{"formats":[{"name":"JSON","format":"json","url":"\/downloads\/2025\/code-json\/55.1-1243.1.json"},{"name":"Plain Text","format":"text","url":"\/downloads\/2025\/code-text\/55.1-1243.1.txt"},{"name":"XML","format":"xml","url":"\/downloads\/2025\/code-xml\/55.1-1243.1.xml"},{"name":"HTML","format":"html","url":"\/downloads\/2025\/code-html\/55.1-1243.1.html"}],"law_id":59240,"edition_id":1,"section_id":59240,"structure_id":15022,"section_number":"55.1-1243.1","catch_line":"Tenant’s remedies for exclusion from dwelling unit, interruption of services, or actions taken to make premises unsafe","history":"2021, Sp. Sess. I, cc. 403, 404.","full_text":"A\n\nA general district court shall enter an order pursuant to this section upon petition by a tenant who presents evidence establishing that his landlord has willfully and without authority from the court (i) removed or excluded the tenant from the dwelling unit unlawfully, (ii) interrupted or caused the interruption of an essential service to the tenant, or (iii) taken action to make the premises unsafe for habitation.B\n\nAn order entered pursuant to this section may require the landlord to (i) allow the tenant to recover possession of the dwelling unit, (ii) resume any such interrupted essential service, or (iii) fix any willful actions taken by the landlord or his agent to make the premises unsafe for habitation.C\n\nThe initial hearing on the tenant’s petition shall be held within five calendar days from the date of the filing of the petition. The court may issue a preliminary order ex parte to require the landlord to take action described in subsection B if the court finds (i) there is good cause shown to do so and (ii) the tenant made reasonable efforts to alert the landlord of the hearing. Any preliminary ex parte order issued pursuant to this section shall further include a date of no more than 10 days after the initial hearing for a full hearing to consider the merits of the petition and the damages described in subsection D. At the full hearing, the court may terminate the rental agreement upon request of the tenant and order the landlord to return all of the security deposit in accordance with § 55.1-1226.D\n\nIn a full hearing on a petition filed pursuant to this section and upon evidence presented establishing one or more of the factors in subsection A, the tenant shall recover (i) the actual damages sustained by him; (ii) statutory damages of $5,000 or four months’ rent, whichever is greater; and (iii) reasonable attorney fees.","order_by":null,"text":{"0":{"id":217145,"text":"A general district court shall enter an order pursuant to this section upon petition by a tenant who presents evidence establishing that his landlord has willfully and without authority from the court (i) removed or excluded the tenant from the dwelling unit unlawfully, (ii) interrupted or caused the interruption of an essential service to the tenant, or (iii) taken action to make the premises unsafe for habitation.","type":"section","prefixes":["A"],"prefix":"A","entire_prefix":"A","prefix_anchor":"A","level":1,"next_prefix":"B"},"1":{"id":217146,"text":"An order entered pursuant to this section may require the landlord to (i) allow the tenant to recover possession of the dwelling unit, (ii) resume any such interrupted essential service, or (iii) fix any willful actions taken by the landlord or his agent to make the premises unsafe for habitation.","type":"section","prefixes":["B"],"prefix":"B","entire_prefix":"B","prefix_anchor":"B","level":1,"prior_prefix":"A","next_prefix":"C"},"2":{"id":217147,"text":"The initial hearing on the tenant’s petition shall be held within five calendar days from the date of the filing of the petition. The court may issue a preliminary order ex parte to require the landlord to take action described in subsection B if the court finds (i) there is good cause shown to do so and (ii) the tenant made reasonable efforts to alert the landlord of the hearing. Any preliminary ex parte order issued pursuant to this section shall further include a date of no more than 10 days after the initial hearing for a full hearing to consider the merits of the petition and the damages described in subsection D. At the full hearing, the court may terminate the rental agreement upon request of the tenant and order the landlord to return all of the security deposit in accordance with § 55.1-1226.","type":"section","prefixes":["C"],"prefix":"C","entire_prefix":"C","prefix_anchor":"C","level":1,"prior_prefix":"B","next_prefix":"D"},"3":{"id":217148,"text":"In a full hearing on a petition filed pursuant to this section and upon evidence presented establishing one or more of the factors in subsection A, the tenant shall recover (i) the actual damages sustained by him; (ii) statutory damages of $5,000 or four months’ rent, whichever is greater; and (iii) reasonable attorney fees.","type":"section","prefixes":["D"],"prefix":"D","entire_prefix":"D","prefix_anchor":"D","level":1,"prior_prefix":"C"}},"ancestry":[{"id":15022,"edition_id":1,"name":"Tenant Remedies","identifier":"4","label":"article","depth":4,"order_by":1,"parent_id":14100,"metadata":{},"date_created":"2026-06-26 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unit","url":"\/55.1-1234.1\/","token":"55.1\/III\/12\/4\/55.1-1234.1","metadata":false},{"id":60083,"structure_id":15022,"section_number":"55.1-1235","catch_line":"Early termination of rental agreement by military personnel","url":"\/55.1-1235\/","token":"55.1\/III\/12\/4\/55.1-1235","metadata":false},{"id":68972,"structure_id":15022,"section_number":"55.1-1236","catch_line":"Early termination of rental agreements by victims of family abuse, sexual abuse or other criminal sexual assault, or stalking","url":"\/55.1-1236\/","token":"55.1\/III\/12\/4\/55.1-1236","metadata":false},{"id":65508,"structure_id":15022,"section_number":"55.1-1237","catch_line":"Notice to tenant in event of foreclosure","url":"\/55.1-1237\/","token":"55.1\/III\/12\/4\/55.1-1237","metadata":false},{"id":76367,"structure_id":15022,"section_number":"55.1-1238","catch_line":"Failure to deliver 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redemption","order_by":null,"url":"\/55.1-1250\/"}],"refers_to":false,"permalink":{"id":246087,"object_type":"law","relational_id":59240,"identifier":"55.1-1243.1","token":"55.1\/III\/12\/4\/55.1-1243.1","url":"\/55.1-1243.1\/","edition_id":1,"permalink":0,"preferred":1},"url":"\/55.1-1243.1\/","token":"55.1\/III\/12\/4\/55.1-1243.1","dublin_core":{"Title":"Tenant’s remedies for exclusion from dwelling unit, interruption of services, or actions taken to make premises unsafe","Type":"Text","Format":"text\/html","Identifier":"\u00a7 55.1-1243.1","Relation":"Code of Virginia"},"html":"\n\t\t\t\t\t\t

A.<\/span> A general district court<\/span> shall enter an order<\/span> pursuant to this section upon petition<\/span> by a tenant<\/span> who presents evidence<\/span> establishing that his landlord<\/span> has willfully and without authority from the court<\/span> (i) removed or excluded the tenant<\/span> from the dwelling unit<\/span> unlawfully, (ii) interrupted or caused the interruption of an essential service<\/span> to the tenant<\/span>, or (iii) taken action<\/span> to make the premises<\/span> unsafe for habitation. <\/i><\/a><\/p><\/section>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t

B.<\/span> An order<\/span> entered pursuant to this section may require the landlord<\/span> to (i) allow the tenant<\/span> to recover possession<\/span> of the dwelling unit<\/span>, (ii) resume any such interrupted essential service<\/span>, or (iii) fix any willful actions<\/span> taken by the landlord<\/span> or his agent to make the premises<\/span> unsafe for habitation. <\/i><\/a><\/p><\/section>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t

C.<\/span> The initial hearing<\/span> on the tenant<\/span>’s petition<\/span> shall be held within five calendar days from the date of the filing of the petition<\/span>. The court<\/span> may issue<\/span> a preliminary order<\/span> ex parte<\/span> to require the landlord<\/span> to take action<\/span> described in subsection B if the court<\/span> finds (i) there is good cause shown to do so and (ii) the tenant<\/span> made reasonable efforts to alert the landlord<\/span> of the hearing<\/span>. Any preliminary ex parte<\/span> order<\/span> issued pursuant to this section shall further include a date of no more than 10 days after the initial hearing<\/span> for a full hearing<\/span> to consider the merits of the petition<\/span> and the damages<\/span> described in subsection D. At the full hearing<\/span>, the court<\/span> may terminate the rental agreement<\/span> upon request of the tenant<\/span> and order<\/span> the landlord<\/span> to return all of the security deposit<\/span> in accordance with § 55.1-1226<\/a>. <\/i><\/a><\/p><\/section>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t

D.<\/span> In a full hearing<\/span> on a petition<\/span> filed pursuant to this section and upon evidence<\/span> presented establishing one or more of the factors in subsection A, the tenant<\/span> shall recover (i) the actual damages<\/span> sustained by him; (ii) statutory damages<\/span> of $5,000 or four months’ rent<\/span>, whichever is greater; and (iii) reasonable attorney fees. <\/i><\/a><\/p><\/section>","plain_text":" CODE OF VIRGINIA\n\nTENANT’S REMEDIES FOR EXCLUSION FROM DWELLING UNIT, INTERRUPTION OF\nSERVICES, OR ACTIONS TAKEN TO MAKE PREMISES UNSAFE (\u00a7 55.1-1243.1)\n\nA. A general district court shall enter an order pursuant to this section upon\npetition by a tenant who presents evidence establishing that his landlord has\nwillfully and without authority from the court (i) removed or excluded the\ntenant from the dwelling unit unlawfully, (ii) interrupted or caused the\ninterruption of an essential service to the tenant, or (iii) taken action to\nmake the premises unsafe for habitation.\n\nB. An order entered pursuant to this section may require the landlord to (i)\nallow the tenant to recover possession of the dwelling unit, (ii) resume any\nsuch interrupted essential service, or (iii) fix any willful actions taken by\nthe landlord or his agent to make the premises unsafe for habitation.\n\nC. The initial hearing on the tenant’s petition shall be held within five\ncalendar days from the date of the filing of the petition. The court may issue a\npreliminary order ex parte to require the landlord to take action described in\nsubsection B if the court finds (i) there is good cause shown to do so and (ii)\nthe tenant made reasonable efforts to alert the landlord of the hearing. Any\npreliminary ex parte order issued pursuant to this section shall further include\na date of no more than 10 days after the initial hearing for a full hearing to\nconsider the merits of the petition and the damages described in subsection D.\nAt the full hearing, the court may terminate the rental agreement upon request\nof the tenant and order the landlord to return all of the security deposit in\naccordance with § 55.1-1226.\n\nD. In a full hearing on a petition filed pursuant to this section and upon\nevidence presented establishing one or more of the factors in subsection A, the\ntenant shall recover (i) the actual damages sustained by him; (ii) statutory\ndamages of $5,000 or four months’ rent, whichever is greater; and (iii)\nreasonable attorney fees.\n\nHISTORY: 2021, Sp. Sess. I, cc. 403, 404.","edition":{"id":1,"name":"2025","slug":"2025","date_created":"2026-06-21 22:39:22","date_modified":"2026-06-21 22:39:22","current":1,"order_by":1,"last_import":null}}