Legal Question in Landlord & Tenant Law in Virginia

What would the eviction process be?

We have been renting a house for 4 years now. When we moved in, my boyfriend made a verbal agreement with the landlord. The landlord stated that we could stay as long as we wanted and our rent would not go up, and we we were free to leave anytime. He asked we pay only in cash, so I don't know if he reports any of that money with taxes or not. This past year, he went up $50/mo to cover the cost of rising property tax and last month, went up another $50 for what he calls ''lot rent'' because he feels we have too many vehicles (4) for 2 people to drive. Also, when he ran the ad in the paper, the ad stated ''no pets''. However, we took in a dog about 8 months ago that he was aware of, and never disputed until this past month and is threatening to go up on rent again for next months rent and evict us the following month if we don't get rid of the dog and 2 of our vehicles. Can he do this? If so, how would the eviction process work, and how long does it normally take? Is there a website I could go to to read about Virginia Rental laws/rights, and if we only have a verbal agreement and if it did turn out that he did not report any of it, would these laws still apply? I appreciate any answers/advice you can offer.


Asked on 10/02/06, 11:15 am

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

Re: What would the eviction process be?

Yes, the landlord, even with only a verbal agreement, can raise the rent and if you don't pay have you evicted by filing what's called a warrant for unlawful detainer in the local general district court. The process could take up

to a couple of months.

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Answered on 10/02/06, 2:43 pm


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