Legal Question in Landlord & Tenant Law in Virginia

Trespassing , Invasion of privacy

I share a four bedroom house with three other guys , we each rent a room and share the common area. We only rent the rooms . does that give the landlord the right to come into the house anytime he wants to? and is he allowed to unlock the doors of the rented rooms and enter whenever he wants to. and when he was confronted he threatened me with legal action. now there is a civil suite against him and his wife.


Asked on 12/11/03, 11:03 am

1 Answer from Attorneys
Michael Hendrickson Law Office Michael E. Hendrickson

Re: Trespassing , Invasion of privacy

The landlord's right of entry is normally governed by the terms spelled out in the lease:

which are statutorily defined if the lease is under the Virginia Residential Landlord Tenant Act(VRLTA), which can be found under Title 55 of the Code of Virginia. However, even if the lease

is under terms of the common law, some of which may, also, be codified, landlords, generally, do not not have the automatic, carte blanche, right of entry into a tenant's premises, absent an emergency situation, and must give advanced notice for such entry.

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Answered on 12/11/03, 11:49 am


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