On March 12, 2024, the Court of Appeals of Virginia issued a holding which examines the contours of the Virginia Residential Landlord Tenant Act (“VRLTA”) as it relates to a residential landlord’s ability to disclaim the warranty of habitability owed to a tenant.
Parrish v. Vance came before the Court of Appeals of Virginia from a landlord’s appeal of judgment of the circuit court in favor of the tenant, which awarded the tenant rent abatement and termination of the lease due to a flea infestation in the rental property.
The case arose out of tenant Mikeya Vance’s rental of a single-family home from landlord Christopher Parrish. On the day that Vance first took possession of the home, she observed fleas and notified her landlord. Several exterminators treated the property, hired by both Vance and Parrish, yet the fleas allegedly persisted over the subsequent months. Vance sought to terminate her lease. When Parrish refused, she initiated suit seeking rent she had paid into escrow and termination of the lease agreement.
After Vance was successful at the trial court level, Parrish argued on appeal that the language in the parties’ lease agreement placed responsibility to mitigate pests on Vance during her occupancy, even if the provision conflicted with the obligations of the VRLTA. The Virginia appellate court analyzed the duties of residential landlords and tenants under the VRLTA and disagreed with Parrish, holding that tenants have a warranty of habitability codified in the VRLTA that a landlord and tenant cannot waive by agreement. In other words, a lease, or another agreement, cannot contract away the warranty of habitability owed by a landlord.
A reading of the construction of the VRLTA provisions ascribing the duty to landlords guided the Court in its holding that the warranty of habitability provided in Code § 55.1-1220(A) is not waivable. Accordingly, the Court of Appeals of Virginia concluded in this case that the lease agreement could not shift the landlord’s burden to deal with the infestation to the tenant. Concerning the warranty itself, the duty of the landlord to keep a premises fit and habitable includes remedying the infestation of fleas, a condition that can render a unit unlivable and one with serious defects to health and safety.
While the tenant also had a duty to keep the rented area free from pests under the VRLTA, and to notify a landlord promptly of the existence of any pests, the court found no error in the circuit court’s finding that the tenant’s acted in accordance with her duties.
This appellate court holding provides guidance to residential landlords renting properties in Virginia. Landlords, or their insurers, facing issues similar to those raised by this case should contact MacDonald Law Group, LLC, for its ability to protect the rights and interests of landlords, property managers, and others involved in related disputes.