A commercial landlord in Virginia who wishes to evict a non-paying tenant must do so by filing an unlawful detainer action in the General District Court of the county where the property is located. The guidelines for pursuing an unlawful detainer, found in Va. Code Ann. § 8.01-126, were modified earlier this year and went into effect on July 1, 2024.
One noteworthy modification relates to a landlord’s request for all amounts due and owing as of the date of the hearing, which can be requested on the pleading form for the unlawful detainer summons. When the request is made, the landlord may now include an approximation of the amount(s) coming due as of the day of the hearing. At the hearing, if additional amounts become due, then the court will allow amendment of the requested amount, in accordance with the evidence presented and the terms of the lease agreement.
If, however, the landlord has not selected the option for all amounts due and owing as of the date of the hearing, then prior to the hearing, the landlord is required to provide a separate written notice to the tenant that the landlord intends to request an amount greater than the original amount stated on the unlawful detainer summons form. Specifically: (1) the landlord must present sufficient evidence of the amount due and owing; (2) the landlord must provide the court with a copy of a separate written notice to the tenant that additional amounts are due and that the landlord intends to amend the amount requested on the summons; and, (3) the defendant must have had the opportunity in court to object to the additional amounts claimed.
Additional modifications were made to the statute, which tend to support the current practice in this area, such as permitting submission of a photocopy of the lease into evidence so long as it is supported by affidavit, and requiring the entering into evidence of a copy of a proper termination notice before an order of possession will issue, among other changes.
Finally, the standard form for filing a Summons for Unlawful Detainer claim for eviction has been revised to reflect the changes in the law and can be found on the Virginia Courts website. For further information about this or other commercial landlord-tenant matters, please contact Denise Reverski (dreverski@setlifflaw.com) at (804) 377-1272 or Steve Setliff (ssetliff@setlifflaw.com) at (804) 377-1261.
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