How to Evict a Roommate in Virginia (and Other Household Situations)
What Virginia law says about roommates who are not on the lease, guests who won't leave, family members, renting a room in your own home, and tenancies at will — each with the statute or official source.
Short answer: Virginia's landlord-tenant act defines three categories. A tenant is a person entitled only under the terms of a rental agreement to occupy a unit to the exclusion of others (including a roomer). An 'authorized occupant' is a person entitled to live in the unit with the landlord's consent who has not signed the rental agreement and so has no financial obligations as a tenant. A 'guest or invitee' has the tenant's permission to visit but not to occupy. A roommate not on the lease is an authorized occupant if the landlord consented, and is not a tenant. Va. Code § 55.1-1200
| Roommate not on the lease | Virginia's landlord-tenant act defines three categories. A tenant is a person entitled only under the terms of a rental agreement to occupy a unit to the exclusion of others (including a roomer). An 'authorized occupant' is a person entitled to live in the unit with the landlord's consent who has not signed the rental agreement and so has no financial obligations as a tenant. A 'guest or invitee' has the tenant's permission to visit but not to occupy. A roommate not on the lease is an authorized occupant if the landlord consented, and is not a tenant. Source: Va. Code § 55.1-1200 |
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| Removing a roommate or subtenant | No roommate-specific statute. 'Landlord' includes a sublessor, so a tenant who sublets ends a month-to-month subtenancy with written notice at least 30 days before the next rent due date (7 days for week-to-week), unless the agreement says otherwise. If the occupant stays, removal is by an unlawful detainer case; an order of possession requires the plaintiff to present a proper termination notice to the court, and the summons must be served at least 10 days before the return day. Notice periods: https://law.lis.virginia.gov/vacode/title55.1/chapter12/section55.1-1253/. |
| Guests who won't leave | A guest or invitee has the tenant's permission to visit but not to occupy, and is not a tenant; a person becomes an authorized occupant only with the landlord's consent, and a tenant only under a rental agreement. For a residential single-family home, an owner can get an expedited unlawful detainer hearing (within 14 days of filing) against an occupant if no rental agreement ever existed between them, the occupant is there without the owner's permission, and the owner gave written notice to vacate at least 72 hours before filing. Definitions: https://law.lis.virginia.gov/vacode/title55.1/chapter12/section55.1-1200/. |
| Removing a family member or partner | No statute specifically addresses family members. For a single-family home, if no rental agreement has ever existed between the owner and the occupant and the occupant stays without permission, the owner may use the expedited unlawful detainer hearing after giving at least 72 hours' written notice to vacate. Otherwise the regular unlawful detainer process applies. Source: Va. Code § 8.01-126(B) |
| Renting a room in your own home (lodgers) | No separate lodger exemption. Virginia's definition of 'tenant' expressly includes a roomer, and the act applies to all single-family and multifamily dwelling units; its exemptions do not include renting a room in an owner's home. A person who pays no rent under a rental agreement is not in a covered residential tenancy. |
| Tenancy at will | Virginia's landlord-tenant act does not use the term 'tenancy at will'. A month-to-month tenancy ends with written notice served at least 30 days before the next rent due date (unless the rental agreement sets a different period); a week-to-week tenancy ends with written notice at least 7 days before the next rent due date. Source: Va. Code § 55.1-1253(A) |
| Hotel and extended-stay guests | A guest of a hotel, motel, or similar lodging who does not live there as a primary residence is exempt from the landlord-tenant act, and the owner may use self-help eviction without an unlawful detainer case. If the guest uses the lodging as a primary residence for 90 consecutive days or less, the act still does not apply, but the owner must give a five-day written notice of nonpayment before self-help eviction. If the guest has used it as a primary residence for more than 90 consecutive days, or has a written lease longer than 90 days, the landlord-tenant act applies. Source: Va. Code § 55.1-1201(D) |
Never remove someone by changing the locks or taking their belongings: if the person has become a tenant, only a court can order them out. If there is violence or a threat, call 911 and ask about a protective order.
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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.