Maintenance & Repairs Clause
in Your Lease
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Statutes verified against primary state sources
Every statute cited here was read in its published text before this page went live: on the state's own site where that site can be reached, otherwise on a republished copy of the code. Court decisions are quoted from the published opinion and linked to it, so you can read the original yourself.
Primary sourcesNot legal advice
Content verified against primary state statutes before publicationLast updated: October 2026
What it actually means, what Virginia law says, what's specific to Richmond - and exactly what to do. In plain English.
Short answer for Richmond
Once your landlord receives your written notice of a condition the law lists, they must take reasonable steps to make the repair within 14 days (Va. Code § 55.1-1244.1(B)). If they do not, you may hire a licensed contractor and recover or deduct the actual cost, up to the greater of one month's rent or $1,500 (§ 55.1-1244.1(C)). No Richmond section we read sets its own repair clock. First, send the notice and keep a dated copy.
Copy the repair noticeWhat is your situation?
Something is broken and not fixed
Send written notice naming the condition; a phone call alone does not start the count. Once your landlord receives it, they have 14 days to take reasonable steps toward the repair (Va. Code § 55.1-1244.1(B)). The section covers a material noncompliance with the lease or the law, or a condition that threatens fire or the life, health or safety of occupants. Keep a dated copy and photos, and let the landlord in.
Count 14 days from noticeIt's an emergency
The 14 days in Va. Code § 55.1-1244.1(B) cover a condition that, if not promptly corrected, will be a fire hazard or a serious threat to the life, health or safety of occupants, such as no heat, running water or electricity, or a rodent infestation. Send your written notice today and keep dated photos. For rats, Richmond City Code § 15-68(a) says extermination starts immediately, with common areas on the owner.
Copy the repair noticeI want to fix it and deduct the cost
After your written notice, if the landlord takes no reasonable steps within 14 days, Va. Code § 55.1-1244.1(C) lets you hire a licensed contractor and recover or deduct the cost, up to the greater of one month's rent or $1,500 (on $1,200 rent the ceiling is $1,500; on $1,800 it is $1,800). Not where you or a guest caused the condition, the landlord was denied access, or it was already fixed (§ 55.1-1244.1(E)).
Check repair and deductI'm afraid to complain
The repair rules on this page do not cover retaliation, so ask Virginia legal aid or a tenant advice service if you fear payback. What they do give you: your written notice starts the landlord's 14 days (Va. Code § 55.1-1244.1(B)), and after a tenant's complaint § 36-105(C) requires the local building department to enforce the unsafe structures provisions where it finds there may be a violation. Keep a dated copy of every notice.
See your rightsI'm the landlord handling a repair request
Va. Code § 55.1-1220(A) puts the duty to make all repairs on you. On a tenant's written notice of a listed condition, take reasonable steps toward the repair within 14 days (§ 55.1-1244.1(B)); otherwise the tenant may hire a licensed contractor and recover or deduct up to the greater of one month's rent or $1,500 (§ 55.1-1244.1(C)). Richmond City Code § 5-2 puts building repair and maintenance under the Virginia Uniform Statewide Building Code.
Read the Virginia law sectionQuick summary: 5 key points
- The clock starts only when your landlord receives written notice of a condition the law lists.
- The landlord then has 14 days to take reasonable steps to make the repair.
- Next, a licensed contractor's cost can be recovered or deducted, up to the greater of one month's rent or $1,500.
- Ending the lease runs on 21 days; court routes presume a delay over 30 days unreasonable.
- No Richmond section we read sets its own repair clock; a City lead notice can set 30 days.
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Try your numbers
Is your licensed contractor cost over the limit?
Applies to a Richmond tenant who hires a licensed contractor after the landlord takes no reasonable steps within 14 days of receiving written notice of a condition § 55.1-1244.1(B) lists; the actual costs may be recovered or deducted up to this limit. Not where the tenant or a guest caused the condition, the landlord was denied access, or it was already fixed (§ 55.1-1244.1(E)) (Va. Code § 55.1-1244.1(C)). Arithmetic only, not legal advice.
Count it for your dates
14 days: when does it end?
What it means: The landlord must have taken reasonable steps to make the repair or remedy the condition by this date. Applies to a Richmond landlord after a tenant's written notice of a material noncompliance with the lease or the law, or a condition that threatens fire or the life, health or safety of occupants; ending the lease runs on 21 days under § 55.1-1234 instead (Va. Code § 55.1-1244.1(B)). Calendar arithmetic only; check how the section counts days before you rely on a date.
Copy and send: As soon as something needs fixing, sent to your landlord or property manager
Written repair notice
Fill in the brackets and keep a copy of what you send.
How Virginia compares
Deadline to make repairs, state by state
3 days7 days10 days14 days30 daysNo figureGuide coming soonYou are here
See all 28 cities as a chart
Figures are the state rule, or the stronger city ordinance where one exists. Verify the current law for your own situation before relying on it.
Understanding the Maintenance & Repairs Clause
This page is for Richmond renters waiting on a repair, from no heat to a rodent problem. The most important point: the landlord's 14 days start only once you give notice in writing, so a phone call alone does not meet the rule.
Describe the problem in writing, keep a dated copy and photos, and let the landlord in to do the work. The contractor remedy on this page closes if the landlord was denied access, or if you or a guest caused the problem.
What renters assume
A Richmond landlord has 14 days to finish any repair, counted from the moment a tenant mentions it by phone.
What is actually true
The 14 days in § 55.1-1244.1(B) start on written notice, cover the conditions the section lists, and measure reasonable steps to make the repair or remedy the condition, in the section's own words.
Richmond's bar in the comparison on this page reads 14 days (reasonable steps). It is one of nine of the 28 rows at 14 days, alongside Chicago, Nashville, Boston, Las Vegas, Minneapolis, Kansas City, Louisville and Oklahoma City.
Above that group, Los Angeles, Portland, Columbus and Baltimore show 30 days, with Columbus labelled an outer limit and Baltimore a presumed limit. Below it sit Seattle and Phoenix at 10 days, Austin and Miami at 7 days, and Salt Lake City at 3 days for habitability. Ten rows carry no figure.
Baltimore's 30 days is a rebuttable presumption of unreasonable delay, and Virginia has a presumption of the same length in § 55.1-1244 and § 55.1-1241. Richmond's bar carries the 14 from § 55.1-1244.1(B), the reasonable-steps deadline that runs from the landlord's receipt of the tenant's written notice.
Repairs Clause Example - What the Wording Looks Like in Richmond, VA
The sample clause below comes from an Iowa court case, and the notes explain what Virginia law says about each part. It is real lease language - a court quoted it word for word, and then ruled on it. What the judge decided is at the bottom of this block.
Find the equivalent paragraph in your own lease and read the two side by side. The wording will differ; the moving parts rarely do.
Tenants agree to pay for all damages to the apartment windows, screens, and doors, including exterior unit doors (including random acts of vandalism).
Quoted from the published opinion in De Stefano v. Apts. Downtown, Inc., 879 N.W.2d 155 (Iowa 2016). Judicial opinions are not subject to copyright; the lease language is reproduced in limited part for commentary under 17 U.S.C. § 107.
What the 4 highlighted phrases mean
“Tenants agree to pay for”
This is the promise that hands a repair bill to the household, and Virginia sets terms for promises about repairs. Va. Code § 55.1-1220(D) allows a written agreement for the tenant to take on specified repairs, and requires it to be made in good faith and not to evade the landlord's obligations. Our Virginia record describes that subsection as being about the tenant taking on repairs, and does not reach a term in which the landlord repairs and the tenant pays.
See the example
“all damages to the apartment”
Set the word all beside Virginia's own use of it. § 55.1-1220(A) requires the landlord to “Make all repairs and do whatever is necessary to put and keep the premises in a fit and habitable condition”. Those are the words the Iowa court quoted from its own statute before refusing to let categorical lease terms shift that cost. In Virginia the all in the statute sits on the landlord. How a Virginia court would weigh this clause against it is a question our Virginia record does not answer.
See the example
“exterior unit doors”
A door that will not close or lock is a repair before it is a bill, and Virginia gives a qualifying repair a deadline. Under § 55.1-1244.1(B), after written notice of a material noncompliance with the lease or the law, or a condition threatening the life, health or safety of occupants, the landlord must take reasonable steps toward the repair within 14 days. In Richmond, City Code § 5-2 adds that the repair and maintenance of buildings is governed by the Virginia Uniform Statewide Building Code.
See the example
“random acts of vandalism”
This is the phrase that charges the household for a stranger, and it is the bill the Iowa tenants refused and beat. Virginia's exclusions in § 55.1-1244.1(E) are written around the household and the landlord: damage the tenant or a guest caused, a landlord denied access, a repair already made. Our Virginia record does not say how a Virginia court would treat a lease term billing tenants for a vandal's work.
See the example
The tenants won the door. The Iowa Supreme Court held the landlord could not use this clause to bill them $598.46 for an exterior door wrecked by a burglar, and reversed the district court's decision against the tenant on liability for the door repair. Two reasons, and the second is the wider one. Iowa Code § 562A.15(2) lets a landlord and tenant agree only that the tenant will perform specified repairs; it does not let the landlord perform the repair and shift the cost. And the landlord's statutory duty to “make all repairs and do whatever is necessary to put and keep the premises in a fit and habitable condition” is not satisfied “by merely making repairs and shifting the costs to the tenant pursuant to categorical provisions in the original lease agreement.” Note the word categorical: what failed was a blanket allocation written into a form lease before anyone knew who would break what. Why a renter should care: the damage here came from a stranger's crime, and the clause charged it to the household anyway. This is Iowa law, from the opinion as amended July 26, 2016, and a differently worded statute can produce the opposite answer - Texas's did in 2001.
How this state's law treats this clause
One court, one lease, one state. That answer is not automatically yours, and your lease may be worded to land differently. Use this to know what to look for and what to ask - your state's tenant hotline or a local tenant attorney can answer it for your document.
Virginia Law on Maintenance & Repairs Clause
- The landlord's core duty is in Va.
Read the law's words
Code § 55.1-1220(A): comply with building and housing codes materially affecting health and safety, "Make all repairs and do whatever is necessary to put and keep the premises in a fit and habitable condition", and keep electrical, plumbing, sanitary, heating, ventilating, air-conditioning and other supplied facilities and appliances in good and safe working order. Section 55.1-1220(D) allows a written agreement for the tenant to take on specified repairs only if made in good faith and not to evade the landlord's obligations. - The 14 day clock starts on written notice and covers the conditions the section lists.
Read the law's words
Section 55.1-1244.1(B) applies to a material noncompliance with the lease or the law, or a condition that "if not promptly corrected, will constitute a fire hazard or serious threat to the life, health, or safety of occupants", and requires the tenant to have notified the landlord in writing. Under § 55.1-1244.1(E) the tenant may not repair at the landlord's expense where the tenant or a guest caused the condition, the landlord was denied access, or the landlord had already fixed it. - Ending the lease runs on 21 days.
Read the law's words
Under § 55.1-1234, for a material noncompliance affecting health and safety the tenant may serve written notice that the lease "will terminate upon a date not less than 30 days after receipt of the notice if such breach is not remedied in 21 days", and if the landlord adequately remedies a breach that is remediable by repairs before the date in the notice, the lease does not end. - Court remedies use a 30 day presumption.
Read the law's words
For a rent escrow assertion under § 55.1-1244 and a defense to a nonpayment case under § 55.1-1241, the period of delay that is unreasonable is left to the court, "except that there shall be a rebuttable presumption that a period in excess of 30 days from receipt of the notification by the landlord is unreasonable." A new version of § 55.1-1244, effective January 1, 2027, keeps that presumption and says the tenant need not pay outstanding rent or charges in order to file.
Sources include Va. Code § 55.1-1244.1; Va. Code § 55.1-1220; Va. Code § 55.1-1234; Va. Code § 55.1-1244; Va. Code § 55.1-1241; Va. Code § 55.1-1239; Va. Code § 55.1-1201; Va. Code § 36-105; Richmond City Code § 5-1; Richmond City Code § 5-2; Richmond City Code § 15-104; Richmond City Code § 15-68 - statutes change; verify the current text for your situation.
Read the full state law section
Under Va. Code § 55.1-1220(A) the landlord must "Make all repairs and do whatever is necessary to put and keep the premises in a fit and habitable condition".
- 14 days. After written notice of a material noncompliance with the lease or the law, or a condition that threatens fire or the life, health or safety of occupants, the landlord must take reasonable steps toward the repair (§ 55.1-1244.1(B)). Examples include rodents and no heat, running water or electricity.
- Contractor. If the landlord does not, you may hire a licensed contractor and recover or deduct the actual costs, up to the greater of one month's rent or $1,500 (§ 55.1-1244.1(C)). This route closes where you or a guest caused the condition, the landlord was denied access, or it was already fixed (§ 55.1-1244.1(E)).
- 21 days. For a breach affecting health and safety, your written notice can end the lease on a date not less than 30 days after receipt if the breach is not remedied in 21 days (§ 55.1-1234).
- 30 days. In rent escrow (§ 55.1-1244) or as a defense to a nonpayment case (§ 55.1-1241), delay over 30 days after the landlord receives notice is presumed unreasonable, though this can be rebutted. From January 1, 2027, a new version of § 55.1-1244 keeps this and says you need not pay outstanding rent or charges to file.
What's Specific to Richmond
Richmond adds building standards, not a repair deadline. Richmond City Code § 5-1 adopts the Virginia Uniform Statewide Building Code, and § 5-2 says it governs repair and maintenance of buildings in the City.
No Richmond section we read gives a landlord a set number of days to repair after a tenant asks. For a dwelling built before 1978, a City lead notice under § 15-104(b)(1) can require the owner to act within 30 days of receiving it.
We take no position on how the state limit on local rules, Va. Code § 55.1-1201, applies here.
Useful. The 14 days in § 55.1-1244.1(B) run from the landlord's receipt of your written notice.
Good. § 55.1-1220(A) puts the duty to "Make all repairs" needed for a fit and habitable home on the landlord.
Question it. § 55.1-1220(D) allows a written agreement for specified repairs only if made in good faith and not to evade the landlord's duties.
Read it against § 55.1-1244.1(C), which lets you deduct a licensed contractor's actual costs after 14 days without reasonable steps.
Sources
The law this guide relies on, and where to read it. Statutes change, so confirm the current text before you act on it.
- Va. Code § 55.1-1244.1; Va. Code § 55.1-1220; Va. Code § 55.1-1234; Va. Code § 55.1-1244; Va. Code § 55.1-1241; Va. Code § 55.1-1239; Va. Code § 55.1-1201; Va. Code § 36-105; Richmond City Code § 5-1; Richmond City Code § 5-2; Richmond City Code § 15-104; Richmond City Code § 15-68, read on law.lis.virginia.gov. Read on the Virginia General Assembly's Legislative Information System, whose page for § 55.1-1244.1 shows a single version with the history line 2020, c. 1020, and whose list of Code sections updated in 2026 does not include it.
Red Flags to Watch Out For
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Repair requests by phone alone
§ 55.1-1244.1(B) starts the 14 days only after written notice. If the lease routes repairs through calls, put your request in writing too.
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Every repair charged to the tenant
§ 55.1-1220(A) puts the duty to make all repairs on the landlord. A clause billing you for every repair is worth questioning.
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No deduction from rent, ever
After 14 days without reasonable steps, § 55.1-1244.1(C) lets you recover or deduct a licensed contractor's actual costs, up to the cap.
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Thirty days counted from your request
Richmond's 30 days in § 15-104(b)(1) is for lead hazards and runs from a City notice of violation. Your written notice starts the 14 days instead.
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Rodents left wholly to the occupant
§ 55.1-1244.1(B) lists a rodent infestation among the conditions the 14 days cover, and Richmond City Code § 15-68(a) puts common areas on the owner.
Your Rights as a Richmond Tenant
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Reasonable steps within 14 days
Your written notice of a listed condition gives the landlord 14 days to take reasonable steps toward the repair (§ 55.1-1244.1(B)).
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A licensed contractor at the landlord's cost
If the landlord does not act, you may hire a licensed contractor and recover or deduct the cost, within the cap (§ 55.1-1244.1(C)).
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A way out after 21 days
Written notice can end the lease if a breach affecting health and safety is not remedied in 21 days (§ 55.1-1234).
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An inspector after a complaint
Va. Code § 36-105(C) requires the local building department to enforce the unsafe structures provisions after a tenant's complaint where it finds there may be a violation.
What To Do - Step by Step
Write to the landlord and keep a copy
Name the unit, the condition and the date. The 14 days run from the landlord's receipt of written notice (§ 55.1-1244.1(B)).
Photograph the condition with dates
The contractor route closes where you or a guest caused the condition (§ 55.1-1244.1(E)). Dated photos help show where the problem came from.
Let the landlord in to do the work
The same subsection closes the route where the landlord was denied access, or had already fixed the condition.
Count the 14 days, then use a licensed contractor
Keep the contractor's invoice. You can recover or deduct the actual costs up to the cap in § 55.1-1244.1(C).
Bring in the City where it applies
A City lead notice for a dwelling built before 1978 (§ 15-104(b)(1)) and an unsafe structures complaint (§ 36-105(C)) are separate routes.
Take advice before ending the lease or going to court
Virginia legal aid or a tenant advice service can go through the 21 days and the 30 day presumption with you.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Maintenance & Repairs rules near Virginia
The same clause in the nearest states we cover.