Recently, the Virginia legislature made changes to the Virginia Residential Landlord and Tenant Act, specifically on July 1, 2026 the VRLTA notice of nonpayment of rent period changed from 5 days to 14 days. The Virginia legislature passed Senate Bill 48 and House Bill 15, identical bills, that changed the landlord’s nonpayment notice requirement. How does this change affect landlords and tenants?
Under the previous nonpayment notice requirement, when a tenant failed to pay their rent, a landlord is entitled to terminate the lease after they served written notice of termination giving the tenant 5 days to make payment. Section § 55.1-1245(F) of the VRTLA stated the following language: “If rent is unpaid when due, and the tenant fails to pay rent within five days after written notice is served on him notifying the tenant of his nonpayment, and of the landlord’s intention to terminate the rental agreement if the rent is not paid within the five-day period, the landlord may terminate the rental agreement and proceed to obtain possession of the premises as provided in §55.1-1251.”
A landlord may also choose to terminate the rental agreement if a tenant provides a check or an account transfer from an account with insufficient funds or there is a stop-payment based on bad faith. The landlord still needed to give a 5 day notice.
As of July 1, 2026, all landlords and tenants will be subject to the changes in SB48 and HB15. If a tenant does not pay their rent and the landlord wishes to terminate the lease the landlord must give the tenant 14 days notice. The 14 day notice period also applies to situations where a landlord receives a check or account transfer from an account with insufficient funds or there is a stop-order due to intentional bad faith.
From July 1, 2026 and onwards, landlords are responsible for updating their lease agreements to reflect this change. If a landlord uses a lease agreement with the previous language regarding the 5 day notice period, this can adversely and negatively affect future termination efforts.
This notice period does not affect any other remedies or obligations the landlord may have at their disposal after the termination notice period is over and it does not affect any rights or obligations the tenant may have after the termination notice period.
Contact our office today to schedule a consultation and learn more about how we can assist you with any landlord-tenant issues.
