What can a landlord do with a tenant’s belongings left behind in Virginia?

In Virginia, property left after the rental agreement has terminated and possession has been delivered may be treated as abandoned and disposed of only after the landlord has given written notice stating it will be disposed of within 24 hours after the termination, after the seven-day abandonment notice period, or after a 10-day period from a separate notice. The tenant may remove the property at reasonable times during the 24-hour period after termination or until the landlord has disposed of it, and a landlord who refuses reasonable access exposes itself to injunctive or other relief. Funds from any sale go to the tenant’s account and are applied to amounts the tenant owes, including reasonable costs of selling, storing or safekeeping, and any remainder is treated as a security deposit. When the landlord cannot tell whether the premises have been abandoned, the landlord serves a written notice requiring the tenant to say within seven days that the tenant intends to remain, and without a response the premises are presumed abandoned when the seven days run. After an eviction, the sheriff oversees placing the property in the public way, or at the landlord’s request in a storage area the landlord designates; the tenant may remove it during the 24 hours after eviction, and the landlord may then dispose of what remains, with any sale proceeds applied and any surplus treated as a security deposit. This is Va. Code §§ 55.1-1254, 55.1-1249, 55.1-1255.

WhatVirginia
Belongings left behindWritten notice, then disposal 24 hours after it runs
What the statute requires firstNotice, a waiting period or storage before disposal

What the statute says

“… a separate written notice to the tenant, including a statement that any items of personal property left in the dwelling unit, the premises, or the storage area would be disposed of within 24 hours after expiration of a 10-day period …”

Quoted word for word from the section’s text.

Source

Va. Code §§ 55.1-1254, 55.1-1249, 55.1-1255

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

Seayora keeps a lease’s end date and every notice sent through it, with the date it went out, in the lease record — so the dates a rule like this one counts from are on file rather than remembered.

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