppels come into a transaction, and owners can find local context on our Northern Virginia market page and the broader Virginia markets page.
The direction of travel in Richmond is clear: more notice, more disclosure and more process before a tenancy ends. Owners who update their documents now will be ready when the 2027 changes arrive.
