Legal Question in Landlord & Tenant Law in Virginia

Re: Aggressive Dog

If you wrote in the lease that they cannot have an aggressive dog, and they have an aggressive dog, it is a breach of the lease. The only problem would be convincing a judge that a particular dog is aggressive. However, if the dog bit a maintenance worker -- assuming it was not provoked, of course or some other explanation -- than the judge would probably agree that is aggressive. If the maintenance worker actually entered an apartment or house while the tenants were gone, one might say that the dog was acting naturally in defending its territory. So that could get subjective.

If the maintenance worker came on the property, it is possible that the judge might believe that the dog was REACTING to a perceived invasion of its territory.

However, that is for the judge to decide and there is certainly a reasonable argument for asking to have the lease enforced as written.

So you can file an unlawful detainer action to evict them. If the judge is convinced that they breached the lease, the judge will order them evicted.

You will need to comply with the rules for giving them 5 days to comply (normally called a pay or quit notice).

And, yes, they would be liable for rent for the time that they actually occupy the real estate.