Can a tenant withhold rent for repairs in Virginia?

In Virginia, a tenant may file a tenant’s assertion in the general district court when the landlord, after written notice from the tenant or a violation or condemnation notice from a state or local agency, refused or failed to remedy a material noncompliance or a serious threat to life, health or safety, and the tenant must pay the rent into court within five days of each date it is due. More than 30 days from the landlord’s receipt of the notice is presumed to be an unreasonable delay. The landlord has a defense if the conditions do not exist, have been remedied, were caused by the tenant, the tenant’s family, guest or invitee, or the tenant unreasonably refused the landlord entry to correct them. The court may terminate the rental agreement, continue the escrow until the conditions are remedied, abate the rent, or release escrowed money to pay for repairs, and if the condition is not remedied within six months of the escrow account being established and the landlord has not made reasonable attempts, the court must award all money in escrow to the tenant. The initial hearing must be held within 15 calendar days of service on the landlord, or earlier where emergency conditions such as no heat in winter are alleged. Repair-and-deduct is a different remedy with its own rules. This is Va. Code § 55.1-1244.

WhatVirginia
Rent withholdingPay rent into court escrow after written notice
How it worksThe rent is paid into court or an escrow account instead

What the statute says

“The tenant has paid into court the amount of rent called for under the rental agreement, within five days of the date due under the rental agreement, unless or until such amount is modified by subsequent order of the court …”

Quoted word for word from the section’s text.

Source

Va. Code § 55.1-1244

Read the statute in the Code of Virginia (Virginia General Assembly): law.lis.virginia.gov.

Checked against the statute on November 15, 2026.

This is a summary of a published statute, not legal advice. Rules change, local ordinances can add to them, and the terms of a specific lease may differ. Check the citation and speak to a lawyer before acting.

How Seayora uses this rule

Every deadline on this page runs from the tenant’s notice. A repair request filed in Seayora keeps the date it was made and every update after it, on the website and both phone apps, so owner and tenant are working from the same date.

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