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Virginia Notice to Vacate Letter

Fill in your details, review the virginia notice to vacate letter, and edit the wording before you send. Copy the finished text or download a Word file for free.

[Your full name]

[Date]

[Your landlord's name]

Re: Notice to vacate — [Rental property address]

Dear [Your landlord's name],

Please accept this letter as my formal written notice that I will terminate my tenancy at [Rental property address] and vacate the premises on [Move-out date].

Under Virginia Residential Landlord and Tenant Act - Periodic tenancies; holdover remedies (Va. Code § 55.1-1253(A)), a month-to-month tenancy may be terminated by the tenant on 30 days written notice. This notice is given in accordance with that requirement and with any additional notice period my lease provides.

I will leave the unit clean and in good condition, ordinary wear and tear excepted, and will return all keys and access devices on or before my move-out date. I would like a move-out inspection during my final week; please propose a date and time.

Please send my security deposit, with any itemized statement required by law, to my forwarding address: [Your forwarding address]. Kindly confirm receipt of this notice in writing.

Sincerely,

[Your full name]

Know your rights

Notice to vacate law in Virginia

Tenant notice required: 30 days
Governing statute: Va. Code § 55.1-1253(A)
How the clock runs: Either party must serve written notice at least 30 days before the next rent due date, and the tenancy ends at the close of that rental period - so notice given mid-cycle must still clear a full 30 days before rent next comes due. Week-to-week tenancies need only 7 days' notice before the next rent due date.
Delivering the notice: Notice must be written and served on the other party; hand delivery or certified mail with a kept copy satisfies the VRLTA's notice rules and proves timing.
Fixed-term leases: At the end of a fixed term the lease's own renewal and notice clauses control - many Virginia leases auto-renew month-to-month unless written notice is given 30-60 days before expiry - and the parties may also agree in writing to terminate early.

Worth knowing: Unusually, § 55.1-1253(A) expressly lets the rental agreement set a different notice period for month-to-month terminations, and that contractual period displaces the 30-day default (the statute gives week-to-week tenancies no such flexibility). Servicemembers with qualifying PCS or deployment orders can terminate early under § 55.1-1235, and victims of family abuse or sexual assault can terminate under § 55.1-1236 with proper documentation. Title 55 was recodified into Title 55.1 effective October 1, 2019, so older summaries citing Title 55 section numbers are outdated.

Last reviewed August 2026 · General information, not legal advice · Read the statute · Also for Virginia: security deposit demand letter

Field notes

Three tips before you send

Notice must be written and served on the other party; hand delivery or certified mail with a kept copy satisfies the VRLTA's notice rules and proves timing.
Either party must serve written notice at least 30 days before the next rent due date, and the tenancy ends at the close of that rental period - so notice given mid-cycle must still clear a full 30 days before rent next comes due. Week-to-week tenancies need only 7 days' notice before the next rent due date.
Date math is unforgiving — the clock usually runs from the day your landlord receives the notice, not the day you write it. Build in a few days of cushion, and photograph the empty unit when you hand back the keys.

Straight answers

Questions people ask

How much notice does a tenant have to give in Virginia?

Either party must serve written notice at least 30 days before the next rent due date, and the tenancy ends at the close of that rental period - so notice given mid-cycle must still clear a full 30 days before rent next comes due. Week-to-week tenancies need only 7 days' notice before the next rent due date. The governing statute is Virginia Residential Landlord and Tenant Act - Periodic tenancies; holdover remedies.

What happens when a fixed-term lease ends in Virginia?

At the end of a fixed term the lease's own renewal and notice clauses control - many Virginia leases auto-renew month-to-month unless written notice is given 30-60 days before expiry - and the parties may also agree in writing to terminate early. Check your lease for a renewal or notice clause — where the statute allows it, the lease controls.

Anything else Virginia renters should know before moving out?

Unusually, § 55.1-1253(A) expressly lets the rental agreement set a different notice period for month-to-month terminations, and that contractual period displaces the 30-day default (the statute gives week-to-week tenancies no such flexibility). Servicemembers with qualifying PCS or deployment orders can terminate early under § 55.1-1235, and victims of family abuse or sexual assault can terminate under § 55.1-1236 with proper documentation. Title 55 was recodified into Title 55.1 effective October 1, 2019, so older summaries citing Title 55 section numbers are outdated.

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When to use this letter

Moving out should be the easy part — but in Virginia, when you give notice and how you deliver it decide whether you owe another month of rent. The rule that matters: for a month-to-month tenancy, Virginia law generally requires 30 days written notice from the tenant, under Virginia Residential Landlord and Tenant Act - Periodic tenancies; holdover remedies. This generator writes a tenant's notice to vacate that cites Va. Code § 55.1-1253(A) by name, states your move-out date, and asks for the move-out inspection and your deposit instructions in the same letter — so nothing gets renegotiated later. No blank template to fight with: fill in your landlord, the address, and the date, then send it in a way you can prove, because notice clocks here run from delivery, not from the day you write it.