Virginia 5-Day Pay or Quit Notice: Service, Payment, and Eviction

In Virginia, a 5-day pay or quit notice is the written warning a landlord must give a tenant before filing for eviction over unpaid rent. It tells the tenant two things: that rent is overdue, and that the lease will terminate if the full amount is not paid within five days. Pay everything owed inside that window and the eviction stops. Miss it, and the landlord can take you to court, though residential tenants still have several more chances to catch up before losing their home. Commercial tenants operate under a different, harsher set of rules.¹

What the Notice Must Say

A valid pay or quit notice has to be in writing, and it has to state that rent is overdue and that the landlord will terminate the rental agreement if the tenant does not pay within five days. Verbal warnings, text messages, or vague letters demanding payment do not satisfy the statute. If any of those elements are missing, the notice is defective and cannot support an eviction case.¹

There is one wrinkle for tenants who paid with a check that bounced or an electronic transfer that failed for insufficient funds. The same five-day notice applies, but the tenant cannot cure the default with another personal check. Payment has to come in cash, a cashier’s check, a certified check, or a completed electronic funds transfer.¹

When the Clock Starts and How the Notice Is Served

The five-day period begins when the tenant actually receives the notice, not when the landlord drops it in the mail or hands it off for delivery. Virginia sets out a specific order for delivering legal documents to individuals. Personal delivery to the tenant comes first. If the tenant is not home, a copy can be left with a household member who is at least 16 years old, with an explanation of what the document is. If no one is available, the landlord can post the notice on the front door or main entrance, and in that case the landlord must also mail a copy to the tenant.²

Service matters more than tenants often realize. If a landlord cannot prove that the notice was properly delivered, the court will not enter an order of possession, no matter how much rent is owed. The court has to admit the notice into evidence at the hearing before ruling for the landlord.³

Paying Within the Five Days

The simplest way to end the process is to pay in full within the five-day window. If the tenant pays everything owed during that period, the landlord cannot proceed with eviction. What counts as “everything owed” typically includes back rent plus any late fees the lease authorizes.¹

Late fees on residential leases are capped at 10 percent of the monthly rent or 10 percent of the remaining balance owed, whichever is less. The fee has to be written into the lease; a landlord cannot add one that was never disclosed. Daily late fees cannot compound. Once the charge is assessed, it stays fixed until rent is paid. Bounced check fees are capped at $50 plus any bank fees the landlord actually incurred.

Chances to Pay After the Five Days Run Out

Residential tenants have one of the strongest sets of redemption rights in the country, and they apply at multiple points after the initial five days expire.

At the first court hearing on the eviction, the tenant or someone paying on the tenant’s behalf can pay the landlord or the court all rent due, late charges, attorney fees, and court costs. Full payment forces the court to dismiss the case, as long as unpaid rent was the only reason the landlord filed.⁴

A tenant who cannot yet pay but has help lined up can present a redemption tender at that first hearing. This is a written commitment from a local government agency or nonprofit to pay the full balance within 10 days. If the court accepts the tender, the case is continued for 10 days. If the money arrives, the case ends. If it does not, the landlord gets a judgment for possession.⁴

Even after the court enters a judgment, the tenant still has one last opening. Paying every dollar owed, including rent, damages, attorney fees, court costs, and sheriff fees, at least 48 hours before the scheduled eviction cancels the eviction entirely. Many tenants who pull the money together at the last minute manage to stay in their homes this way.⁴

There is an exception. Landlords who own four or fewer rental units can limit redemption to once per lease period, but only if they gave the tenant written notice of that limitation.⁴

What Happens if You Don’t Pay

If the five days pass and the tenant has neither paid nor moved out, the landlord’s next step is an unlawful detainer action in the general district court. The landlord files a sworn statement, and a magistrate, clerk, or judge issues a summons directing the tenant to appear. Along with possession, the landlord can ask the court for a money judgment covering back rent, damages, late charges, attorney fees if the lease allows them, and civil recovery, all in the same proceeding.³

Residential landlords cannot lock tenants out, shut off utilities, or otherwise take the property back on their own. Every residential eviction has to go through the court and, ultimately, the sheriff.

A judgment for possession does not by itself remove the tenant. The landlord has to request a writ of eviction, which must be issued within 180 days of the judgment. Once the sheriff has the writ, the sheriff serves the tenant with a notice of intent to execute at least 72 hours before the eviction. That notice includes the date, time, and a description of the tenant’s rights.⁵

Commercial Tenants Face Different Rules

If the rental is for business, industrial, agricultural, or any other non-housing purpose, the protections above do not apply. Commercial tenancies fall under a separate chapter of the Virginia Code, and the written lease controls. The statutory defaults only apply where the lease is silent.⁶

When a commercial lease does not spell out its own procedure, the default is still a written notice giving five days to pay or surrender the premises. But once that window closes without payment, the tenant forfeits possession, and there is no statutory right of redemption at a court hearing.⁷ Virginia also allows commercial landlords to retake the property without going to court, as long as doing so does not breach the peace.⁶ A commercial tenant who receives a five-day notice should read the lease carefully and, if the stakes justify it, talk to an attorney quickly. The window to act is shorter and the safety nets available to residential tenants are not there.

1
Virginia Code Commission. Virginia Code 55.1-1245 – Noncompliance With Rental Agreement
2
Virginia Code Commission. Virginia Code 8.01-296 – Manner of Serving Process Upon Natural Persons
3
Virginia Code Commission. Virginia Code 8.01-126 – Summons for Unlawful Detainer Issued by Magistrate or Clerk or Judge of a General District Court
4
Virginia Code Commission. Virginia Code 55.1-1250 – Landlord’s Acceptance of Rent With Reservation; Tenant’s Right of Redemption
5
Virginia Code Commission. Virginia Code 8.01-470 – Writs on Judgments for Specific Property
6
Virginia Code Commission. Virginia Code 55.1-1400 – Applicability; Right to Terminate Tenant
7
Virginia Code Commission. Virginia Code 55.1-1415 – Failure to Pay Certain Rents After Five Days’ Notice Forfeits Right of Possession