Laws & Regulations

Virginia Landlord-Tenant Law Changes Coming in 2027

Virginia rental owners do not need to wait for the 2027 General Assembly session to start preparing for next year's landlord-tenant law changes. Several of the 2026 Virginia landlord-tenant law changes are already scheduled to take effect in two waves, on January 1 and July 1...

Virginia Tenant Record Requests: What Landlords Must Provide

Virginia tenants already have the right to request copies of their tenant records. Starting July 1, 2027, Virginia adds a more specific accounting requirement for many landlords: when a tenant makes a written request for tenant records, the landlord must provide a written stateme...

Virginia Landlord-Tenant Law Changes in 2026

Virginia rental law changed in several important ways during the 2026 legislative cycle. Some changes are already affecting leases, notices, maintenance, and court procedures. Others were enacted in 2026 but do not take effect until 2027.For Richmond-area rental owners, this annu...

Virginia’s Expanded Landlord Retaliation Protections

Virginia is expanding its landlord retaliation statute on January 1, 2027. The change does not create a new retaliation rule from scratch. Virginia Code § 55.1-1258 already prohibits specified retaliatory conduct. The 2027 version broadens the protected tenant activities, gi...

Richmond City Rental Inspection Program: What Landlords Need to Know

Richmond City now has a residential rental inspection framework, but that does not mean every rental property in the city is subject to routine municipal inspections. City Council adopted Ordinance 2025-161 by a 9-0 vote on November 10, 2025. The ordinance created the Residential...

Self-Managing Landlord Protections in Richmond, VA: What You Need in Place

PMI James River generally recommends professional management as the stronger operating choice for rental owners, especially accidental, first-time, remote, or time-constrained landlords. A rental can be a sound long-term investment without requiring the owner to personally handle...

Smoke & CO Alarm Placement Checklist for Virginia Rentals

This checklist gives Virginia rental owners a practical way to inspect, place, test, replace, and document smoke and carbon monoxide alarms. It is designed to answer the operating question: what should an owner or property manager check, room by room, so the alarm record is usefu...

15 Costly Landlord Mistakes That Look Deceptively Simple in Richmond, VA

Rental real estate can be a powerful long-term wealth-building tool. Owners can influence the property in ways that are unusually tangible: price, condition, financing, lease structure, maintenance, resident selection, reserves, and holding period all matter. That control is one ...

Richmond City Eviction Process for Landlords: Court Filing and Sheriff Steps

Virginia law controls the legal grounds, notices, court deadlines, appeal rights, and writ rules for an eviction. But when the rental property is inside Richmond City, the case also has to move through Richmond City General District Court and, if possession is ultimately enforced...

The Virginia Smoke Alarm Gray Area: Why § 55.1-1220 Creates Legal Confusion

Virginia law does create a smoke-alarm question for older rental homes, but the gray area is narrower than it first appears. Virginia Code § 55.1-1220 requires landlords to comply with applicable building and housing codes that materially affect health and safety. The diffic...