Virginia landlord friendliness

[Justin Kramp]

Looking to jump into the game here in Virginia soon.

From your experiences, how landlord friendly is Virginia for you? Please give some personal experiences and anecdotes.

Looking for info on realistic eviction processes, rent increases, rezoning and adding second property (aka converting a detached building into a second dwelling), late payments, etc.

I understand currently it’s a weird time with moratoriums but looking for general advice and experiences pre-pandemic and what to expect coming out of it in the next few years.

Thanks in advance!

[Patti Robertson]

You don't have your profile filled in so it's hard to know what experience your questions are relative to.  Compared to NYC Virginia is very landlord friendly. Compared to TX or KS, Virginia is very tenant friendly.  We are less landlord friendly than we were 5 years ago.  We used to be able to get a tenant out in 6 weeks, so a 2 month security deposit put a landlord in a pretty safe position.  We used to have a 5 day pay or quit, and now it's 14.  Landlords who own 4 more more properties now need to offer the tenant a payment plan (the shorter of 6 month or through the duration of the lease) before filing an unlawful detainer.  None of the cities I property manage and landlord in (Hampton Roads) have rent controls, so any rent increases are determined by agreement of the landlord and tenant (exception for SEC 8.)  In no area can you just build a second structure and make it a living unit unless you are zoned in an area that allows for multiple structures on the same lot.  Late fees used to be anything the tenant and landlord agreed to in the lease, but now they are capped at the lesser of 10% of the amount due or the rent amount.  I think that answered all of your questions.