                                 CODE OF VIRGINIA

APPLICABILITY OF CHAPTER; LOCAL AUTHORITY (§ 55.1-1201)

A. This chapter shall apply to all jurisdictions in the Commonwealth and may not
be waived or otherwise modified, in whole or in part, by the governing body of
any locality or its boards or commissions or other instrumentalities or by the
courts of the Commonwealth. Occupancy in a public housing unit or other housing
unit that is a dwelling unit is subject to this chapter; however, if the
provisions of this chapter are inconsistent with the regulations of the U.S.
Department of Housing and Urban Development, such regulations shall control.

B. The provisions of this chapter shall apply to occupancy in all single-family
and multifamily dwelling units and multifamily dwelling units located in the
Commonwealth.

C. The following tenancies and occupancies are not residential tenancies under
this chapter:

   1. Residence at a public or private institution, if incidental to detention or
   the provision of medical, geriatric, educational, counseling, religious, or
   similar services;

   2. Occupancy by a member of a fraternal or social organization in the portion
   of a structure operated for the benefit of the organization;

   3. Occupancy by an owner of a condominium unit or a holder of a proprietary
   lease in a cooperative;

   4. Occupancy in a campground as defined in &#xA7; 35.1-1;

   5. Occupancy by a tenant who pays no rent pursuant to a rental agreement;

   6. Occupancy by an employee of a landlord whose right to occupancy in a
   multifamily dwelling unit is conditioned upon employment in and about the
   premises or a former employee whose occupancy continues less than 60 days;

   7. Occupancy under a contract of sale of a dwelling unit or the property of
   which it is a part, if the occupant is the purchaser or a person who succeeds
   to his interest; or

   8. Occupancy in a recovery residence as defined in &#xA7; 37.2-431.1.

D. The following provisions apply to occupancy in a hotel, motel, extended stay
facility, etc.:

   1. A guest who is an occupant of a hotel, motel, extended stay facility,
   vacation residential facility, including those governed by the Virginia Real
   Estate Time-Share Act (&#xA7; 55.1-2200 et seq.), boardinghouse, or similar
   transient lodging shall not be construed to be a tenant living in a dwelling
   unit if such person does not reside in such lodging as his primary residence.
   Such guest shall be exempt from this chapter, and the innkeeper or property
   owner, or his agent, shall have the right to use self-help eviction under
   Virginia law, without the necessity of the filing of an unlawful detainer
   action in a court of competent jurisdiction and the execution of a writ of
   eviction issued pursuant to such action, which would otherwise be required
   under this chapter.

   2. A hotel, motel, extended stay facility, vacation residential facility,
   including those governed by the Virginia Real Estate Time-Share Act (&#xA7;
   55.1-2200 et seq.), boardinghouse, or similar transient lodging shall be
   exempt from the provisions of this chapter if overnight sleeping
   accommodations are furnished to a person for consideration if such person does
   not reside in such lodging as his primary residence.

   3. If a person resides in a hotel, motel, extended stay facility, vacation
   residential facility, including those governed by the Virginia Real Estate
   Time-Share Act (&#xA7; 55.1-2200 et seq.), boardinghouse, or similar transient
   lodging as his primary residence for 90 consecutive days or less, such lodging
   shall not be subject to the provisions of this chapter. However, the owner of
   such lodging establishment shall give a five-day written notice of nonpayment
   to a person residing in such lodging and, upon the expiration of the five-day
   period specified in the notice, may exercise self-help eviction if payment in
   full has not been received.

   4. If a person resides in a hotel, motel, extended stay facility, vacation
   residential facility, including those governed by the Virginia Real Estate
   Time-Share Act (&#xA7; 55.1-2200 et seq.), boardinghouse, or similar transient
   lodging as his primary residence for more than 90 consecutive days or is
   subject to a written lease for more than 90 days, such lodging shall be
   subject to the provisions of this chapter.

   5. Nothing herein shall be construed to preclude the owner of a lodging
   establishment that uses self-help eviction pursuant to this section from
   pursuing any civil or criminal remedies under the laws of the Commonwealth.

E. Nothing in this chapter shall prohibit a locality from establishing a
commission, reconciliatory in nature only, or designating an existing agency,
which upon mutual agreement of the parties may mediate conflicts that may arise
out of the application of this chapter, nor shall anything in this chapter be
deemed to prohibit an ordinance designed to effect compliance with local
property maintenance codes. This chapter shall supersede all other local
ordinances or regulations concerning landlord and tenant relations and the
leasing of residential property.

HISTORY: 1974, c. 680, § 55-248.3; 1977, c. 427; 2000, c. 760, § 55-248.3:1;
2001, c. 416; 2017, c. 730; 2018, cc. 50, 78, 221; 2019, cc. 180, 700, 712;
2022, cc. 732, 755.