At Shaia's Law, PLLC, we represent Landlords and Tenants. Our goal, is to create a series of short blog posts with information that's important for Landlords and Tenants to know. We get a lot of questions about this area of law, and we hope we can answer some of those questions through this new series of blog posts!
Today's topic is the Statement of Tenant's Rights and Responsibilities.
The Statement of Tenant's Rights and Responsibilities is required to be given to a tenant as of July, 2020. Virginia Code Section § 55.1-1204 (H) states that a Landlord cannot file or have an action in Court against a tenant if they have not provided the tenant with this document.
What this means is that a tenant can ask the Court to dismiss a lawsuit brought by their landlord, if the landlord has not given the tenant this document.
The Statement of Tenant's Rights and Responsibilities is important for everyone to read. It tells the tenant what they can and cannot do. Each party, both landlord and tenant, should keep a signed copy of this document for their records.
You can easily get a copy of the Statement of Tenant's Rights and Responsibilities here: https://www.dhcd.virginia.gov/landlord-tenant-resources
If you have any questions on what this document is or what the law means, give us a call at 804-477-4972. All consults are free of charge.