Rockingham County, VA Code Violation Reporting: How to Report (2026)

Chapter 17, Article XII, opens its enforcement scheme with Sec. 17-1201, Complaints and investigation regarding violations. Any person may lodge a complaint alleging that a violation of chapter 17 has occurred, and that complaint goes to the zoning administrator in the Department of Community Development, who is required to record the complaint, investigate it, and take action as chapter 17 provides. Before completing an investigation that would require entering a subject dwelling, subsection (b) requires the zoning administrator to make a reasonable effort to obtain consent from the owner or tenant.

If consent cannot be obtained, subsection (c) allows the zoning administrator to present sworn testimony to a magistrate or court to establish probable cause that a zoning violation has occurred, and subsection (d) then lets the administrator seek an inspection warrant from that court to enter the dwelling and determine whether a violation exists. Once a violation is confirmed, Sec. 17-1202 sets the penalty: a misdemeanor with a court-ordered abatement period and a fine of $10 to $1,000, rising to $100-$1,500 for each additional ten-day period the violation is not corrected, and the county may revoke permits issued to the violator.

A person cited for a notice of zoning violation has 30 days to appeal to the board of zoning appeals under Sec. 01, shortened to 10 days for temporary or seasonal commercial-use and commercial-truck-parking violations.