Virginia
For Virginia, what the presumption does is may assert such retaliation as a defense in any action against him for possession; example of a protected activity is the tenant has organized or become a member of a tenant's organization; statute is Va. Code § 55.1-1258, recorded from its source on 2026-09-02.
- State
- Virginia our reading
- What the presumption does
- may assert such retaliation as a defense in any action against him for possession verified
- Example of a protected activity
- the tenant has organized or become a member of a tenant's organization verified
- Statute
- Va. Code § 55.1-1258 our reading
Values marked our reading are our classification of what the source says — the source does not print them in those words. The quote below is the evidence for each one; judge it yourself.
What the source says
B. If the landlord acts in violation of this section, the tenant is entitled to the applicable remedies provided for in this chapter, including recovery of actual damages, and may assert such retaliation as a defense in any action against him for possession. The burden of proving retaliatory intent shall be on the tenant.
— law.lis.virginia.gov, retrieved 2026-09-02
Where each value comes from
The value above is stated away from the sentence quoted with the answer, so the passage that states it is shown here too.
Example of a protected activity
(iii) the tenant has organized or become a member of a tenant's organization, or (iv) the tenant has testified in a court proceeding against the landlord.
— all from law.lis.virginia.gov, retrieved 2026-09-02
Source
- law.lis.virginia.govhttps://law.lis.virginia.gov/vacode/title55.1/chapter12/section55.1-1258/