Virginia Code 55.1-1314: Retaliatory conduct prohibited
A. Except as provided in this section, or as otherwise provided by law, a landlord shall not retaliate by selectively increasing rent or decreasing services or by bringing or threatening to bring an action for possession after the landlord has knowledge that (i) the tenant has complained to a governmental agency charged with responsibility for enforcement of a building or housing code of a violation applicable to the premises materially affecting health or safety, (ii) the tenant has made a complaint to or filed an action against the landlord for a violation of any provision of this chapter, (iii) the tenant has organized or become a member of a tenant’s organization, or (iv) the tenant has testified in a court proceeding against the landlord.
Terms Used In Virginia Code 55.1-1314
- Complaint: A written statement by the plaintiff stating the wrongs allegedly committed by the defendant.
- Guest or invitee: means a person, other than the tenant, who has the permission of the tenant to visit but not to occupy the premises. See Virginia Code 55.1-1300
- Landlord: means the manufactured home park owner or the lessor or sublessor of a manufactured home park. See Virginia Code 55.1-1300
- Rent: means payments made by the tenant to the landlord for use of a manufactured home lot and other facilities or services provided by the landlord. See Virginia Code 55.1-1300
- Rental agreement: means any agreement, written or oral, and valid rules and regulations adopted in conformance with § 55. See Virginia Code 55.1-1300
- Tenant: means a person entitled as under a rental agreement to occupy a manufactured home lot to the exclusion of others. See Virginia Code 55.1-1300
B. The landlord shall be deemed to have knowledge of a fact if he has actual knowledge of it, he has received a notice or notification of it, or, from all the facts and circumstances known to him at the time in question, he has reason to know that it exists.
C. Notwithstanding the provisions of subsections A and B, a landlord may terminate the rental agreement pursuant to subsection A of § 55.1-1308 and bring an action for possession if:
1. Violation of the applicable building and housing code was caused by lack of reasonable care by the tenant, a member of the tenant’s household, or a guest or invitee of the tenant;
2. The tenant is in default in rent; or
3. The tenant is in default of a provision of the rental agreement materially affecting the health and safety of the tenant or others.
1986, c. 586, § 55-248.50; 1991, c. 185; 1992, c. 709; 2019, c. 712.