Virginia Mold, Pests, Heat & AC Rules
Virginia rules on mold, pests, heat & ac for renters and landlords, with the statute or official page behind each answer. Last verified: 2026-10-22.
Short answer: Yes — detailed statute. Disclosure: the move-in inspection report must state whether there is visible evidence of mold in readily accessible interior areas; Va. Code § 55.1-1215; § 55.1-1220(A)(5); § 55.1-1227(A)(10); § 55.1-1231
The rules in Virginia
| Mold | Yes — detailed statute. Disclosure: the move-in inspection report must state whether there is visible evidence of mold in readily accessible interior areas; a 'no visible mold' statement is deemed correct unless the tenant objects in writing within 5 days. If mold is disclosed, the tenant may terminate and not take (or keep) possession, or take possession and have the landlord remediate within 5 business days, reinspect and issue a new report. Duty: the landlord must maintain the premises to prevent moisture accumulation and mold growth, respond promptly to tenant notices, and promptly remediate visible mold to professional standards, reinspect, and give the tenant a summary of remediation information. Where mold materially affects health or safety, the landlord may relocate the tenant for up to 30 days to a comparable unit or hotel at no cost to the tenant (rent continues). Tenants must use reasonable efforts to prevent moisture and mold and promptly report it. Disclosure text: https://law.lis.virginia.gov/vacode/title55.1/chapter12/section55.1-1215/. After proper remediation the landlord need not disclose past mold to later tenants. |
|---|---|
| Pests & bed bugs | The landlord's general duty to keep the premises fit and habitable and to comply with housing codes applies. The tenant must keep the part of the unit the tenant occupies free from insects and pests and promptly notify the landlord of them, and is financially responsible for added treatment costs caused by unreasonable delay in reporting and for treatment costs caused by the tenant's fault in failing to prevent infestation. The landlord must give at least 48 hours' written notice before applying insecticide or pesticide in a unit (unless the tenant requested it or agrees to less), post notice for common-area applications, and the tenant must prepare the unit per the landlord's written instructions. No separate bed-bug disclosure statute. |
| Heat | Yes. The landlord must supply heat in season (unless heat is generated by equipment within the tenant's exclusive control or supplied by a direct public utility connection) and keep heating facilities in good and safe working order. Heat is an 'essential service'; if the landlord willfully or negligently fails to supply it, the tenant may give written notice and, after a reasonable time to correct, pursue statutory remedies (such as damages for reduced rental value). State law sets no minimum temperature or dates for the heating season; local codes may. |
| Air conditioning | No duty to install air conditioning, but if air conditioning is provided the landlord must supply reasonable air conditioning and keep it in good and safe working order. Central air conditioning supplied by the landlord and operating (or represented as operating) when the lease takes effect is an 'essential service' so a willful or negligent failure to supply it triggers the same tenant remedies. State law sets no maximum indoor temperature. |
| Smoke and CO detectors | The landlord must give the tenant a certificate stating that all smoke alarms are present, inspected and in good working order (the statute says no more than once every 12 months). The tenant must not remove or tamper with a working smoke or carbon monoxide alarm installed by the landlord, including removing working batteries, and must maintain the alarms under the state fire prevention and building code standards. On a tenant's written request, the landlord must install a carbon monoxide alarm within 90 days and may charge a reasonable fee for it. |
Related questions
- Does a landlord have to fix mold?
- Who pays for pest control and bed bugs in a rental?
- Does a landlord have to provide heat?
- Does a landlord have to provide air conditioning?
Virginia vs. neighboring states
| State | Mold | Pests & bed bugs | Heat |
|---|---|---|---|
| Virginia | Yes — detailed statute. Disclosure: the move-in inspection report must state whether there is visible evidence of mold in readily accessible interior areas; a 'no visible mold' statement is deemed correct unless the tenant objects in writing within 5 days. If mold is disclosed, the tenant may terminate and not take (or keep) possession, or take possession and have the landlord remediate within 5 business days, reinspect and issue a new report. Duty: the landlord must maintain the premises to prevent moisture accumulation and mold growth, respond promptly to tenant notices, and promptly remediate visible mold to professional standards, reinspect, and give the tenant a summary of remediation information. Where mold materially affects health or safety, the landlord may relocate the tenant for up to 30 days to a comparable unit or hotel at no cost to the tenant (rent continues). Tenants must use reasonable efforts to prevent moisture and mold and promptly report it. Va. Code § 55.1-1215; § 55.1-1220(A)(5); § 55.1-1227(A)(10); § 55.1-1231 | The landlord's general duty to keep the premises fit and habitable and to comply with housing codes applies. The tenant must keep the part of the unit the tenant occupies free from insects and pests and promptly notify the landlord of them, and is financially responsible for added treatment costs caused by unreasonable delay in reporting and for treatment costs caused by the tenant's fault in failing to prevent infestation. The landlord must give at least 48 hours' written notice before applying insecticide or pesticide in a unit (unless the tenant requested it or agrees to less), post notice for common-area applications, and the tenant must prepare the unit per the landlord's written instructions. Va. Code § 55.1-1220(A)(1)-(2); § 55.1-1227(A)(3), (14); § 55.1-1223 | Yes. The landlord must supply heat in season (unless heat is generated by equipment within the tenant's exclusive control or supplied by a direct public utility connection) and keep heating facilities in good and safe working order. Heat is an 'essential service'; if the landlord willfully or negligently fails to supply it, the tenant may give written notice and, after a reasonable time to correct, pursue statutory remedies (such as damages for reduced rental value). State law sets no minimum temperature or dates for the heating season; local codes may. Va. Code § 55.1-1220(A)(4), (7); § 55.1-1200 ('essential service'); § 55.1-1239 |
| Kentucky | No statute — Kentucky has no mold-specific landlord-tenant law. Where the Uniform Residential Landlord and Tenant Act (URLTA) has been locally adopted, mold falls under the landlord's duties to comply with building and housing codes materially affecting health and safety and to do whatever is necessary to keep the premises fit and habitable. Outside URLTA areas, no statewide habitability statute applies; the lease and local codes govern. KRS 383.595(1)(a), (b); KRS 383.500 | No statute — Kentucky does not specifically assign pest or bed-bug treatment and has no bed-bug disclosure rule. In URLTA areas, infestations fall under the landlord's code-compliance and fit-and-habitable duties and the tenant's duty to keep the unit clean and dispose of garbage properly. Elsewhere, the lease and local codes govern. KRS 383.595(1)(a), (b); KRS 383.605(2), (3) | In URLTA areas, yes: the landlord must supply running water, reasonable amounts of hot water at all times, and reasonable heat between October 1 and May 1 — unless the building is not required by law to be so equipped or heat/hot water is produced by equipment under the tenant's exclusive control with a direct utility connection. Heating facilities the landlord supplies must be kept in good and safe working order. No numeric minimum temperature is set. Outside URLTA areas, there is no statewide heat statute. KRS 383.595(1)(d), (e) |
| Maryland | Yes, by statute (Maryland Tenant Mold Protection Act, effective July 1, 2025). Landlords must give each tenant the state mold information pamphlet when the lease is signed and on request, and ask the tenant to sign an acknowledgment. Within 15 days after written notice of mold from the tenant, a building occupant or the local housing-code agency, the landlord must do a mold assessment. If mold is found, the landlord must remediate it within 45 days after the assessment, or within a reasonable time if 45 days isn't feasible. Assessment and remediation must follow industry guidelines and state and local law. The landlord must keep the property properly ventilated with low indoor humidity, communicate with occupants during the work, and meet minimum livability codes. Md. Code, Real Prop. § 8-220; Md. Code, Envir. § 6-1702 (2025 Md. Laws ch. 539, SB 856) | No bed-bug-specific statute. A rodent infestation in two or more units is a listed serious defect: if the landlord fails to fix it within a reasonable time after notice (over 30 days is presumed unreasonable), the tenant may use rent escrow. Other infestations that create a health hazard can also qualify. The state Minimum Livability Code, which adopts the International Property Maintenance Code, applies where no substantially similar local code exists. Md. Code, Real Prop. § 8-211(d)(3), (d)(5), (g); COMAR 09.12.54.03-.04 | Lack of heat is a listed serious defect: if the landlord doesn't fix it within a reasonable time after notice, the tenant can use rent escrow. This does not apply when the tenant pays the utility and the lack of heat is from the tenant's own nonpayment. No state statute sets a minimum temperature. The state Minimum Livability Code adopts the 2012 International Property Maintenance Code, which contains heating standards, for housing in localities without a substantially similar local code. Md. Code, Real Prop. § 8-211(d)(1); COMAR 09.12.54.03-.04 |
| North Carolina | No mold-specific statute, but excessive standing water, sewage, or flooding caused by plumbing leaks or inadequate drainage that contributes to mold is an 'imminently dangerous condition' the landlord must repair within a reasonable time after actual knowledge or notice. The general duty to keep the premises fit and habitable also applies. N.C. Gen. Stat. § 42-42(a)(2), (a)(8)(l) | No bed-bug statute. Rat infestation resulting from structural defects that leave the premises not impervious to rodents is an 'imminently dangerous condition' the landlord must remedy within a reasonable time; drainage problems contributing to mosquito infestation are also listed. The tenant must keep the unit clean and safe, avoid unsanitary conditions in common areas, and dispose of garbage properly. N.C. Gen. Stat. §§ 42-42(a)(2), (a)(8)(k)-(l); 42-43(a)(1)-(2) | Yes. The landlord must keep heating facilities in good and safe working order (after written notice of needed repairs, except emergencies), and lack of operable heating facilities capable of heating living areas to 65°F when it is 20°F outside, from November 1 through March 31, is an imminently dangerous condition requiring prompt repair. N.C. Gen. Stat. § 42-42(a)(4), (a)(8)(h) |
| Tennessee | No statute — Tennessee's landlord-tenant law sets no mold disclosure or remediation rule. In counties covered by the Uniform Residential Landlord and Tenant Act, mold falls under the landlord's general duties to comply with building and housing codes materially affecting health and safety and to make all repairs needed to keep the premises fit and habitable. The tenant must keep the unit as clean and safe as when the tenant took possession. T.C.A. § 66-28-304(a); § 66-28-401 | No statute — no pest or bed-bug provision in the landlord-tenant law. In URLTA counties, infestations fall under the landlord's code-compliance and fit-and-habitable duties; the tenant must keep the unit clean and safe, dispose of garbage properly, and comply with tenant obligations under housing codes. T.C.A. § 66-28-304(a); § 66-28-401(1)-(3) | No minimum temperature or heating season in state law. In URLTA counties, heat is an 'essential service': if the landlord deliberately or negligently fails to supply it, the tenant, after written notice, may procure heat and deduct the actual reasonable cost from rent, recover damages for reduced rental value, or obtain substitute housing (rent excused) and recover its reasonable value plus attorney's fees. The remedy is unavailable if the tenant, family or guests caused the condition. T.C.A. § 66-28-502(a), (c); § 66-28-304(a)(1)-(2) |
| West Virginia | No statute — West Virginia's landlord-tenant law does not mention mold and sets no disclosure or remediation rule. Mold is governed by the general duty to deliver and maintain the unit in a fit and habitable condition, to meet applicable health, safety, fire and housing codes, and to make repairs needed to keep it habitable — unless the problem was caused by the tenant, family or guests' lack of reasonable care. The landlord need not make repairs while the tenant is behind on rent. W. Va. Code § 37-6-30(a)(1)-(2), (4), (c) | No statute — no pest or bed-bug provision in the landlord-tenant chapter. Infestations are handled under the fit-and-habitable duty and applicable health and housing codes; the landlord's duty does not extend to conditions caused by the tenant, family members or guests, or to repairs while rent is in arrears. W. Va. Code § 37-6-30 | Yes. For units served by direct public utility connections, the landlord must supply reasonable heat between October 1 and the last day of April (plus running water and reasonable hot water at all times), unless heat is generated by an installation within the tenant's exclusive control. The landlord must also keep heating facilities it supplies in good and safe working order. No minimum temperature is set by state law. W. Va. Code § 37-6-30(a)(5), (a)(7) |
| District of Columbia | Yes. After written or electronic notice from a tenant that mold or suspected mold exists in the unit or a common area, the property owner must inspect within 7 days and remediate within 30 days of the inspection (unless a shorter deadline is ordered). Mold above the District's contamination threshold must be remediated by a licensed mold remediation professional. A professional mold assessment finding contamination creates a rebuttable presumption of a housing code violation, and a court may award assessment costs, attorney fees and, for bad-faith failure to remediate within 60 days, treble damages. When a tenant applies, the landlord must disclose either a 3-year history of mold contamination in the unit and common areas or proof of proper remediation. D.C. Code §§ 8-241.01, 8-241.02, 8-241.04, 8-241.05(a); D.C. Tenant Bill of Rights (OTA, rev. Sept. 25, 2026) | No bed-bug-specific statute. Under the D.C. Housing Code, all rental dwellings must be free of insects and rodents, and structures and exterior property must be kept free from rodent harborage and infestation. Keeping the premises free of rodents and pests is part of the implied warranty of habitability; maintenance of the unit is a shared responsibility, while common areas are primarily the landlord's responsibility. D.C. Housing Code (14 DCMR) and Property Maintenance Code (12G DCMR), as summarized by the Department of Buildings; D.C. Tenant Bill of Rights § 7 | Yes. Heating equipment must keep all habitable rooms, bathrooms and toilet rooms at no less than 68°F from 6:30 a.m. to 11:00 p.m. and 65°F from 11:00 p.m. to 6:30 a.m., from October 1 to May 1. With a two-pipe system or any system needing more than 15 days to switch from air conditioning to heat, heat must start no later than October 15. Landlords must also have heating and hot water systems professionally tested annually. 14 DCMR § 501; D.C. Tenant Bill of Rights § 7 |
City rules that may add to state law
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Compare mold, pests, heat & ac in all 50 states and DC →
Virginia Mold, Pests, Heat & AC Rules FAQ
Does a landlord have to fix mold in Virginia?
Yes — detailed statute. Disclosure: the move-in inspection report must state whether there is visible evidence of mold in readily accessible interior areas; a 'no visible mold' statement is deemed correct unless the tenant objects in writing within 5 days. If mold is disclosed, the tenant may terminate and not take (or keep) possession, or take possession and have the landlord remediate within 5 business days, reinspect and issue a new report. Duty: the landlord must maintain the premises to prevent moisture accumulation and mold growth, respond promptly to tenant notices, and promptly remediate visible mold to professional standards, reinspect, and give the tenant a summary of remediation information. Where mold materially affects health or safety, the landlord may relocate the tenant for up to 30 days to a comparable unit or hotel at no cost to the tenant (rent continues). Tenants must use reasonable efforts to prevent moisture and mold and promptly report it. (Va. Code § 55.1-1215; § 55.1-1220(A)(5); § 55.1-1227(A)(10); § 55.1-1231)
Who pays for pest control and bed bugs in Virginia?
The landlord's general duty to keep the premises fit and habitable and to comply with housing codes applies. The tenant must keep the part of the unit the tenant occupies free from insects and pests and promptly notify the landlord of them, and is financially responsible for added treatment costs caused by unreasonable delay in reporting and for treatment costs caused by the tenant's fault in failing to prevent infestation. The landlord must give at least 48 hours' written notice before applying insecticide or pesticide in a unit (unless the tenant requested it or agrees to less), post notice for common-area applications, and the tenant must prepare the unit per the landlord's written instructions. (Va. Code § 55.1-1220(A)(1)-(2); § 55.1-1227(A)(3), (14); § 55.1-1223)
Does a landlord have to provide heat in Virginia?
Yes. The landlord must supply heat in season (unless heat is generated by equipment within the tenant's exclusive control or supplied by a direct public utility connection) and keep heating facilities in good and safe working order. Heat is an 'essential service'; if the landlord willfully or negligently fails to supply it, the tenant may give written notice and, after a reasonable time to correct, pursue statutory remedies (such as damages for reduced rental value). State law sets no minimum temperature or dates for the heating season; local codes may. (Va. Code § 55.1-1220(A)(4), (7); § 55.1-1200 ('essential service'); § 55.1-1239)
Does a landlord have to provide air conditioning in Virginia?
No duty to install air conditioning, but if air conditioning is provided the landlord must supply reasonable air conditioning and keep it in good and safe working order. Central air conditioning supplied by the landlord and operating (or represented as operating) when the lease takes effect is an 'essential service' so a willful or negligent failure to supply it triggers the same tenant remedies. State law sets no maximum indoor temperature. (Va. Code § 55.1-1220(A)(4), (7); § 55.1-1200; § 55.1-1239)
Who is responsible for smoke detectors in a rental in Virginia?
The landlord must give the tenant a certificate stating that all smoke alarms are present, inspected and in good working order (the statute says no more than once every 12 months). The tenant must not remove or tamper with a working smoke or carbon monoxide alarm installed by the landlord, including removing working batteries, and must maintain the alarms under the state fire prevention and building code standards. On a tenant's written request, the landlord must install a carbon monoxide alarm within 90 days and may charge a reasonable fee for it. (Va. Code §§ 55.1-1220(A)(8), 55.1-1227(A)(8)-(9), 55.1-1229(E))
General legal information, not legal advice. Laws change and local rules can differ; check the linked official source or talk to a lawyer about your situation.