What is there to know about terminating a lease when tenants don’t pay rent on time, or at all, in Virginia? Virginia law provides options and a process.
In Virginia, can a landlord terminate the lease? Maybe. “Maybe?!” Not “yes, of course?” Well, there’s a process for terminating a residential lease when tenants are paying rent late or not paying rent at all. Termination of the lease is not automatic.
What does that mean? First, a landlord can not simply terminate a lease. There is no on-the-spot sole-descretion opportunity for landlords to terminate the residential lease and then kick out the tenant. To a property owner, this may seem unfair. After all, shoudn’t property owners be able to remove other people (tenants) from their homes? To a tenant, this can provide some protection. There can be circumstances, after all, not caused by tenants that impede timely payment. After hitting the Submit button, technology can fail and funds don’t transfer. Family emergencies arise that distract. Our big fingers push the wrong tiny number key as we try to pay via an app on our phones. Things happen. These are not suggested excuses for tenants by the way – late rent is still late rent.
So, there’s a process for terminating a lease when tenants don’t pay rent on time or when they don’t pay at all. And that process is in place by Virginia law to help landlords and tenants work together.
What Does Virginia Law Require?
Virginia law states that rent must be received by the beginning of the month. That means rent is due by the first day of the month. THE FIRST DAY. Although, landlords and tenants can agrree on a different payment schedule and that must be noted in the lease. When rent is received on the 2nd day or later, it is late. When tenants are late with rent payments, they are in breach of the lease (it is a binding contract). Under this circumstance, a landlord can issue a Notice to the tenant that the lease will be terminated. But… Virginia law permits tenants to pay all due amounts (e.g., late rent, fees, etc) within 14 days of receiving that Notice in order to avoid termination of the lease. Virginia law requires the Notice to inform tenants of the dollar amount and that they have this 14-day payment period. If the tenant doesn’t pay all due amounts stated in the Notice within this 14-day period, then the landlord may terminate the lease.
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