How much notice must a landlord give before entering in Virginia?

Verified July 9, 2026 All Virginia topics →

Pending legislation — not yet law. The rules on this page reflect current law only. The following bills would change it if enacted:

HB 678 (2026), c. 1066 — Already CHAPTERED but not yet effective: on July 1, 2027, § 55.1-1204(K)'s rent-increase notice for landlords with more than four units extends from 60 to 90 days before the end of the rental agreement term, and the notice must give the tenant a renewal-decision deadline no sooner than 30 days after delivery. The current 60-day rule (encoded in this record) governs until then.Status: Enacted 2026; effective 2027-07-01 per the official code site's version label (one Realtor-association summary says January 1, 2027 — the official 'Effective July 1, 2027' code version controls). Not incorporated until effective. (checked 2026-07-09).
HB 278 / SB 355 (2026) — local rent regulation ('anti-rent gouging') enabling act — Would let localities adopt rent-increase regulation. Failed in 2026: Senate committee voted 11-4 to continue the bill to the 2027 session, and the Virginia Housing Commission opened a study of local rent regulation in June 2026 — expect a 2027 return. Predecessor HB 2175 (2025, 3% local cap enabling) also died.Status: Continued to the 2027 session; not enacted. § 55.1-1201's supersession clause and the Dillon Rule continue to bar local rent control. (checked 2026-07-09).
HB 95 (2026) — Effective January 1, 2027, landlords with 4+ units must offer payment plans for unpaid rent, with no additional late fees accruing while the tenant complies — a conditional overlay on the § 55.1-1204(E) late-fee rules.Status: Enacted 2026; effective 2027-01-01. Not incorporated until effective. (checked 2026-07-09).

Virginia requires 72 hours' notice before a landlord enters for routine maintenance the tenant didn't ask for — the specific number in the statute — while all other entries (inspections, tenant-requested repairs, showings) require simply giving notice and entering at reasonable times, with no fixed period.

The widely repeated claim that Virginia has a general 24-hour entry rule is wrong: the only '24 hours' in the section defines what counts as an emergency CONDITION needing immediate remediation, not a notice period, and genuine emergencies need no notice at all. Noticed routine maintenance must actually happen within 14 days, tenants may not unreasonably refuse lawful entry, and a landlord who enters unlawfully, unreasonably, or harassingly faces injunctive relief, lease termination, actual damages, and attorney fees under a separate remedies section. The statute also gives the landlord a 30-day-notice power to relocate tenants temporarily (up to 30 days, comparable unit or hotel, at no cost to the tenant) to remedy non-emergency conditions.

Virginia entry notice at a glance

Advance notice required	No fixed statutory period (see notice standard)
Notice standard	Two-tier statutory standard (§ 55.1-1229(A)): for entry generally — inspections, repairs, services, or showings — the landlord must give notice (no fixed period) and may enter only at reasonable times, except in emergencies or where impractical; but for ROUTINE MAINTENANCE the tenant has not requested, the landlord must give at least 72 hours' notice unless impractical, and must perform the maintenance within 14 days of the notice. The tenant may not unreasonably withhold consent.
Permitted reasons	Inspecting the premises; making necessary or agreed-upon repairs, decorations, alterations, or improvements; supplying necessary or agreed-upon services; or exhibiting the unit to prospective or actual purchasers, mortgagees, tenants, workmen, or contractors (§ 55.1-1229(A)(1)). A tenant's own maintenance request needs no separate notice.
Emergency exception	Yes
Time-of-day restrictions	Entry only at reasonable times; the statute sets no clock hours.

Notes and caveats

notice_hours is null, NOT 72, because the 72-hour rule governs only unrequested routine maintenance — encoding 72 would overstate the general rule, which is unquantified 'notice... at reasonable times.' Render on-page as 'Reasonable notice (72 hours for routine maintenance)'. Traps verified in the full text: (1) the 24-hour figure defines 'emergency condition' for the relocation provision, not an entry-notice period — the classic VA misreading; (2) remedies live in § 55.1-1210, not § 55.1-1229; (3) no pesticide-notice provision exists in this section despite guides claiming a 48-hour one; (4) the 72-hour rule carries an 'unless impractical' qualifier. Most recent amendment is 2024 c. 46 (exact edit not isolated — the official vacodeupdates page returned server errors; the 72-hour rule predates it, dating to the 2021 Sp. Sess. era). Tenants may install security devices with landlord keys (§ 55.1-1229(A)).

Statute citations

Va. Code § 55.1-1229 (A) Official source
Va. Code § 55.1-1210 (remedies for abuse of access) Official source

How this record was verified: Direct read of statute text on the official Virginia Code site (law.lis.virginia.gov): §§ 55.1-1226, 55.1-1204 (both the current version and the 'Effective July 1, 2027' version), 55.1-1253, and 55.1-1229 each read in full twice (independent fetches matched verbatim); §§ 55.1-1200 (definitions), 55.1-1201 (applicability/supersession), 55.1-1203, 55.1-1206, 55.1-1208, and 55.1-1210 read in full once. 2026 session laws (cc. 722/723, 1050, 1066, and the HB 15/SB 48 and HB 95 changes) identified via official code version labels and section history lines, cross-checked against practitioner summaries; 2026 HB 278/SB 355 status (continued to 2027) checked 2026-07-09.