As always, before reading this post, please review my disclaimer by clicking on the link above or by clicking on this link. As always, any legal principles discussed apply only to the Commonwealth of Virginia.
Introduction
So, you've done everything right. You rented out your home, your tenants stopped paying rent, you did all your correct notices, went to court, got a judgment, and waited out the excruciating eviction process. Finally, the big day comes, your tenants are out, and you have a house full of their junk. Now what?
I've been shocked over time to discover that most advice out there about how to handle evictions seems to stop the moment the tenants are removed from the property. Those who have been through this before, however, know that this is not the case at all. Just because the tenants are out does not mean the ordeal is over - not by a long shot. Today's blog post will discuss some of your rights, and your responsibilities, for handling issues that arise once the eviction is over.
Handling Tenants' Personal Property
The first step is handling tenants' personal property. For this, you have two options (and this is regardless of whether or not you have a VRLTA lease). First, you can have all of their personal property removed from the house and placed on the street, with the tenants (and anyone else in the neighborhood, realistically speaking) having the opportunity to come and get their belongings from there. Once the property is out of the house, it is no longer your responsibility, and what happens to it happens.
Now, this option is unappealing for several reasons. First, you must provide the movers so that this can be done rapidly - and this cost must be borne by you, it cannot be passed on to the tenants. Second, it can create an eyesore by piling up loads of crap on the street.
So, most landlords opt for the second option. Bring along a locksmith, change the locks, and then leave the property again, allowing the tenants 24 hours to remove their belongings from the property. Note, however, that they are only allowed to do this during "reasonable hours" generally accepted to mean 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., so if the eviction happens before 9 a.m., they will actually only have until 5 p.m. that day to act. Afterwards, they are barred from the property, and can be removed by the police for trespassing.
First Week After Eviction
The first week after the eviction is fairly hectic. Why? Because even though you went through all of this, you are STILL obligated to obey your lease terms when it comes to dealing with your tenants' account and security deposit, which usually means a deadline to get a statement out about what damages there are in the property.
If personal property remains after the removal period, you can now dispose of it however you wish. If, however, you sell it, note that the proceeds of that sale must be applied against the tenants' account.
Next, you'll want to get estimates for getting any work that needs to be done to fix the place up ASAP. That way, you can put together your itemized list of damages, which is what should be deducted from the security deposit before you apply the deposit to anything else. Once you have your estimates and have gotten rid of the remaining personal property, it's time to begin work on fixing the place up.
Lingering Tenants
One thing a lot of former tenants don't seem to understand is that post-eviction, all of their rights to the property (and any personal property they left behind) are gone. As a result, if they keep coming around, you can call the police for trespassing, and even harassment. I knew one landlord who put all the personal property left behind up for a garage sale only to have the tenants come and start loading up their cars (without paying for any of it). They were shocked when the police arrived and threatened to arrest them if they did not return everything they had just taken and leave.
I know that, as a human being, this may seem harsh. You can also be certain that your former tenants will do everything they can to make it seem even harsher - I saw one case where the tenants kept their 5 and 7 year old kids home from school on eviction day just to have them directly beg the landlord not to go through with it. Remember, though, as harsh as it may seem, by the time an eviction is fully carried out the tenants have literally had months to move out on their own terms and failed to take advantage. At some point, you have to say enough. It is now your property, and any doorway you leave open to your former tenants could result in whole new litigation issues arising for you down the line.
Security Deposit
So, once you have your itemized list of damages and costs, you need to send it to your former tenants. If it subsumes the entire security deposit, and any money you received from selling the tenants' personal property, and then some, you can include a demand for funds (though the likelihood of you ever seeing that money is quite low). If it does not, then any remaining security deposit and funds received from sale of property should be applied against their outstanding balance from the judgment you obtained.
While I have literally never heard of this happening, I suppose it is theoretically possible that the combination of the security deposit and money received from selling personal property could exceed the total damages and costs, as well as the total judgment against the tenants. If that occurs, you must record the satisfaction of the judgment with the court where the judgment was entered, and then send the remaining amount of money to the former tenants.
Finishing Up
So, you've got the tenants out, you gave them their 24 hours, you fixed up the place, you handled the security deposit and any proceeds from the sale of personal property properly, now what? Well, basically, you're done. Again, the property's yours. You are free to re-rent to a new tenant and move on with your life - if you are ready to. However, there may be some lingering issues that you may want to address, but at this stage, addressing those issues is solely up to you.
Post-Eviction Proceedings
So, there are two big issues that are entirely optional to you as a landlord as to whether or not to address after your eviction is complete - post-judgment rent and post-judgment collections.
Many evictions occur before a lease term ends. As leases are contracts, the principle of "expected value" applies to leases as well. This means that, for all rent payments that would have been due after the date of judgment, and even after the date of final eviction, you can sue the former tenants for that amount of money. Note, however, that this only covers rent that would have actually been owed, and that you did not collect. So, once the lease term would have expired, your potential damages stop. Similarly, once you find a new tenant and start receiving rent, your potential damages stop. However, up until the earlier of the end of the lease term or finding a new tenant, you can sue for all rent payments not included in your initial judgment.
Additionally, if you have a judgment left over after the security deposit and personal property is distributed (and almost everyone in this situation does), you may want to pursue collecting that judgment. If you do, this judgment is treated just like any other, and I wrote a fairly extensive blog post on post-judgment collections in January of 2014.
Most landlords I know, however, recognize that the odds of being able to get a former tenant to pay anything are low, and they will typically just let their judgment and additional rent go rather than incurring the costs of pursuing it.
Conclusion
The eviction process is long, complicated and daunting, and many landlords just want to throw their hands up and celebrate when it's over. Before you release your attorney, however, it's important to remember that your case doesn't end when your tenants are removed. If you are having any ongoing issues relating to an eviction, please feel free to call (703)281-0134 or e-mail me at SLeven@thebaldwinlawfirm.com to set up a consultation. Our initial consultations are free for up to half an hour!
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