Landlord entry and privacy
When your landlord can come in, and how to document it when they do.
Awaiting attorney review
This playbook is written and sourced, but a qualified Virginia reviewer has not signed off on it yet. Use it to understand the landscape and to prepare, not as a legal conclusion, a deadline, or a remedy.
Virginia limits landlord entry and generally requires notice, except in emergencies. Keep a dated log, because a pattern is what makes this visible.
What the law says
- Virginia limits when a landlord may enter a rental you occupy, and generally requires notice except in emergencies. Your lease may add terms on top of the statute.
- Patterns matter. One unannounced visit is a dispute; repeated visits you logged with dates and times is evidence.
- You do not have to hand over a key or allow entry at any hour the landlord chooses, but refusing entry in an emergency is a separate problem; get advice rather than improvising.
Steps tenants usually take
- 01Start a simple log of entries and notices, with dates and times.
- 02Ask the landlord in writing to give notice before entering, except in emergencies.
- 03Photograph anything that was moved, damaged or removed during an entry.
- 04Ask legal aid whether the pattern you documented meets the standard in the statute.
Do not skip these
- Do not refuse entry during a genuine emergency, and do not change the locks yourself without advice; both can create bigger problems than the one you are solving.