Fredericksburg, VA asked in Contracts and Landlord - Tenant for Virginia

Q: Which circumstances can a landlord raise rent during a 6month VA residential lease?

of note - per line 13 in Rental lease agreement, "the landlord may increase the rent for the property upon providing to the tenant such notice as required by the Act" end of sentence.

Can the landlord raise the rent with the above information? Should the tenants not agree to the asked increase in rent, can the landlord issue an eviction?

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1 Lawyer Answer
F. Paul Maloof
F. Paul Maloof
Answered
  • Landlord Tenant Lawyer
  • Alexandria, VA
  • Licensed in Virginia

A: The meaning of "notice" as defined by the Virginia Residential Landlord and Tenant Act is found in VA Code Section 55.1-1200 and states as follows:

"Notice" means notice given in writing by either regular mail or hand delivery, with the sender retaining sufficient proof of having given such notice in the form of a certificate of service confirming such mailing prepared by the sender. However, a person shall be deemed to have notice of a fact if he has actual knowledge of it, he has received a verbal notice of it, or, from all of the facts and circumstances known to him at the time in question, he has reason to know it exists. A person "notifies" or "gives" a notice or notification to another by taking steps reasonably calculated to inform another person, whether or not the other person actually comes to know of it. If notice is given that is not in writing, the person giving the notice has the burden of proof to show that the notice was given to the recipient of the notice.

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