THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, May 11, 1996 TAG: 9605090297
SECTION: REAL ESTATE WEEKLY PAGE: 14 EDITION: FINAL
COLUMN: LANDLORDS & TENANTS
SOURCE: Greg McCracken
LENGTH: Medium: 62 lines
I have received numerous questions and comments about the Virginia Residential Landlord and Tenant Act. You can find the VRLTA in Vol. 8 of the Code of Virginia. It begins at Sec. 55-248.2 and runs through Sec. 55-248.40. It was approved by the General Assembly in 1974 and applies to rental agreements, oral or written, entered into after July 1, 1974.
According to the legislature, the purpose of the VRLTA is to ``(i) simplify, clarify, modernize and revise the law governing the rental of dwelling units and the rights and obligations of landlords and tenants; (ii) encourage landlords and tenants to maintain and improve the quality of housing; and (iii) to establish a single body of law relating to landlord and tenant regulations throughout the Commonwealth.''
If you want to look at it, you should be able to find a complete copy of the Code of Virginia at your local public library.
Most of the questions and comments we have received are about when the VRLTA applies. Well, that depends (legalese for ``more than one possible answer''). The scope of the VRLTA is defined in Section 55-248.5, which contains 10 exemptions.
The most commonly encountered exemption is in subparagraph 10. Under subparagraph 10, if you are a natural person (a warm body and not a corporation or some other being created by law) and own more than 10 residential rental properties, the VRLTA applies to your leases.
Now it gets complicated. If you live in a city or county with an urban county executive form or county manager plan of government, you only need to own more than four properties for the VRLTA to apply.
The question is, if you are a natural person, is your cutoff point 10 or four properties, i.e., does the second part about living in a city or county apply across the board, including ``natural persons''?
The way the statute is written, there is room to argue either way. However, the safe bet is four properties if you are in a city. Finally, even if you are not subject to the VRLTA, you can choose to have it apply by saying so in the lease.
Now, if the VRLTA does not apply to your situation, you are not out in the cold. There remains the common law, which also governs residential landlord-tenant relationships. The common law comprises court decisions that have been handed down over the years. (That's what's in all those books you see on lawyers' shelves in TV shows and movies.)
However, if your lease is not governed by the VRLTA and you have a problem, you should still look at this section of the code because it provides a starting point to understanding the duties and responsibilities of the parties and the remedies available if somebody doesn't hold up his end of the bargain.
Most sections of the VRLTA have notes after them, which are helpful in finding further information (common law) on specific issues. MEMO: Greg McCracken is a Virginia Beach lawyer. Send questions to him at 4705
Columbus St., Virginia Beach, Va. 23462-6749. The fax number is
552-6016; e-mail, hpmv(AT)livnet.com
by CNB