Suppose you manage a property and you receive a notice from one of the tenants that an appliance has stopped functioning properly.  The first question is, who is responsible for fixing it.  The second issue is how soon the appliance needs to be repaired. 

As to the first question, Virginia Code § 55.1-1220 assigns the responsibility to maintain appliances to the landlord, so it is the landlord’s responsibility to fix or replace the broken appliance, or hire a professional to do so.  Who incurs the cost of the repair depends on what caused the appliance to stop functioning.  For example, if a refrigerator stops cooling properly through no fault of the tenant, the landlord will be responsible for the costs associated with repairing or replacing it.  However, if an appliance stops working due to a tenant unreasonably damaging it (for example, a garbage disposal breaks because the tenant lodged silverware down the drain), then the cost of repair can be passed on to the tenant.  Whether the tenant caused the damage or not, the tenant still has the duty to report any such problems to the landlord in a timely manner. 

As to the second question, the law allows a landlord a “reasonable” period of time to have repairs completed.  Virginia Code § 55.1-1244 explains that there will be a rebuttable presumption that a period of time in excess of 30 days is unreasonable.  What period of time within that 30-day window constitutes “reasonable” will vary on a case-by-case basis and is left in the discretion of judges to determine.  For example, if a tenant’s furnace goes out during the winter, that must be treated with greater urgency than if their bathroom sink stops working.  However, in both instances, a showing by the landlord of acting with due urgency and with a good faith effort to make the necessary repairs as soon as practical will typically not impart additional liability on the landlord.