9 Things a Virginia Landlord Can’t Legally Do to Renters in 2026

Your landlord has a copy of your keys.

But that doesn’t mean they can change the locks whenever they’d like.

These are the things a Virginia landlord can’t legally do to renters in 2026.

Note: This is general information, not legal advice. Rental rules and notice periods are subject to change, so confirm the current requirements with the Virginia Department of Housing and Community Development.

1. Changing the Locks

A landlord’s keys don’t buy the right to swap the locks or block a tenant’s way back in, not over late rent and not over a heated dispute.

Virginia law allows exactly one route back into a unit: A court order for possession, never a locksmith visit.

A tenant locked out anyway can take the landlord to court over it, no matter how far behind the rent runs.

Any eviction still has to go through a formal unlawful detainer filing in general district court.

Court comes first, every time.

2. Cutting the Utilities

Shutting off the heat, water, or electricity to push out a tenant isn’t a shortcut a landlord gets to take, even a tenant who’s stopped paying rent.

Utilities aren’t leverage.

The same law that bans a lockout also bans a willful cutoff of essential services.

Killing power to make a unit unlivable counts as retaking it without a court’s say-so.

A tenant who loses heat or water this way has the same path to court as one facing a lockout.

3. Skipping the 14-Day Notice

Before an eviction over unpaid rent can start, a landlord has to send written notice and let a waiting period run first.

That waiting period runs 14 days now, nearly three times the five days state law allowed before July 1, 2026.

It isn’t five days anymore.

The notice has to say two things plainly: That the rent hasn’t been paid, and that the lease ends if it isn’t paid within that 14-day window.

A landlord who files before that 14-day window closes is filing too soon in general district court.

4. Walking in Without Notice

A key doesn’t add up to standing permission for a landlord to walk into an occupied unit whenever the mood strikes.

Routine, non-emergency work needs 72 hours‘ written notice, and the work itself has to happen within 14 days of that notice.

A tenant who calls in the repair request skips that notice requirement, and an emergency, like a burst pipe, skips it too.

The 72 hours don’t bend.

5. Pocketing a Bigger Deposit

A landlord’s ask for a security deposit can’t top two months‘ rent, whatever the unit or the applicant’s credit file looks like.

That cap applies only to the deposit.

The money collected can only go toward unpaid rent, damage beyond normal wear and tear, or a charge the lease spells out in writing.

No credit file buys exceptions.

A lease asking for three months up front, on a $1,500-a-month apartment, is asking for $1,500 more than state law allows.

6. Holding the Deposit Too Long

Once a tenant moves out, a landlord has exactly 45 days to send back the security deposit or account for it in writing.

The paperwork has to be itemized, spelling out every deduction alongside whatever’s left of the deposit.

That window never stretches.

A landlord who misses that window hands the tenant strong grounds to fight for the money in court, itemized list or not.

7. Charging Runaway Late Fees

A tenant paying a few days behind doesn’t hand a landlord a blank check for late fees.

The fee is capped at 10% of the monthly rent or 10% of what’s still owed, whichever number is smaller.

No lease sets it higher.

On a $1,500-a-month lease, that 10% cap works out to $150, not the flat $75 or $100 fee some leases still print.

Without a written late-fee clause in the lease in the first place, there’s no legal late fee at all.

8. Billing You for Repairs

Ordinary repairs stay a landlord’s bill to pay, not a charge that lands on a tenant who didn’t cause the problem.

Ordinary wear isn’t billable.

State law blocks a landlord from charging a repair or maintenance fee unless the tenant’s violation created the need for it.

A leaky faucet or a dying furnace falls squarely in that category.

A hole punched in the drywall during a party is a different story, and that repair cost can land on the tenant instead.

9. Punishing You for Speaking Up

Reporting a code violation or joining a tenants’ group can’t cost a renter a rent hike, a service cutback, or an eviction filing from a landlord.

State law calls this retaliation, and it also covers a tenant who testifies in a case against the landlord.

Retaliation becomes illegal the moment the landlord knows about the protected complaint.

Complaints are protected.

Speaking up isn’t supposed to cost a renter their lease, and a court can undo a retaliatory eviction once the pattern is clear.

Fair Housing Rules Beyond the Basics

A landlord answers to more than the federal Fair Housing Act.

Race, religion, disability, and familial status are protected everywhere in the country, and Virginia adds several classes on top of those.

The list runs longer.

A landlord can’t turn someone away just for paying rent with a source of funds like a housing voucher or another lawful subsidy.

Age 55 and older, sexual orientation, gender identity, and military status round out the state’s extra protected classes.