Unreasonable: The Dramatic Rise in Attorney Fees Charged to Tenants
in Virginia Residential Eviction Proceedings is a report from the Virginia Poverty Law Center (VPLC) and the RVA Eviction Lab.

In 2024, judges awarded nearly $18 million in fees to landlord attorneys in residential eviction cases across Virginia, a 48% increase from 2019 (inflation-adjusted), even as eviction judgments fell 19%. The share of cases with the most egregious attorney fee awards ($1,000 or more for a judgment at the first hearing) increased statewide by more than 250%, from 346 cases in 2019 to 1,255 in 2024. In Richmond, they jumped 830%, from 20 cases to 186.