Yes — under Virginia law, landlords are generally responsible for pest control in a rental property. The Virginia Residential Landlord and Tenant Act (VRLTA) requires every landlord to keep the unit in a fit and habitable condition, and an apartment overrun with cockroaches, rodents, or bed bugs is not habitable. The exception is when the tenant’s own conduct caused the infestation. If the landlord ignores a written pest complaint, Virginia gives you specific tools to force action, including hiring an exterminator and deducting the cost from rent.
The Landlord’s Duty Under Virginia Law
Virginia Code § 55.1-1220 requires landlords to comply with building and housing codes affecting health and safety and to “make all repairs and do whatever is necessary to put and keep the premises in a fit and habitable condition.”1Virginia Code Commission. Virginia Code 55.1-1220 – Landlord to Maintain Fit Premises Pest control falls inside that duty. A unit with an active infestation is not fit and habitable, so treating it is the landlord’s job.
This is a statutory obligation, not a lease term. Even if your lease says the tenant handles all pest control, the landlord cannot contract away the underlying duty to maintain a livable home. The rule covers infestations you did not cause — pests that were in the unit when you moved in, problems traveling through shared walls in a multi-unit building, rodents entering through structural gaps, and similar conditions rooted in the property itself.
Virginia does not have a separate bed bug statute. Bed bugs are covered by the same general habitability provisions as cockroaches, mice, and other pests. The landlord’s duty to deliver a fit unit means the property should be bed bug free at move-in; if you find them in the first days or weeks, the infestation almost certainly predates you and the landlord bears the cost.
When the Tenant Has to Pay
Tenants have their own duties under Virginia Code § 55.1-1227. You must keep your part of the unit free from insects and pests, and you must promptly notify your landlord when you discover any.2Virginia Code Commission. Virginia Code 55.1-1227 – Tenant to Maintain Dwelling Unit If an infestation is directly traceable to your conduct — food waste left out, garbage not taken out, unsanitary conditions — the landlord can require you to pay for extermination.
The statute also creates a financial penalty for slow reporting. If you unreasonably delay telling the landlord about pests, you are financially responsible for the added treatment costs caused by that delay.2Virginia Code Commission. Virginia Code 55.1-1227 – Tenant to Maintain Dwelling Unit A small roach sighting ignored for months can turn into a full infestation that costs far more to treat, and the landlord could charge you the difference between what early treatment would have cost and the eventual bill.
The burden of proof sits with the landlord. To shift costs to you, the landlord has to demonstrate a clear link between your behavior and the pests. Without that evidence, responsibility stays with the landlord by default. This matters most in older multi-unit buildings, where a landlord may try to blame a tenant for what is actually a structural problem — shared walls, basement entry points, or neighboring units where the pests originate.
How to Notify Your Landlord
Written notice is the trigger for every remedy in the VRLTA. Without it, you cannot use the repair-and-deduct process, file a Tenant’s Assertion, or terminate your lease for a habitability violation. Your first move should be a letter or email that creates a paper trail.
Include your full name, the property address, and the date. Describe the pest problem specifically: what you have seen, where, and how often. Attach photos if you have them. Ask the landlord to arrange professional treatment. Send the notice by certified mail with return receipt requested, or by email in a way that preserves the sent message. Keep copies of everything.
Once treatment is scheduled, Virginia law requires the landlord to give you at least 48 hours’ written notice before applying any insecticide or pesticide inside your unit.3Virginia Code Commission. Virginia Code 55.1-1223 – Notice to Tenants for Insecticide or Pesticide Use You cannot unreasonably refuse the landlord entry for that treatment.
Hiring an Exterminator and Deducting the Cost
Virginia gives tenants a repair-and-deduct remedy under Code § 55.1-1244.1 that applies directly to pest problems. If a condition amounts to a serious threat to health or safety — the statute names “infestation of rodents” as an example — and you have given the landlord written notice, the landlord has 14 days to take reasonable steps to fix it.4Virginia Code Commission. Virginia Code 55.1-1244.1 – Tenant’s Remedy by Repair
If those 14 days pass without action, you can hire a licensed pest control company yourself and deduct the cost from your rent. The cap is the greater of one month’s rent or $1,500.4Virginia Code Commission. Virginia Code 55.1-1244.1 – Tenant’s Remedy by Repair Submit an itemized statement and receipts to your landlord after the work. If the landlord does not reimburse you, take the amount off your next rent payment.
There are limits. You cannot use this remedy if you caused the infestation, if you denied the landlord access to the unit, or if the landlord had already fixed the problem before you hired someone. The exterminator must be a licensed pesticide business with certified technicians. Doing the work yourself and billing the landlord is not allowed.
Filing a Tenant’s Assertion in Court
When the infestation is severe, the cost exceeds the repair-and-deduct cap, or the landlord is simply refusing to act, the stronger tool is a Tenant’s Assertion under Virginia Code § 55.1-1244. You file it in the general district court where the property is located.5Virginia Code Commission. Virginia Code 55.1-1244 – Tenant’s Assertion; Rent Escrow
Do not stop paying rent. Virginia does not allow rent withholding. The Tenant’s Assertion process requires you to pay rent into the court’s escrow account within five days of your normal due date.5Virginia Code Commission. Virginia Code 55.1-1244 – Tenant’s Assertion; Rent Escrow That protects you from eviction while the case is pending and shows the court you are meeting your obligations.
Before ordering relief, the court checks that you gave written notice and a reasonable chance to fix the problem, and that you have paid rent into escrow on time. A landlord who has done nothing for more than 30 days after receiving your notice is presumed to have unreasonably delayed, subject to rebuttal.5Virginia Code Commission. Virginia Code 55.1-1244 – Tenant’s Assertion; Rent Escrow The judge can then order any combination of the following:
- Return some or all of the escrowed rent to you as abatement for living with the infestation.
- Keep rent in escrow until the landlord completes treatment.
- Terminate the lease and release you without penalty.
- Order you to surrender the premises if the landlord filed an unlawful detainer and prevails.
Ending the Lease Over an Infestation
You do not have to go to court to end a lease over an unresolved pest problem. Under Virginia Code § 55.1-1234, you can serve the landlord a written notice identifying the habitability breach and stating that the lease will terminate in 30 days if the landlord does not fix the problem within 21 days.6Virginia Code Commission. Virginia Code 55.1-1234 – Noncompliance by Landlord If the landlord treats the infestation in that 21-day window, the lease continues. If not, you can move out when the 30 days expire, and you may recover damages and reasonable attorney fees.
If the landlord previously fixed a similar problem and then intentionally let it recur, you can send a termination notice referencing the prior breach. The landlord does not get a second chance to cure, and the lease terminates on the date in your notice.
Retaliation Is Prohibited
Virginia Code § 55.1-1258 bars landlords from retaliating against tenants for exercising their legal rights, including reporting habitability problems. A rent hike, service cut, or eviction attempt that follows your pest complaint or Tenant’s Assertion is prohibited retaliatory conduct. If you have hesitated to report because you’re worried about pushback, the statute is on your side.
Extra Rules for Section 8 and Other HUD-Assisted Housing
If you live in a unit under a Housing Choice Voucher or another HUD-assisted program, federal rules add to Virginia’s protections. HUD’s National Standards for the Physical Inspection of Real Estate (NSPIRE) require every component of the unit to be free of health and safety hazards, which covers pests.7U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Implementation of National Standards for the Physical Inspection of Real Estate (NSPIRE) for HCV Programs NSPIRE replaced the older Housing Quality Standards as of October 2025.
For bed bugs, HUD Notice 2011-20 imposes stricter obligations on subsidized-housing owners. Owners must act within 24 hours of learning about a possible infestation, provide the resident with educational materials and available treatment measures, and cannot charge the resident for any bed bug treatment costs regardless of how the infestation started or when it was reported. Owners also cannot deny tenancy to an applicant based on a prior bed bug experience. If your landlord in HUD-assisted housing tries to bill you for bed bug treatment or threatens your tenancy over an infestation, that likely violates federal program rules on top of the state landlord-tenant statutes.