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2006 SESSION
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia:
1. That § 55-237.1 of the Code of Virginia is amended and reenacted as follows:
§ 55-237.1. Authority of sheriffs to store and sell personal property removed from premises; recovery of possession by owner; disposition or sale.
Notwithstanding the provisions of § 8.01-156, when personal
property is removed from a any leased or rented commercial or residential
premises pursuant to an action of unlawful detainer or ejectment, or pursuant
to any other action in which personal property is removed from the premises in
order to restore such premises to the person entitled thereto, the sheriff
shall cause 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 twenty-four 24-hour period after eviction. Upon the
expiration of the twenty-four 24-hour period after eviction, the
landlord shall remove, or dispose of, any such personal property remaining in
the public way.
At the landlord's request, the sheriff shall cause such
personal property to be placed into a storage area designated by the landlord,
which may be the dwelling unit leased or rented premises. The
tenant shall have the right to remove his personal property from the landlord's
designated storage area at reasonable times during the twenty-four 24
hours after eviction from the premises or at such other reasonable times until
the landlord has disposed of the property as provided herein. During that twenty-four
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 loss of such personal property. If the landlord fails to
allow reasonable access to the tenant to remove his personal property as
provided herein, the tenant shall have a right to injunctive relief and such
other relief as may be provided by law.
Any property remaining in the landlord's storage area upon the
expiration of the twenty-four 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 same 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
security deposit under applicable law.
The notice posted by the sheriff 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 in the said
notice a copy of this statute attached to, or made a part of, this notice.