New Virginia Bill May Stall Landlords Getting Their Property Back
Under Virginia Law, a landlord has the ability to file an “unlawful detainer” with the General District Court after giving certain types of notices to the tenant that they have violated the lease. Once an unlawful detainer has been filed, then the Court has to schedule an initial court date to address the issue. Under existing Virginia law, the judge had the power to grant possession of the property to the landlord and schedule a final hearing on rents and damages. This was a process known as “bifurcation.” This process allowed a landlord to get control of the property back while waiting for the financial side of the case to resolve. The Virginia General Assembly has decided to create a new law that may limit this bifurcation process.
What is this new law that is being proposed? Currently listed in the General Assembly as House Bill 740, the new law is going to limit the ability of the Court to do this "bifurcation” process in cases involving failure to pay rent. In every other type of eviction, the Court will still have the power to bifurcate. This means that under the new law, if a landlord is trying to evict for failure to pay rent then the landlord will have to wait for the final hearing in order to get possession.
What impact will this new law have on tenants? There is a benefit to tenants with the proposed language of the new law. If you are a tenant, it protects your ability to have your day in court and to contest the total rent amount owed. It will slow down the eviction process if you contest how much is owed. If there is any disagreement about the amount owed, the landlord may have to wait longer or be prepared to put on a trial at the first court date.
What impact will this new law have on landlords? This new law is likely going to cause a financial hardship for landlords. Many evictions are based on failure to pay rent. Landlords will either have to have all their witnesses on the first court date and be prepared to put on the full trial or they will have to schedule a final trial while the tenant remains in the property. There are some other laws that may protect landlords such as bonds posted by the tenant, but there are likely to be some issues that come up with the way bonds work right now.
Either way, if you are a landlord or a tenant, you need to be familiar with these evolving laws to understand what your legal rights are in any given situation. If you have a rent dispute, make sure to talk with a lawyer as soon as possible.