Landlord Atlas

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

Verified July 9, 2026 All Virginia topics →

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 — and since mid-2024 the notice itself must state the last date the work could possibly occur — 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, must perform the maintenance within 14 days of delivery of the notice, and the notice must state the last date on which the maintenance may possibly be performed (the performance-window and notice-content requirements were added by 2024 c. 46 / HB 701). 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 (HB 701) — isolated this session from the official Acts of Assembly full text on legacylis.virginia.gov and confirmed against the current code text (the vacodeupdates endpoint still returns server errors): it added the 14-day performance window for noticed routine maintenance AND the requirement that the notice state the last date on which the maintenance may possibly be performed. The 72-hour figure itself predates it. Tenants may install security devices with landlord keys (§ 55.1-1229(A)).

Common questions: Virginia entry notice

Each answer is the verified value from the table above, restated as a direct answer. Free to quote with a link to this page.

How many hours' notice must a landlord give before entering in Virginia?
No fixed statutory period (see 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, must perform the maintenance within 14 days of delivery of the notice, and the notice must state the last date on which the maintenance may possibly be performed (the performance-window and notice-content requirements were added by 2024 c. 46 / HB 701). The tenant may not unreasonably withhold consent.
What reasons allow a landlord to enter a rental in Virginia?
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.
Can a landlord enter without notice in an emergency in Virginia?
Yes — Virginia recognizes an emergency exception to the entry-notice requirement.
Are there time-of-day limits on when a landlord can enter in Virginia?
Entry only at reasonable times; the statute sets no clock hours.

Statute citations

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. 2024 Acts of Assembly c. 46 (HB 701) read in full on legacylis.virginia.gov 2026-07-09 and its added language confirmed against the current § 55.1-1229 text, resolving the session-5 carry-forward.