# Virginia — Landlord retaliation presumption period by US state

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, not quoted from the source)_
- **What the presumption does:** may assert such retaliation as a defense in any action against him for possession _(verified: appears in the quote below)_
- **Example of a protected activity:** the tenant has organized or become a member of a tenant's organization _(verified: appears in its own passage below)_
- **Statute:** Va. Code § 55.1-1258 _(our reading, not quoted from the source)_

## 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.

## Where each value comes from

This source states these in separate places, so each value is shown with the passage that states it.

### 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.

## Source

- https://law.lis.virginia.gov/vacode/title55.1/chapter12/section55.1-1258/

Last verified: 2026-09-02. Review by: 2027-09-02.
Part of [Landlord retaliation presumption period by US state](https://referencesource.org/landlord-retaliation-presumption-period-by-state/).