Summer is gone and fall is here, so air conditioning might not be the first thing on your mind. It is, however, a technology on which most of us rely to get through hot and muggy Virginia summers. Believe it or not, until this year, Virginia landlords were not required to treat air conditioning as an essential service. 

On July 1, 2026, HB 519 took effect, adding central air conditioning to the list of essential services under the Virginia Residential Landlord and Tenant Act. 

But wait. There is a catch. 

Central air conditioning is considered an essential service only if the landlord supplies it and it is operating, or represented as operating, as of the effective date of the rental agreement. If a landlord does not provide central air conditioning, or provides only window or portable units, air conditioning is not an essential service. 

Why does it matter whether central air conditioning is an essential service? Because a landlord who willfully or negligently fails to supply an essential service is in breach of the rental agreement. If the tenant gives the landlord written notice of the breach, and the landlord fails to correct it, the tenant may recover damages or even terminate the lease. 

In practice, this means that if the landlord provides central air conditioning at the start of the tenancy and it stops working, the landlord must repair it within a reasonable time.