On July 1, 2026, Virginia nearly tripled the notice a landlord must give before evicting for nonpayment: the famous 5-day pay-or-quit under Va. Code § 55.1-1245(F) became a 14-day pay-or-quit (HB 15 / SB 48, 2026 session). The change is barely five weeks old, and most Virginia eviction guides, notice templates, and even some attorney checklists on the web still say five days. Following them now doesn't just slow your case down — it gets it dismissed.
This is general information for landlords, not legal advice, and BuildMyLease does not prepare eviction notices or court filings. The statute is freshly amended and court practice is still settling — confirm the current rule with a Virginia landlord-tenant attorney before serving or filing.
What exactly changed
Before July 1, 2026, a Virginia landlord could serve a 5-day notice demanding rent, and file an unlawful detainer on day six if the tenant hadn't paid. Under the amended § 55.1-1245(F), that window is now 14 days: the notice must give the tenant 14 days to pay everything owed or vacate, and only after the 14th day can the landlord file.
The cure right works the way it always has, just with more runway — payment in full within the 14 days defeats the notice and the tenancy continues. Virginia's is a true pay-or-quit notice: an alternative demand, not a formality on the way to court.
Who's affected
Every residential landlord in Virginia, for every nonpayment eviction where the notice is served on or after July 1, 2026. There is no small-landlord carve-out on the notice period, and you can't contract around it — the notice requirement is not waivable by lease clause. Virginia is also a Dillon Rule state, so there are no city- or county-level overlays to track: the statewide rule is the whole rule.
If your property is CARES Act-covered (federally backed financing or certain federal programs), the federal 30-day notice still applies on top of state law — that overlay didn't change.
The trap: a 5-day notice served after July 1 is void
This is the part that will catch landlords for the next year or two. A 5-day notice served on or after July 1, 2026 is ineffective — it doesn't start any clock, and an unlawful detainer filed on it is subject to dismissal. You lose the filing fee, the weeks of waiting, and you start over with a fresh 14-day notice while the arrears grow.
The stale-template problem makes this worse than a normal law change. "5-day pay or quit Virginia" has been the standard answer for decades; printed notice forms, property-manager checklists, and most search results still say it. If your notice form has a "5" on it, it's now a dismissal machine.
The compliant Virginia notice ladder, as of July 2026
- Nonpayment of rent: written 14-day pay-or-quit (§ 55.1-1245(F)). Pay in full within 14 days → tenancy continues. No payment → unlawful detainer in general district court.
- Non-rent lease violations: the 21/30 notice (§ 55.1-1245(A)) — 21 days to remedy the breach, lease terminates in 30 if it isn't remedied. This ladder didn't change.
- After filing: the tenant retains a right of redemption (§ 55.1-1250) — paying what's owed can still end the case even after the unlawful detainer is on the docket.
The payment-plan duty for larger landlords
If you own more than four rental units (or more than a 10% interest in more than four), § 55.1-1245(G) adds a step before court: for a tenant who owes one month of rent or less, you must offer a written payment plan before proceeding. Small landlords are exempt from this subsection — but not from the 14-day notice itself.
Common mistakes
Serving the old 5-day notice. The headline mistake. Any nonpayment notice served on or after July 1, 2026 must give 14 days, or the case is dismissed.
Counting 14 days and filing on day 14. The tenant has the full 14 days to pay. File after the period expires, not on it.
Assuming a lease clause restores the 5-day window. It doesn't — the notice requirement isn't waivable.
Skipping the payment-plan offer at 5+ units. For arrears of a month or less, § 55.1-1245(G) makes the written payment-plan offer a precondition, and it's easy to miss because it doesn't apply to smaller portfolios.
Forgetting the CARES overlay. On covered properties the federal 30-day notice governs the timeline regardless of the new state minimum.
What this means for your lease
The notice period is statutory, but the lease still decides most of what the notice fights over: when rent is late, what late fees are owed with what grace period, and how notices are delivered. A lease drafted against the old 5-day regime is worth rereading now. Build a compliant Virginia residential lease agreement — $29 one-time, generated in minutes, current to the 2026 rules.
For the cross-state view, see how Virginia's new 14 days compares with all 20 states we cover on the eviction notice laws by state reference — pay-or-quit deadlines, cure rights, and filing courts side by side.
Statutory references
- Va. Code § 55.1-1245(F) — 14-day pay-or-quit for nonpayment (as amended by HB 15 / SB 48, 2026 session, eff. July 1, 2026; previously 5 days). Official text
- Va. Code § 55.1-1245(A) — 21-day remedy / 30-day termination notice for non-rent breaches.
- Va. Code § 55.1-1245(G) — written payment-plan offer required of landlords with more than four units for arrears ≤ 1 month.
- Va. Code § 55.1-1250 — tenant's right of redemption after filing.
- 15 U.S.C. § 9058(c) — CARES Act 30-day notice for covered properties.