Do I need to be there for showings?
No Virginia statute or MLS rule reviewed for this answer requires a seller to be present for showings. The signed listing agreement and the showing instructions given under it decide how access works: who may enter, when, and whether a keybox is used. When a tenant lives in the home, the tenant's consent and notice rules under Virginia's landlord and tenant law also apply.
Find the access terms in the agreement you signed before asking anyone else
The question has a document for an answer, and the seller already has a copy of it. Take out the signed listing agreement and look for the part that deals with access: showings, entry, a keybox, notice before a visit, and any instructions about pets, alarms or hours. That clause, and the instructions written under it, is where the answer lives.
Virginia law explains why it is the document that matters. Under Va. Code 54.1-2137 C, a brokerage agreement has to be in writing and has to state the services the licensee will provide. Under Va. Code 54.1-2131 A 1, a licensee engaged by a seller shall perform in accordance with the terms of that agreement. A listing agreement is the brokerage agreement a seller signs, so its access terms bind the seller's own agent.
Whatever form the agreement takes, an exclusive right to sell listing or another kind, showings run under the access terms the seller agreed to. Nothing in the statutes or the MLS rules read for this answer adds a requirement that the owner be home.
The marketing runs under the same document. Va. Code 54.1-2131 A 2 a has the seller's licensee conduct marketing activities in accordance with the brokerage agreement and seek a sale at the price and terms in it, or at a price and terms acceptable to the seller. Showings are part of that marketing, which is why the agreement, and not a statute, is the place to look.
Showings start when the MLS status reads Active, and stop when it does not
Before a single buyer comes through, the listing's status in the MLS says whether showings are expected at all. The SWVAR MLS defines its statuses in a quick reference for members, and two of the four speak to showings in so many words.
| Status | What the definition says |
|---|---|
| Active | The property is actively being shown to buyers and is available for showings |
| Temporarily Withdrawn | Off the market for a set period of time and not available for showings; the listing agreement between the brokerage and the seller remains in effect |
| Withdrawn | Off the market and no longer for sale |
| Expired | The listing contract has expired and has not been renewed |
How a showing happens with nobody home: the keybox field on the listing
When the seller is not there, someone still has to open the door. The MLS listing records how. A SWVAR listing's keybox serial number field takes one of four entries: the SWVAR iBox serial number, a TN or NRV box, a combo box, or None.
Two details in that field matter to an owner who plans to be away. The combination to a combo box never goes on the listing itself; the quick reference is emphatic about that. And SWVAR leases Supra eKeys and iBoxes to its members under its own lockbox rules and regulations. Those rules are not reproduced here, so questions about how an eKey entry is logged or who may carry one go to SWVAR at (276) 623-1252.
None is a real option too. A seller who does not want a keybox on the property can say so in the showing instructions, and then every showing needs someone there to let visitors in. How a buyer arranges to see a property listed here is covered with the current listings.
What stays private while the seller is away, and what a buyer must still be told
Some owners want to be present because they worry about what gets said in their absence. The statute that governs the seller's own agent answers part of that worry directly.
- Confidentiality. Under Va. Code 54.1-2131 A 3, the seller's licensee keeps the client's personal and financial information confidential, along with anything else the client asks to keep confidential, unless the law provides otherwise or the seller consents in writing.
- Disclosure. Under subsection B, the same licensee must disclose to prospective buyers, in writing, the material adverse facts about the physical condition of the property that the licensee actually knows. Being away for a showing does not change that duty. Who discloses what, and how, is covered in do I have to disclose problems with land I sell.
- Other properties. Under subsection D, the seller's licensee does not breach a duty to the seller by showing a buyer other properties or by representing other sellers.
None of that depends on the owner being in the next room. It runs with the brokerage relationship, which is why the listing agreement, and not the seller's presence, is the working protection when a house is being shown.
When a tenant lives there, access runs through the tenant's consent and notice
A rented house adds a second set of rules, because the person living there is not the seller. Under the Virginia Residential Landlord and Tenant Act, Va. Code 55.1-1229 A 1, a tenant "shall not unreasonably withhold consent" to the landlord entering to exhibit the dwelling unit to prospective or actual purchasers.
The same section limits the landlord. Except in an emergency or where it is impractical, the landlord gives the tenant notice of the intent to enter, and may enter only at reasonable times. If the rental agreement so provides and a tenant declines a showing without reasonable justification, the landlord may recover damages, costs and reasonable attorney fees; the statute's reasonable justification includes a health concern during a declared state of emergency for a communicable disease, after written notice, in which case the tenant provides a video tour or other acceptable substitute.
How the lease, the sale and the tenant's other rights fit together is a larger subject, covered in selling a house with a tenant in it. What a specific lease says about showings, and whether a refusal supports a claim, is an attorney's reading. The rest of preparing a house for the market is on selling your home.
Writing the showing instructions for a home you are listing?
Tell Lowell whether the house is occupied and when people can come through. He will go over the access terms in the listing agreement with you before the first showing is booked. No cost, no obligation.
Got it. Thank you.
We'll be in touch shortly with an honest read.
Questions this raises
Can I ask that showings happen only when I am home?
That is a matter for the showing instructions and the listing agreement, not a statute. The brokerage agreement has to be in writing and state the services the licensee provides, and a licensee engaged by a seller performs in accordance with its terms. The practical cost is scheduling: every visit then waits for the owner's calendar. The listing agent can explain how the instructions are recorded before the first showing.
Can I stop showings for a few weeks without ending the listing?
The SWVAR MLS has a status for that. Temporarily Withdrawn means the property is off the market for a set period and not available for showings, while the listing agreement between the brokerage and the seller remains in effect. Whether that status fits a particular stretch away, and how the change is made, is a question for the listing agent before the dates are set.
Will the agent showing my house tell buyers why I am selling?
The seller's own licensee keeps the client's personal and financial information confidential, and anything else the client asks to keep confidential, unless the law provides otherwise or the seller consents in writing, under Va. Code 54.1-2131 A 3. A seller who wants a reason for the sale kept private can say so. That duty sits alongside, and does not replace, the licensee's written disclosure of known material adverse facts about the property's physical condition.
Where this page's facts come from
Every rule, office and figure above traces to one of these. Rules change; check the office before you act on one.
- Va. Code 54.1-2131, licensees engaged by sellers Virginia General Assembly
- Va. Code 54.1-2137, commencement and termination of brokerage relationships; brokerage agreements in writing Virginia General Assembly
- Va. Code 55.1-1229, access to the dwelling unit (Virginia Residential Landlord and Tenant Act) Virginia General Assembly
- MLS quick reference handout (status definitions and keybox field) Southwest Virginia Association of REALTORS
- Helpful documents: Supra eKey and Lockbox Rules and Regulations Southwest Virginia Association of REALTORS