Subletting Laws in Virginia

The Virginia Residential Landlord and Tenant Act¹ defines a sublet as "the transfer by any tenant of any but not all interests created by a rental agreement". Whether or not you are allowed to sublet depends entirely on what your lease says. If your lease prohibits subletting then, since there is no Virginia law superseding this term, you should not expect to be able to sublet legally.

If your lease contains a term that says you can sublet as long as you get your landlord's approval then your landlord is required to respond to your request within ten business days. In this case, if your landlord doesn't respond within ten days you can consider the sublease approved¹.

[1] Virginia Residential Landlord and Tenant Act