Repair questions are where Richmond rental relationships get tested. A tenant calls about a leaking faucet, an HVAC system shorts out the week of a heat wave, gutters fill up after a storm. The first question every owner asks is "do I pay for this, or do they?"
The Virginia answer is set by two sections of the Virginia Residential Landlord and Tenant Act (VRLTA): Va. Code § 55.1-1220 lists the landlord's duties, and Va. Code § 55.1-1227 lists the tenant's duties. The lease can shift some of the load, but not all of it. For a wider view of how these duties fit together, see our overview of Virginia landlord maintenance duties. Owners in Richmond City, Henrico, Chesterfield, and Hanover all work from the same statutory baseline.
This post walks through what the statute pins on each side, what your lease can move under § 55.1-1220(D), and where most disputes actually land.
Key Takeaways
- The landlord cannot contract out of duties like building code compliance, fit-and-habitable condition, major systems maintenance, mold response, or smoke alarm certification.
- The tenant always has duties under § 55.1-1227, including cleanliness, reasonable use, prompt notification, and no damage to the premises.
- Va. Code § 55.1-1220(D) allows the lease to assign some duties to the tenant in writing, in good faith, for specified tasks only.
- Damage from tenant negligence or destruction shifts the cost to the tenant under § 55.1-1227(A)(7), and tenant delay in reporting can add to that bill.
- For Richmond rentals built before 1978, federal lead paint disclosure rules trigger additional restrictions on tenant alterations.
In This Guide
- What Virginia Law Requires the Landlord to Maintain
- What Virginia Law Requires the Tenant to Maintain
- What the Lease Can Shift, and What It Cannot
- Common Gray Areas in Richmond Rentals
- When Things Go Wrong: Allocating Repair Costs
What Virginia Law Requires the Landlord to Maintain
Va. Code § 55.1-1220 lists eight duties under subsection A that fall on the landlord. Read the full text of § 55.1-1220 if you want the statute in front of you.
Code Compliance and Habitability
The landlord must comply with building and housing codes that materially affect health and safety (A1) and make all repairs necessary to keep the premises fit and habitable (A2). If the building code imposes a higher duty than any other listed duty, the code wins under § 55.1-1220(C).
Major Systems
Electrical, plumbing, sanitary, heating, ventilation, air-conditioning, and "other facilities and appliances, including elevators" go to the landlord under A4. The statute uses "good and safe working order and condition" as the standard. This is not a duty the lease can move to the tenant.
Common Areas, Garbage, and Utilities
In multifamily buildings, common areas shared by two or more units must stay clean and structurally safe (A3). The landlord provides receptacles for trash and arranges for removal (A6). Running water, reasonable hot water, heat in season, and AC if provided are landlord duties (A7), unless the unit's systems are physically separated and within the tenant's exclusive control.
Mold
Subsection A5 requires the landlord to maintain conditions that prevent moisture and mold growth, and to respond promptly to tenant notices. Where visible mold exists, the landlord must remediate to professional standards, reinspect, and provide the tenant with a remediation summary. The tenant has a parallel notification duty discussed below.
Smoke Alarm Certification
The landlord must give the tenant a certificate stating all smoke alarms are present, inspected, and in good working order, no more than once every 12 months (A8). The inspection can be done by the landlord, an employee, or an independent contractor. Tenants cannot tamper with a properly functioning alarm.
What Virginia Law Requires the Tenant to Maintain
Va. Code § 55.1-1227 sets 15 numbered tenant duties under subsection A. Read the full text of § 55.1-1227. For a resident-facing view of the same rules, our companion post on tenant maintenance responsibilities covers the practical side.
Cleanliness and Reasonable Use
The tenant must keep the occupied dwelling unit and premises clean and safe (A2), keep plumbing fixtures clean (A5), and use utilities and systems in a reasonable manner (A6). Reasonable manner is what separates normal use from the kind of use that voids the landlord's maintenance duty on a damaged appliance.
Pests, Notification, and Financial Liability
Tenants must keep their occupied area free from insects and pests and promptly notify the landlord of any infestation (A3). Under A14, the tenant is financially responsible for the added cost of treatment caused by unreasonable delay in reporting, and for the full cost where the tenant's own fault caused the infestation in their occupied area. The "landlord always pays for pest control" idea is wrong in Virginia.
No Damage, No Tampering
The tenant cannot deliberately or negligently destroy, deface, damage, or remove any part of the premises (A7). The tenant cannot tamper with a properly functioning smoke alarm (A8) or carbon monoxide alarm (A9), and must maintain both per the Statewide Fire Prevention Code (§ 27-94 et seq.).
Mold Notification and Prevention
Under A10, the tenant must use reasonable efforts to prevent moisture and mold in occupied areas, and must promptly notify the landlord of any moisture accumulation or visible mold discovered. The landlord's remediation duty under § 55.1-1220(A)(5) depends on this notification. Documentation of when the notice was given and received matters; our breakdown of access and notice in Virginia rentals covers the records side of this.
Lead Paint and Animals
For pre-1978 buildings where lead-based paint disclosures have been provided, the tenant cannot paint or disturb painted surfaces without prior written landlord approval (A11). Tenants are also responsible under A15 for preventing dogs and other animals from causing personal injuries or property damage.
What the Lease Can Shift, and What It Cannot
This is the section most explainers skip. Va. Code § 55.1-1220(D) creates a narrow window for the lease to move certain landlord duties to the tenant. The window has three conditions: the agreement must be in writing, it must be in good faith, and it must not be a sham to evade the landlord's obligations to other tenants in the premises.
The duties the lease can assign to the tenant under D are: common area maintenance in multifamily (A3), waste receptacle duties (A6), and water, heat, or AC supply duties where the systems are within the tenant's exclusive control (A7). Beyond that, the lease can also assign "specified repairs, maintenance tasks, alterations, and remodeling" to the tenant. This is the legal basis for lease provisions where the tenant handles yard work, filter changes, gutter cleaning, or small repairs.
What the lease cannot move to the tenant: building code compliance (A1), the duty to make the premises fit and habitable (A2), major systems maintenance (A4), mold response (A5), or the annual smoke alarm certificate (A8). Owners who try to draft around these usually end up with provisions a court will not enforce.
Practical example. A lease provision saying "tenant maintains lawn and shrubs" is enforceable under D as a specified maintenance task. A provision saying "tenant maintains the HVAC system" runs into A4 and will not move the landlord's underlying duty. The most an owner can shift on HVAC is filter changes and reasonable use, which the tenant already owes under A6.
Common Gray Areas in Richmond Rentals
The statute is clear on the big items. The disputes happen at the edges. Here is how the most common gray areas land for Richmond owners.
Yard Work, Gutters, and Snow Removal
Silent leases default the landlord to fit-and-habitable duty under A2, which sweeps in yard conditions that affect habitability. Most Richmond owners assign basic lawn care to the tenant via § 55.1-1220(D); see our post on gardening and yard work duties for typical lease language. Gutter cleaning is structural and usually stays with the landlord. Snow removal in Richmond City is governed by local sidewalk ordinances on the property owner and is poorly suited to tenant assignment without specific lease language.
HVAC Filter Changes
The system itself is landlord (A4). Filter changes are a reasonable-use duty the tenant already owes under § 55.1-1227(A)(6), and most leases make this explicit. When a tenant skips filter changes for a year and the unit fails, the cost allocation flips: failure to use the system in a reasonable manner under A6, plus the no-damage standard under A7.
Lead Paint in Pre-1978 Housing
Much of Richmond City's rental stock predates 1978. Brick rowhouses in Church Hill and Manchester overwhelmingly do. For any unit constructed before 1978, federal disclosure rules apply: owners must provide the EPA pamphlet "Protect Your Family From Lead in Your Home" and a signed lead-based paint disclosure form before lease signing. Once those disclosures are in place, Va. Code § 55.1-1227(A)(11) blocks tenants from painting, disturbing painted surfaces, or making alterations without prior written landlord approval. This is one of the few places where the construction era of the property changes what the lease can enforce. Richmond owners with older inventory should confirm their disclosures are on file for every tenancy, and the lease provision tracking § 55.1-1227(A)(11) is what gives the disclosure teeth at the operational level.
Pest Source Disputes
Pre-existing or structural-source infestations stay with the landlord under A2 (habitability). Tenant-caused or tenant-delayed infestations shift under § 55.1-1227(A)(14). The factual question of who caused it, how long it went unreported, and what the source was is what gets these disputes resolved.
When Things Go Wrong: Allocating Repair Costs
The default rule is straightforward. If the landlord's maintenance failure proximately causes tenant damage, the landlord is liable for actual damages, judged against an ordinary care standard under § 55.1-1220(B). If the tenant's negligence, delay, or destruction caused the damage, the cost shifts to the tenant under § 55.1-1227(A)(7) and the relevant subsections covering pests, mold, and tampering.
The harder calls happen in the middle: a tenant who reports a leak late, a landlord who delayed a repair after notice, a system that failed under both unusual weather and a missed maintenance cycle. The lease, the notification records, and the documentation around the work order usually decide these.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can my lease require the tenant to fix all repairs under $100?
Within limits. Va. Code § 55.1-1220(D) allows the lease to assign specified repairs in good faith, but you cannot use a dollar threshold to push fit-and-habitable obligations (A2) or major systems duties (A4) onto the tenant. A clause like "tenant handles all repairs under $100" gets read narrowly against the landlord. Specific assignments work better: "tenant replaces interior light bulbs," "tenant changes HVAC filters monthly," and so on.
Who pays for HVAC repair in a Richmond rental?
The landlord maintains the system under § 55.1-1220(A)(4). The tenant pays when damage stems from negligence or unreasonable use under § 55.1-1227(A)(6) and (A)(7). The most common case is a tenant who misses filter changes for months, the system fails, and the landlord is left with a repair bill that should partly land on the tenant under the reasonable-use standard. Documentation matters.
Is the tenant responsible for the lawn in a Richmond rental?
Not by default. If the lease is silent, lawn care falls under the landlord's habitability duty (A2) to the extent yard conditions affect the property. Most Richmond owners assign basic lawn care to the tenant in writing under § 55.1-1220(D). Single-family rentals in Henrico and Chesterfield make this assignment more often than multifamily duplexes in Richmond City.
What happens if the tenant fails to report a leak?
The tenant has a notification duty under § 55.1-1227(A)(10) for moisture and mold, and under A3 for pests. The pest statute explicitly puts the added cost of delayed reporting on the tenant under A14. The same logic applies to delayed water or HVAC notification: the landlord pays for the underlying repair, the tenant pays for the avoidable additional damage caused by their delay.
Do I need to handle lead paint disclosures for my older Richmond rental?
If the building was constructed before 1978, yes. Federal law requires the landlord to provide the EPA's lead paint pamphlet and a signed disclosure form before the lease is signed. Once those are in place, the tenant cannot paint or disturb painted surfaces without your written approval under § 55.1-1227(A)(11). Richmond City rental stock is heavily pre-1978, and missing this step is a common compliance gap.
Can a tenant withhold rent for a repair the landlord will not make?
Not unilaterally. The VRLTA has separate procedures for tenant remedies when the landlord fails to maintain, including escrow procedures and repair-and-deduct rights for specific defects. Self-help rent withholding outside of those procedures usually creates a separate eviction issue. The remedies live in §§ 55.1-1234 through 55.1-1244, and an owner facing a withholding claim should respond through the right procedure rather than ignoring it.
Conclusion
The Virginia statute sets the floor on repair duties. The lease handles the rest. Owners who put specific repair allocations in writing, with the § 55.1-1220(D) limits in mind, have far fewer disputes and clearer cost allocation when something does go wrong.
Get the Right Lease Language for Your Richmond Rental
Drafting a lease that allocates repair duties correctly takes more than a template. At PMI James River, we work with Richmond, Henrico, Chesterfield, and Hanover owners to put statutory baselines and lease-shifted duties on the same page, with documentation that holds up when a dispute happens. If your current lease is silent on the gray areas, that is where most of the cost ends up.
Schedule a free rental analysis or learn more about our Richmond property management services to talk through your lease.
