Henry County, Virginia Eviction Risk: Low

Henry County, Virginia scores 3.7/10 (Low) on eviction risk, placing it among the higher-risk third of the state's 132 counties. With 42 Virginia counties scoring higher and 89 scoring lower, landlords here face conditions that are meaningfully more challenging than in the majority of the Commonwealth. Across the county's 8 tracked cities, scores span a range of 4.6 to 5.4, meaning your operating conditions depend heavily on exactly where your rental property sits.

The county's average rent of $745 and a rent burden of 27.5% of income indicate modest rents relative to tenant incomes, which can cushion collections somewhat, but a 15.4% poverty rate and a renter share of 30.1% of the population signal that a meaningful slice of the rental pool is financially fragile. That combination, moderate-but-not-extreme pressure, is what the Moderate label reflects in practice.

The cities inside Henry County

The highest-risk location in the county is Sandy Level at 4/10, followed closely by Collinsville at 4.1/10. Collinsville is by far the most populous city in the county at 7,139 residents, so investors with multi-unit exposure there should treat the elevated score seriously. Ridgeway sits at 3.4/10, matching the county average, while Bassett and Fieldale both come in at 3.2/10.

The lowest-risk cities offer a different picture. Oak Level posts the county's best score at 3.2/10, with Horse Pasture at 3.4/10 and Chatmoss at 3.2/10 also in the lower range. The gap between Sandy Level's 5.4 and Oak Level's 4.6 may look modest in absolute terms, but it reflects meaningfully different default and vacancy risk profiles, and that gap can translate directly into vacancy days and legal costs over a multi-year hold. Risk in Henry County is hyper-local, and a city-by-city review before acquisition is warranted.

State-level laws that apply here

All landlords in Henry County operate under the Virginia Residential Landlord and Tenant Act (Va. Code § 55.1-1200 et seq.). For nonpayment of rent, the required notice is 5 days under Va. Code § 55.1-1245, one of the shorter notice windows in the country. A material lease violation triggers a 21-day notice, and a material non-curable breach or a month-to-month termination each require 30 days. Once you file, an uncontested case typically resolves in 21 to 45 days; a contested case can run 45 to 120 days. Understanding the full Virginia eviction process before your first filing will prevent costly procedural missteps that extend those timelines.

Court filing fees run $58 to $90, sheriff lockout fees add $40 to $150, and attorney fees range $500 to $3,000 depending on case complexity. Virginia does not impose rent control, and state law preempts any local rent-control ordinance, so rent adjustments remain fully at the landlord's discretion. There is no just-cause eviction requirement under Virginia law. Landlords should still budget for Virginia eviction costs as a line item in their underwriting, since even a single contested case can push total out-of-pocket expense past the high end of those attorney fee estimates.

With 30.1% of Henry County residents renting and a poverty rate of 15.4%, the tenant pool is active but financially stretched in places; the city grid above breaks down each community's individual score so you can pinpoint exactly where risk concentrates before committing capital.