Chesapeake, VA Rental Inspections: Tenant Complaint Process (2026)

Chesapeake enforces the Uniform Statewide Building Code's maintenance standards in designated rental inspection districts under City Code Sec. 14-111 through 14-120. City council maps these districts by census tract and block group after finding, per Sec. 14-113(b), that the units inside are blighted, deteriorating, or otherwise in need of inspection to protect occupants' health, safety and welfare. 00 civil penalty under Sec. 14-114. Once notified, the director schedules a periodic inspection under Sec. 14-115: single-family and duplex rentals are checked, and multifamily complexes get an initial sample of ten percent of units, capped at ten, covering exterior and common areas.

A unit that clears inspection with no violations affecting safe, decent and sanitary conditions earns a four-year certificate of exemption; a sale of the property also triggers a periodic inspection within 30 days unless one was done in the prior year. If a periodic or initial check turns up a violation affecting safe, decent and sanitary living conditions, Sec. 14-116 requires the director to order follow-up inspections until the unit is brought into compliance with the building code, after which a one-year certificate of approval issues and annual periodic inspections resume on its expiration.

Hotels, motels and other transient lodging are exempt under Sec. 14-117, as are newly built units for four years from their original certificate of occupancy, though that exemption is revoked the moment a code violation arises. Owners may appeal any director determination to the local board of building code appeals within 21 days under Sec. 14-118, and the department sets its own inspection and certificate fees annually in the city budget under Sec. 14-119.