How long after written notice does tenant have to move out?

[Sophia Remley]

Hello all! I am a newbie out of Winchester, VA and am closing on my first property in WV in 2 weeks. It is a Duplex and both sides are currently rented month to month with 30 day notice. I am buying this as a primary residence so the plan is to give notice to the tenant on the side that needs the most work. My original closing date was today and I had planned on giving written notice to the tenant immediately and they would have to move out by 12/31

My closing date was pushed back to 12/3/2020 because I couldn't get an appraisal scheduled because of all the refinances. My question is, if I give written notice to the tenant on 12/3 does that mean that the tenant has until 1/2/2020, 30 days later to move out? Or will they have until the end of the month? 

I'm probably overthinking this but I want to get it right the first time! 

[Erin Dorsey Robinson]

Hi there! Congratulations on buying your first property! I think you are right to want to understand this clearly as landlord tenant law can be full of little surprises. As with anything, the devil's in the details. If I were you, I would ask either your realtor/broker, a real estate based attorney or some kind of legal aid non-profit for tenants if one exists in your area. My inclination would be that the 30 day notice means tenants have 30 days, regardless of where in the month that falls. But that is the law here in Cleveland (Ohio). Not sure what Virginia law stipulates, but I do know that you want to be sure you are working within the law when you are talking about asking people to move...especially right now. 

Good luck!