Virginia Code 55.1-1255: Authority of sheriffs to store and sell personal property removed from residential premises; recovery of possession by owner; disposition or sale.
Notwithstanding the provisions of § 8.01-156, when personal property is removed from a dwelling unit, the premises, or any storage area provided by the landlord pursuant to an action of unlawful detainer or ejectment, or pursuant to any other action in which personal property is removed from the dwelling unit in order to restore the dwelling unit to the person entitled to such dwelling unit, the sheriff shall oversee the removal of such personal property to be placed into the public way. The tenant shall have the right to remove his personal property from the public way during the 24-hour period after eviction. Upon the expiration of the 24-hour period after eviction, the landlord shall remove, or dispose of, any such personal property remaining in the public way.
Terms Used In Virginia Code 55.1-1255
- Action: means any recoupment, counterclaim, setoff, or other civil action and any other proceeding in which rights are determined, including actions for possession, rent, unlawful detainer, unlawful entry, and distress for rent. See Virginia Code 55.1-1200
- Dwelling unit: means a structure or part of a structure that is used as a home or residence by one or more persons who maintain a household, including a manufactured home, as defined in § Virginia Code 55.1-1200
- Landlord: means the owner, lessor, or sublessor of the dwelling unit or the building of which such dwelling unit is a part. See Virginia Code 55.1-1200
- Notice: means notice given in writing by either regular mail or hand delivery, with the sender retaining sufficient proof of having given such notice in the form of a certificate of service confirming such mailing prepared by the sender. See Virginia Code 55.1-1200
- Person: means any individual, group of individuals, corporation, partnership, business trust, association, or other legal entity, or any combination thereof. See Virginia Code 55.1-1200
- Personal property: All property that is not real property.
- Premises: means a dwelling unit and the structure of which it is a part, facilities and appurtenances contained therein, and grounds, areas, and facilities held out for the use of tenants generally or whose use is promised to the tenant. See Virginia Code 55.1-1200
- Process: includes subpoenas, the summons and complaint in a civil action, and process in statutory actions. See Virginia Code 1-237
- Security deposit: means any refundable deposit of money that is furnished by a tenant to a landlord to secure the performance of the terms and conditions of a rental agreement, as a security for damages to the leased premises, or as a pet deposit. See Virginia Code 55.1-1200
- Statute: A law passed by a legislature.
- Tenant: means a person entitled only under the terms of a rental agreement to occupy a dwelling unit to the exclusion of others and includes a roomer. See Virginia Code 55.1-1200
- Writ: A formal written command, issued from the court, requiring the performance of a specific act.
At the landlord’s request, any personal property removed pursuant to this section shall be placed into a storage area designated by the landlord, which may be the dwelling unit. The tenant shall have the right to remove his personal property from the landlord’s designated storage area at reasonable times during the 24 hours after eviction or at such other reasonable times until the landlord has disposed of the property as provided in this section. During that 24-hour period and until the landlord disposes of the remaining personal property of the tenant, the landlord and the sheriff shall not have any liability for the risk of loss for such personal property. If the landlord fails to allow reasonable access to the tenant to remove his personal property as provided in this section, the tenant shall have a right to injunctive or other relief as otherwise provided by law.
Any property remaining in the landlord’s storage area upon the expiration of the 24-hour period after eviction may be disposed of by the landlord as the landlord sees fit or appropriate. If the landlord receives any funds from any sale of such remaining property, the landlord shall pay such funds to the account of the tenant and apply the funds to any amounts due the landlord by the tenant, including the reasonable costs incurred by the landlord in the eviction process described in this section or the reasonable costs incurred by the landlord in selling or storing such property. If any funds are remaining after application, the remaining funds shall be treated as a security deposit under the provisions of § 55.1-1226.
The notice posted by the sheriff with the writ of eviction setting the date and time of the eviction, pursuant to § 8.01-470, shall provide notice to the tenant of the rights afforded to tenants in this section and shall include a copy of this statute attached to, or made a part of, the notice.
2001, c. 222, § 55-248.38:2; 2006, c. 129; 2013, c. 563; 2019, cc. 180, 700, 712.