As a landlord in Virginia, you will undoubtedly experience a tenant eviction at some point in your career. Common reasons for tenant evictions in Roanoke, Virginia include:
- Failure to pay rent.
- Excessive rental property damage.
- Other reasons, such as subletting the rental, altering the unit without your approval, unauthorized other persons in the unit, or lease violations.
If you are a landlord looking to remove a tenant in Virginia, there are certain laws and a specific legal process that you must follow to remain legally compliant.
Here’s a basic overview of the Virginia eviction process, from the notice to the court hearing.
Notice for Termination with Cause
When evicting tenants from your Roanoke rental property, a landlord must follow the procedure as outlined by landlord-tenant laws.
The #1 reason for renter Virginia eviction is non-payment of rent. In the case of non-payment, Virginia landlord-tenant laws state that you can give the tenant a 5-day pay or quit notice. The renter then has five days to rectify their nonpayment of rent once notice has been served to avoid eviction.
All other eviction reasons, except for emergency issues, are 30 days.
If they choose to pay rent after receiving the notice, then no further action is needed on your part as a landlord, according to Virginia landlord-tenant law. However, if after five days your resident does not pay rent, you may begin the process of terminating your lease agreement and evicting the renter from your Virginia rental property for nonpayment.
Another common reason for a landlord to remove renters is a serious violation of the lease terms, such as a renter keeping an unauthorized pet in the property or making alterations to the property without your permission.
If your renter violates the lease agreement, the landlord may give the tenant a 30-day notice, which will give them 30 days to correct the lease violation. No further action is required if the renter corrects the violation they made to the lease agreement.
If the tenant fails to fix the violation, the landlord may proceed with the eviction.
Another common reason for renter eviction in Virginia is due to excessive rental unit damage. If a renter cannot remedy a violation, then you will send a notice which outlines the violation. The rental agreement will terminate 30 days after you serve the written notice to the tenant.
For a criminal or willful act that isn’t curable and jeopardizes health and safety, such as engaging in illegal drug activities, you aren’t required to provide the renter with any eviction notice in court. You may terminate the rental agreement and request to begin the process in Virginia court immediately.
Any notice must document the name of the resident being served and the address of the rental property.
Notice for Termination without Cause
As already mentioned, in order to remove a Virginia tenant from your rental unit, you must have a legitimate reason. If you don’t have a legal justification, then you must wait for the existing term to end before expecting the tenant to move out in court.
For residents on a month-to-month lease agreement, a landlord or the property manager must give a 30-day termination notice to the tenant.
For renters on fixed-term lease agreements, you must wait until the current term ends.
Tenant Eviction Defenses in Virginia
Although the landlord may have a legitimate reason for evicting a resident, the Virginia tenant may still choose to fight their removal in the court hearing. Some of the defenses the tenant may put up against the eviction lawsuit in court include:
- You tried evicting them yourself as the landlord. A landlord can’t carry out the eviction themself. Doing things like blocking their access to the rental unit or shutting off services and utilities is illegal.
- You didn’t follow the right eviction process. Making a procedural mistake might also derail the eviction process in Virginia.
- The resident remedied the payment violation. If, for example, the tenant paid all the due rent within five days of receiving written notice, including late fees or additional costs as determined by the lease rules, then the landlord must stop the eviction proceedings once they have received the payment.
- The eviction was an act of discrimination. Both Virginia tenancy laws and the Fair Housing Laws criminalize all acts of discrimination. The Federal Fair Housing Law makes it illegal for a Virginia residential landlord to discriminate against tenants based on the following 7 protected classes: race, color, disability, familial status, national origin, religion and sex.
- The eviction was a retaliatory act. As a landlord, you cannot remove a resident for exercising their rights such as their right to join or form a tenants’ union.
To ensure the eviction isn’t derailed by any of those defenses in court, be sure to follow the due process under Virginia law. If you do not, you may be responsible for any incurred lawyer or attorney fees or ‘actual damages’ claimed by the tenant which is the money spent because they were evicted, such as hotel fees, filing fees, attorney fees, or moving costs.
Removal of the Virginia Tenant
If your Virginia tenant does not vacate the unit following the legal termination of the lease agreement, then you will file an eviction, also known as a Summons for Unlawful Detainer, and go through the court process for the eviction lawsuit.
After you request the summons, a court date will be granted anywhere from 5 days to 30 days after filing, where both persons will get the chance to defend themselves.
In extreme circumstances, such as illegal activity perpetrated by the tenant, you can file a request for immediate possession. If the landlord wins the court judgment after filing for immediate possession, a ten-day window is set for the tenant to leave. But in normal eviction cases, the sheriff’s office serves the tenant with the Summons for Unlawful Detainer.
A Summons for Unlawful Detainer is a court order that means that the tenant is illegally detaining your property, and you are filing for repossession. After filing for a Summons for Unlawful Detainer, and if the tenant does not appeal, the sheriff’s office will inform the tenant of the date and time of the coming eviction.
If the judge rules in the landlord’s favor, you will obtain a writ of possession and begin reclaiming your property. The writ of possession declares that you are reclaiming your property and removing the tenant.
Next, the judge will grant a writ of eviction. The writ of eviction document allows the sheriff’s office to grant you protection and to remove the tenant and the tenant’s belongings.
If the tenant still does not vacate the unit after receiving the writ of eviction, you can contact the sheriff’s office. After you contact the sheriff’s office, the sheriff will remove them. Then the landlord will obtain possession after the unlawful detainer proceedings.
Sometimes, tenants leave belongings in the unit after being removed from the premises. If this is the case, the landlord must give the tenant an unlawful detainer notice to obtain their belongings within a 24-hour period.
The landlord must give the resident reasonable access to the unit to reclaim their belongings from the premises. The tenant will decide on a time in the 24-hour period that is convenient for them and the landlord. Reasonable access will allow the tenant to get their things, supervised by the property owner.
If the tenant fails to remove their possessions after receiving the unlawful detainer notice, they will be considered abandoned. Anything property left behind at the end of the 24-hour period is yours to sell or destroy.
Bottom Line
Under the Virginia Landlord and Tenant Act, there are certain laws and a specific process to follow when attempting to evict a tenant for any reason. The process often involves filing a case in the general district court and attending the court hearing.
Once filed, the general district court will review the case, and the judge rules based on the evidence presented. If you need help getting rid of a troublesome tenant, JMAX Property Management can help. We are a full-service management company serving the residents of Roanoke, Virginia. Contact us today to learn more about our services.
