Facing Eviction in Virginia: What Can I Do?

1. If you pay your rent late, your landlord must give you a written notice about the missed payment. You then have 14 days from the day you get the notice to pay the rent you owe. If you do not pay within those 14 days, your landlord can end your lease and start a court case to remove you.

   Code of Virginia § 55.1-1245(F)

   ✓ Sources checked September 29, 2026

2. Your landlord can end your lease if you seriously break a lease rule. The same is true if you break a rule in a way that seriously affects health and safety. They must first give you a written notice describing the problem. You then have 21 days from that notice to fix it. If you do not fix it in time, your lease ends at least 30 days after you got the notice.

   Code of Virginia § 55.1-1245(A)

   ✓ Sources checked September 29, 2026

3. Some serious problems do not give you a chance to fix them first. Illegal drug activity by you, a guest, or someone in your home is always one of these, even without a safety threat. If a guest or someone living with you does this, the law assumes you knew, unless you can show otherwise. Other crimes, or things you do on purpose that threaten health or safety, count too, even without a conviction. Your landlord can end your lease right away and ask a court to remove you. To win, the landlord must prove this by a preponderance of the evidence (the judge must find it more likely true than not).

   Code of Virginia § 55.1-1245(C)

   ✓ Sources checked September 29, 2026

4. If your case is only about unpaid rent, you can stop it by paying in full. Someone else can pay for you too. This means paying all rent you owe, other charges and fees your lease requires, and late fees and lawyer fees your lease requires. You must also pay court costs the law requires. Once you pay in full, the court will dismiss the case, unless your landlord also has another reason for the eviction besides unpaid rent.

   Code of Virginia § 55.1-1250(C)

   ✓ Sources checked September 29, 2026

5. Even after the judge orders your eviction, you can still stop it. You must pay your landlord, their lawyer, or the court everything you owe. This includes rent, court costs, and fees. You must pay at least 48 hours before the sheriff is set to remove you. Once you pay, your landlord must tell the sheriff to cancel the eviction.

   Code of Virginia § 55.1-1250(D)

   ✓ Sources checked September 29, 2026

6. To start a court case, your landlord swears to facts about the problem and asks the court for a summons. This kind of case is called an unlawful detainer (the legal name for an eviction case). You must be given this summons at least 10 days before your hearing date.

   Code of Virginia § 8.01-126(B)

   ✓ Sources checked September 29, 2026

7. Once your landlord files the case, the court usually holds the first hearing within 21 days. If the court cannot meet the 21-day deadline, the hearing happens no later than 30 days after filing.

   Code of Virginia § 8.01-126(B)

   ✓ Sources checked September 29, 2026

8. At your hearing, your landlord must show the judge a copy of the notice they sent you. The court must enter it as evidence. If they cannot do this, the judge cannot order that you be removed.

   Code of Virginia § 8.01-126(D)

   ✓ Sources checked September 29, 2026

9. Your landlord cannot start an eviction case to punish you for using your rights. This includes reporting a housing code problem that seriously affects your health or safety. It also includes raising a landlord-tenant law problem, joining a tenant group, or testifying against your landlord in court. If your landlord does this anyway, you can raise it as a defense in your eviction case. This defense usually will not work if you are already behind on rent or you caused the safety problem yourself. You are the one who must prove your landlord's real reason was punishment.

   Code of Virginia § 55.1-1258(A)

   ✓ Sources checked September 29, 2026

10. If the judge rules for your landlord, one order can decide both the money you owe and whether you must leave the home. This order will not give you credit for your security deposit yet. Your landlord must apply your deposit to what you owe only after you move out, following the state's deposit rules.

    Code of Virginia § 55.1-1251

    ✓ Sources checked September 29, 2026

11. If your landlord wins, the court can order a writ of eviction (a paper telling the sheriff to remove you). First, the sheriff must give you notice at least 72 hours before the date and time set for the eviction. The sheriff also cannot remove you until your 10-day window to appeal has passed. To stop the sheriff, you must complete your appeal, including any bond (a money guarantee) the court requires, within that same 10 days.

    Code of Virginia § 8.01-129(B)

    ✓ Sources checked September 29, 2026

12. A judgment (the court's final decision in your case) against you can be appealed. If you lose, you can appeal to the circuit court (a higher court) within 10 days of the judgment. You must also pay a writ tax (a court filing fee) and post a bond (a money guarantee) within that same 10 days. If the court has found that you are indigent (unable to pay court costs), you do not have to post a bond.

    Code of Virginia § 8.01-129(A)

    ✓ Sources checked September 29, 2026

13. If your eviction case is dismissed, the court will erase the record from public view automatically 30 days later. If your landlord takes a nonsuit (drops the case) instead, the court will erase the record automatically 6 months later. Both only happen if no order let your landlord take the home back.

    Code of Virginia § 8.01-130.01(A)

    ✓ Sources checked September 29, 2026

14. If you win your case at a hearing, the record is not erased automatically. You must ask the court to erase it yourself, using a petition (a written request).

    Code of Virginia § 8.01-130.01(A)

    ✓ Sources checked September 29, 2026

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