Legal Question in Landlord & Tenant Law in Virginia

Evicting a house guest

A 55 year old man was kicked out of his previous residence by his girlfriend. He asked us if he could stay in our fully furnished guest house. We reluctantly agreed. There is no lease and he pays us no money, as he makes no money. There were some behavioral conditions on his staying, and they were violated. He moved in with a lot of stuff and some furniture in March. In Aug. we gave him notice that he had to leave by Dec. 1. He refuses to leave. We gave him written notice to leave in two days, or we would have the Sherriffs remove him for tresspassing. Two days passed, we called the Sherriff, but they refused to do anything, saying we had to go through legal eviction, because he had been there over thirty days, and/or was allowed to move in furniture. This is not covered in the VA Landlord and Tenant act, since there is no lease. We began the eviction process, but still feel our property rights are being denied, and we do not want this case to be continued for any reason, thus extending our losses. The law seems really fuzzy here. What can we do?


Asked on 12/18/08, 9:41 am

1 Answer from Attorneys
Michael Hendrickson Law Office Michael E. Hendrickson

Re: Evicting a house guest

There may be some caselaw in the local circuit courts of the area where the property is located to support the position of the Sheriff's Department(I personally have no information on it), but now that you've started the eviction process, your best option is likely to see it through, and, in the interim, not to resort to any self help measures against this squatter on your property, who in his conduct towards you as good samaritans would seem to further affirm the old saw that "no good deed goes unpunished".

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Answered on 12/18/08, 11:53 am


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