                                 CODE OF VIRGINIA

BROKER&#8217;S LIEN (§ 55.1-1101)

A. Any principal broker who, either himself or through the principal
broker&#8217;s or associated broker&#8217;s employees or independent
contractors, has provided licensed services that result in the procuring of a
tenant of commercial real estate upon the terms provided for in a written
agreement signed by the owner of such commercial real estate, or that are
otherwise acceptable to the owner as evidenced by a written agreement signed by
the owner, shall have a lien, in the amount of the compensation agreed upon by
and between the principal broker and the owner, upon rent paid by the tenant of
the commercial real estate or by the successors or assigns of such tenant. The
amount of the lien shall not exceed the lesser of (i) the amount of the rent to
be paid during the term of the lease or (ii) the amount of the rent to be paid
during the first 20 years of such lease.

B. The lien provided by this chapter shall not attach or be perfected until a
memorandum of such lien signed under oath by the broker and meeting the
requirements of this subsection has been recorded in the clerk&#8217;s office of
the circuit court of the county or city where the commercial real estate is
located, from which date the lien shall have priority over all liens recorded
subsequent thereto. The memorandum of lien shall state the name of the claimant,
the name of the owner of the commercial real estate, a description of the
commercial real estate, the name and address of the person against whom the
broker&#8217;s claim for compensation is made, the name and address of the
tenant paying the rent against which the lien is being claimed, the amount for
which the lien is being claimed, and the real estate license number of the
principal broker claiming the lien. The lien provided by this chapter and the
right to rents secured by such lien shall be subordinate to all liens, deeds of
trust, mortgages, or assignments of the leases, rents, or profits recorded prior
to the time the memorandum of lien is recorded and shall not affect a purchaser
for valuable consideration without constructive or actual notice of the recorded
lien.
			However, a purchaser acquiring fee simple title to commercial real estate and
having actual knowledge of terms of a lease agreement that provide for the
payment of brokerage fees due and payable to a real estate broker shall be
liable for payment of such brokerage fees, unless otherwise agreed to in writing
by the parties at or before the time of sale regardless of whether the real
estate broker has perfected the lien in accordance with this chapter. The term
&#8220;purchaser&#8221; does not include a trustee under or a beneficiary of a
deed of trust, a mortgagee under a mortgage, a secured party or any other
assignee under an assignment as security, or successors, assigns, transferees,
or purchasers from such persons or entities.

C. Nothing in this section shall be construed to prevent a subsequent purchaser
of commercial real estate subject to a lien under this chapter from establishing
an escrow fund at settlement sufficient to satisfy the lien that may otherwise
affect transferability of title.

HISTORY: 1992, c. 877, § 55-527; 1996, c. 557; 1998, c. 617; 2019, c. 712.