The Real Monthly Cost of Renting in Alexandria, VA

A one-bedroom at Foxchase was listed between $1,514 and $1,719 a month on 13 October 2026, and that is roughly four-fifths of what you will actually pay out once Dominion, AlexRenew and the City of Alexandria have taken their share. This guide builds the rest of the stack from the tariffs, statutes and rate sheets themselves, with the date each was read.

What the rent line actually is on 13 October 2026

Twenty-one homes across seven floor plans were listed at Foxchase on 13 October 2026. Fifteen were one-bedrooms from $1,514 to $1,719 in 460 to 580 square feet; six were two-bedrooms from $2,355 to $2,456 in 1,050 to 1,180 square feet. Treat these as the bands live on the check date, not a price list.

The price per square foot looks high on the one-bedrooms, and it is worth being honest about why. Those fifteen one-bedrooms worked out at $2.61 to $3.69 per square foot; the two-bedrooms at $2.00 to $2.26. That gap is arithmetic, not a premium for the smaller home. A one-bedroom still contains a full kitchen, a full bathroom, an entry and mechanical space, and at 460 square feet those fixed rooms are divided into a much smaller denominator. The cheque you write is the dollar figure, not the ratio: the cheapest one-bedroom at $1,514 is $841 a month below the cheapest two-bedroom, even though its per-square-foot number is 30 percent higher. See also our guide to efficiency and small one-bedroom apartments in Alexandria.

Electricity: what Dominion's Schedule 1 actually charges

Foxchase sits in Dominion Energy Virginia's territory, and a standard apartment takes service under Schedule 1, Residential Service. The tariff was filed 16 June 2026 and is effective for usage on and after 1 July 2026. It opens with a basic customer charge of $7.58 per billing month, payable whether or not you switch a light on.

The energy charges are split into blocks and seasons. Distribution is 3.5690 cents per kWh for the first 800 kWh and 2.3596 cents above that, every month. Generation is seasonal: 3.0064 cents for the first 800 kWh from October through May and 2.6965 cents above it, but 3.1212 cents for the first 800 kWh from June through September and 4.6243 cents above it. That step is the summer air-conditioning penalty written into the tariff.

A transmission charge and a long list of riders sit on top, so use the regulator's statistics for an all-in figure. Dominion's Exhibit of Applicable Riders, filed 16 September 2026 and effective 1 September 2026, applies to every distribution and electricity-supply kilowatt-hour, including non-bypassable charges. The U.S. Energy Information Administration put Virginia's average residential price at 17.55 cents per kWh in July 2026 and 16.83 cents year to date, in tables released 24 September 2026. At 17.55 cents, 400 kWh costs $70.20 and 700 kWh costs $122.85. We publish no "typical" usage figure, because no primary source reports verified consumption for apartments of these sizes.

Water and sewer: two bills, and one of them is provisional

Alexandria renters billed directly get two separate water bills. AlexRenew states that most Alexandria customers receive one bill for drinking water from Virginia American Water and a second for wastewater treatment from AlexRenew.

The wastewater side is published and precise. For charges starting 1 July 2026, AlexRenew's own rate estimator applies a wastewater treatment charge of $11.37 per thousand gallons, a City of Alexandria sewer charge of $2.28 per thousand gallons, and a base charge of $14.48 a month. At 2,000 gallons that is $41.78; at 3,000 gallons $55.43; at 4,000 gallons $69.08. AlexRenew also charges a 10 percent late fee and $35.00 on returned payments. These rates come from the fourth two-year adjustment, adopted in June 2025 to fund the $615 million RiverRenew programme.

The drinking-water side cannot be stated as a settled number today. Virginia American Water is on interim rates that took effect on or about 1 May 2026 while its general rate case is pending before the Virginia State Corporation Commission, and the company says the difference between interim and final rates will be refunded with interest once the Commission rules. Because the final Alexandria residential rate is not set, we publish no figure for it. Ask the leasing office whether water is billed directly or allocated, and check what is listed today on the Foxchase community page.

Internet, insurance and the fees that have to be written down

Virginia law now forces the fee conversation onto page one of your lease. Under Va. Code § 55.1-1204.1, a landlord must provide, beginning on the first page of the written rental agreement, an itemisation of all charges to the tenant: the security deposit, the rent due per payment period, and any additional one-time charges due before the commencement date. Immediately above that list the agreement must state that no additional deposits or rent shall be charged unless listed there or added by a separate addendum.

Renter's insurance is a statutory line item in Virginia, not a courtesy. Va. Code § 55.1-1206(B) lets a landlord require, as a condition of tenancy, that a tenant carry renter's insurance, and if the policy lapses the landlord may obtain coverage and the tenant keeps paying until reinstated coverage is documented. Subsection A allows the landlord to require damage insurance at the tenant's cost. Those payments "shall not be deemed a security deposit but shall be rent," and subsection C caps deposits plus premiums paid before the tenancy at two months' periodic rent. We publish no average Virginia premium, because no primary source we could read publishes one.

On parking and internet, use the published schedule or say nothing. Foxchase's published materials listed no parking or internet charge when fee schedules were last checked on 10 September 2026, so no figure is invented here. Price broadband from the provider's own plan page for the address, and ask the leasing office to point at the itemisation the statute requires. See also our breakdown of what Foxchase publishes about its apartments and terms.

Transport: the bus is free, the train is not

DASH, Alexandria's bus network, charges nothing. DASH states that in September 2021 it eliminated fare collection on all DASH buses, supported by $7.2 million in state grant funding to offset lost fare revenue. Five years later there is still no fare and no card to tap.

Metro is where the money goes. WMATA charges $2.25 to $6.75 for a one-way rail trip on weekdays between 5am and 9:30pm, and $2.25 to $2.50 after 9:30pm and at weekends. Metrobus is a flat $2.25, rising to $4.80 on the four express routes. Bus-to-bus transfers are free within two hours, and bus-to-rail transfers apply a $2.25 discount within two hours, on SmarTrip or contactless payments only.

Run the arithmetic for your own pattern. Twenty working days of two rail trips costs $90 a month at the $2.25 minimum and $270 at the $6.75 maximum; your fare depends on distance and time of day, so check the specific origin and destination. Van Dorn Street is a Blue Line station, and King St-Old Town is served by both the Blue and Yellow lines. Because DASH reaches them for nothing, the cost of getting to the station is zero. We cover the journey in our guide to commuting from Alexandria into the District, and the station-adjacent market in our guide to apartments near Van Dorn Street.

The car tax almost nobody budgets for

If you keep a car in Alexandria, the city taxes it every year, and renters are not exempt. The 2026 rate is $5.33 per $100 of assessed value, and the city states that motor vehicles normally parked, stored or garaged in Alexandria must be registered for the tax, including vehicles with out-of-state plates. Vehicles are valued using a recognised pricing guide as of 1 January, primarily the NADA clean trade-in value, and the 2026 bill was due on or before 5 October 2026.

State relief cuts the bill on a sliding scale. For tax year 2026, personal-use vehicles assessed at $5,000 or less receive 100 percent relief; $5,001 to $20,000 receive 50 percent, capped at $533.00; $20,001 to $25,000 receive 25 percent on the first $20,000, capped at $266.50; and above $25,000, 12 percent on the first $20,000, capped at $127.92.

Worked through, that is a real monthly line. A car assessed at $18,000 produces a gross tax of $959.40; 50 percent relief leaves $479.70 for the year, or $39.98 a month to set aside. A car assessed at $30,000 produces $1,599.00 gross, and the $127.92 relief cap leaves $1,471.08, or $122.59 a month. A car assessed at $4,500 costs nothing. Street parking is extra: a residential permit is $55 for a first vehicle, $75 for a second and $250 for a third.

What Virginia law lets a landlord collect, and what it does not cap

The deposit ceiling is two months' rent. Va. Code § 55.1-1226(A) bars a landlord from demanding or receiving a deposit "in an amount or value in excess of two months' periodic rent." On the one-bedroom band above that is a maximum of $3,028 to $3,438, and on the two-bedroom band $4,710 to $4,912. Most Virginia landlords ask for far less; the figure on your lease is the one that counts.

The money has to come back on a clock. The same section requires the deposit, with an itemised written statement of deductions, within 45 days after the termination date of the tenancy, running from the later of termination or the date you vacate. You may ask to attend the move-out inspection, which must be made within 72 hours of delivery of possession. Where a court finds wilful noncompliance it "shall order the return of the security deposit to the tenant," plus actual damages and reasonable attorney fees. The section does not require interest.

There is no statutory cap on Virginia rents or on the size of an increase. The Virginia Residential Landlord and Tenant Act runs from § 55.1-1200 to § 55.1-1262, and no section in it limits either. What the Act regulates is timing. Under § 55.1-1253(A) a month-to-month tenancy may be terminated by either side on at least 30 days' notice before the next rent due date, unless the agreement sets a different period, and a week-to-week tenancy on seven days. Subsection D provides that where a holdover or month-to-month tenant has no new rental agreement, a new rent amount "shall not take effect until the next rent due date coming 30 days after the notice." A fixed-term rent cannot change mid-term, so the negotiation happens before you sign.

The worked monthly budget

One bedroom, 460 to 580 square feet, October 2026. Rent of $1,514 to $1,719. Electricity of $70.20 at 400 kWh or $122.85 at 700 kWh, at Virginia's 17.55 cents per kWh residential average for July 2026. AlexRenew wastewater of $41.78 at 2,000 gallons. That is $1,625.98 at the low end of every line and $1,883.63 at the high end, before the Virginia American Water bill, insurance or travel. Add 20 days of Metro round trips and it becomes $1,715.98 to $2,153.63; add a car assessed at $18,000 and it becomes $1,755.96 to $2,193.61.

Two bedroom, 1,050 to 1,180 square feet, October 2026. Rent of $2,355 to $2,456, electricity of $122.85 at 700 kWh, and AlexRenew wastewater of $55.43 at 3,000 gallons: $2,533.28 to $2,634.28 before water, insurance and travel. Two commuters each making 20 days of round trips add $180 a month at the minimum rail fare and $540 at the maximum.

The honest headline is this. Rent is roughly 91 to 93 percent of a one-bedroom's fixed monthly outgoings before travel, and the controllable levers are summer electricity, water use and whether you keep a car in the city. Price those lines against your own usage alongside the current listings and floor plans at Foxchase, and see our assessment of whether Foxchase is worth it on the numbers.

A note on scope. This is general information, not legal or financial advice. Statutes, tariffs and tax rates change mid-year: Virginia American Water's rates are provisional today and Dominion's riders are refiled regularly. Confirm current rules for your circumstances with the agency, the utility or a Virginia attorney.

Foxchase is an AIR Communities property, and this guide is published by the community. Pricing, availability and fees were checked against the community's own published listings on 13 October 2026 and change frequently. All external figures were read on 13 October 2026 from Va. Code §§ 55.1-1204.1, 55.1-1206, 55.1-1226 and 55.1-1253 on law.lis.virginia.gov, Dominion Energy Virginia's Schedule 1 tariff and Exhibit of Applicable Riders, EIA Electric Power Monthly Tables 5.6.A and 5.6.B, AlexRenew's rate pages, Virginia American Water's rates page, dashbus.com, wmata.com and alexandriava.gov. Confirm current terms with the leasing office before making a decision.

Frequently asked questions

How much is rent at Foxchase right now?

On 13 October 2026 the community listed 21 homes across seven floor plans: one-bedrooms from $1,514 to $1,719 in 460 to 580 square feet, and two-bedrooms from $2,355 to $2,456 in 1,050 to 1,180 square feet. Availability changes weekly.

What is the Dominion Energy residential electricity rate in Virginia?

Schedule 1, effective for usage on and after 1 July 2026, charges $7.58 a month plus 3.5690 cents per kWh distribution and 3.0064 cents generation on the first 800 kWh from October through May, with transmission and riders on top. The EIA put Virginia's all-in residential average at 17.55 cents per kWh in July 2026.

Why is my summer electricity bill higher in Alexandria?

Dominion's generation charge is seasonal: from June through September, usage above 800 kWh is billed at 4.6243 cents per kWh, against 2.6965 cents for the same block from October through May.

How much are water and sewer in Alexandria?

From 1 July 2026 AlexRenew charges $11.37 per thousand gallons for wastewater treatment, $2.28 per thousand gallons for the city sewer charge, and a $14.48 base charge. Drinking water is billed separately by Virginia American Water, on interim rates pending a State Corporation Commission order.

Are DASH buses in Alexandria really free?

Yes. DASH states it eliminated fare collection on all DASH buses in September 2021, offset by $7.2 million in state grant funding. There was still no fare on 13 October 2026.

How much does Metro cost from Alexandria?

WMATA rail is $2.25 to $6.75 one way on weekdays between 5am and 9:30pm, and $2.25 to $2.50 after 9:30pm and at weekends. Metrobus is $2.25 flat, and a bus-to-rail transfer applies a $2.25 discount within two hours.

Do renters pay Alexandria's car tax?

Yes, if the vehicle is normally parked, stored or garaged in the city, including out-of-state plates. The 2026 rate is $5.33 per $100 of assessed value, with 100 percent relief at or below $5,000 and 50 percent from $5,001 to $20,000, capped at $533.

What is the maximum security deposit in Virginia?

Va. Code § 55.1-1226(A) bars a deposit in excess of two months' periodic rent, and § 55.1-1206(C) caps deposits plus damage and renter's insurance premiums paid before the tenancy at the same two months.

How long does a Virginia landlord have to return a deposit?

Within 45 days after the termination date of the tenancy, with an itemised written statement of deductions, under Va. Code § 55.1-1226(A). The statute does not require interest.

Is there rent control in Virginia?

No. The Virginia Residential Landlord and Tenant Act, §§ 55.1-1200 to 55.1-1262, contains no section capping rent or the size of an increase. Section 55.1-1253 regulates notice only.