It's the law! State code says: "It shall be unlawful for any person owning, keeping, or having custody or control of a dog to fail to remove immediately the dog's excrement …" To neglect doing this is a Class 4 Misdemeanor. Picking up waste keeps our environment beautiful and clean.
A homeowners association in Virginia can restrict rentals but not without the express authority to do so. That means HOAs are permitted to limit or prohibit rentals provided such provisions are duly adopted in their declaration or CC&Rs.
Substantive changes include (i) a requirement that a law-enforcement officer or animal control officer who has reason to believe that a dog within his jurisdiction is a dangerous dog must apply for a district court summons, a requirement that is discretionary under current law; (ii) a prohibition on disposing of a dog ...
Even if the apartment complex has a “no pets” policy, you can request a reasonable accommodation for your service animal or emotional support animal under the Fair Housing Act.
Per Virginia Code § 3.2-6524 and § 3.2-6521, Arlington residents with dogs over four months old must obtain a dog license and vaccinate their dog against rabies.
In Virginia, there's a law that says you need to bring your pets indoors and not leave them outside for too long if the weather is consistently above 85 degress or below 32 degrees. If left outside too long in freezing temperatures, your pets can suffer from hypothermia and become disoriented or possibly even die.
Who governs homeowners associations in Virginia? HOAs are subject to a number of state, federal, and local laws and are governed by a common interest community board that creates and enforces certain rules and regulations contained in the HOA's governing documents.
The association will likely go into receivership. Any homeowner or creditor can take legal action against the HOA. Once it is clear that no one on the board will serve as the association's representative, the court will appoint a receiver.
Homeowners can sue a board member of an HOA in Virginia if they believe there has been a violation of the governing documents or state law. Legal action must be based on specific grievances, such as breach of fiduciary duty or failure to follow the association's rules.
In these situations, you can complain directly to this office by filing the CIC Complaint Form, which you can find under the “Forms and Applications” tab here: .dpor.virginia/cic-ombudsman.