Rental Inspections in Portsmouth, VA (2026)
2 verified rental inspections rules for Portsmouth, Virginia, sourced directly from the municipal code and official government pages.
Verified from official government sources
Inspection Programs
Portsmouth runs mandatory rental inspections in three council-designated rental inspection districts, checking dwelling units for compliance with building code standards that protect safe, decent, and sanitary living conditions for tenants. After an initial inspection with no violations, an owner earns a four-year exemption from further inspection.
Portsmouth Rental Inspection District Program
Significant RestrictionsSec. 17-85; Sec. 17-93
Upon the establishment of a rental inspection district, the department may, in conjunction with the written notifications as provided in section 17-84, proceed to inspect dwelling units in the designated rental inspection district to determine if a dwelling unit is being used as residential rental property and to determine compliance with the provisions of the building code that affect the safe...
Tenant Complaint Process
Portsmouth requires any occupant who discovers a code violation to report it immediately to the health director, and outside the city's three designated rental inspection districts the Department of Permits and Inspections may inspect a unit only after finding evidence it is blighted, deteriorating, or otherwise unsafe for tenants under City Code §§ 17-34(1) and 17-91.
Portsmouth Tenant Rental Complaint Inspections
Some RestrictionsPortsmouth City Code §§ 17-91, 17-34(1)
The inspection of a residential rental dwelling unit outside of a designated rental inspection district shall be based upon a determination by the department that: (1)There is a need to protect the public health, welfare and safety of the occupants of that individual dwelling; and (2)The individual dwelling unit is either blighted, in the process of deteriorating or there is evidence of violati...