                                 CODE OF VIRGINIA

AUTHORITY OF SHERIFFS, ETC., TO STORE AND SELL PERSONAL PROPERTY REMOVED FROM
PREMISES; RECOVERY OF POSSESSION BY OWNER; DISPOSITION OR SALE (§ 8.01-156)

In any county or city, when personal property is removed from premises pursuant
to an action of unlawful detainer or ejectment, or pursuant to any other action
in which personal property is removed from premises in order to restore such
premises to the person entitled thereto, the sheriff shall oversee the removal
of such personal property and it shall be placed in a storage area designated by
the governing body of the county or city if such an area has been so designated,
or, in the case of a manufactured home, at the request of the owner of the real
property, to be placed into a storage area designated by the owner of the real
property which may be the manufactured home lot or other location within the
manufactured home park, unless the owner of such personal property then and
there removes it from the public way. The sheriff and the owner of the real
property shall not have any liability for the loss of any such manufactured home
remaining on the manufactured home lot, nor shall they have any liability for
the loss of any removed personal property.
		The owner, before obtaining possession of such personal property so placed in
a storage area shall pay to the parties entitled thereto the reasonable and
necessary costs incidental to such removal and storage. Should such owner fail
or refuse to pay such costs within 30 days from the date of placing the property
in storage, the sheriff shall, after due notice to the owner and holders of
liens of record, dispose of the property by publicly advertised public sale. The
proceeds from such sale shall be used to pay all costs of removal, storage, and
sale, all fees and liens, and the balance of such funds shall be paid to the
person entitled thereto. Should the cost of removal and storage exceed the
proceeds realized from such sale the county or city shall reimburse the sheriff
for such excess, except that any such excess costs related to the disposal of a
manufactured home shall be paid by the owner of the real property from which the
manufactured home was removed. The sheriff, in his discretion, may refuse to
remove or dispose of such manufactured home until the owner of the real property
pays to the sheriff the estimated cost of such removal and disposition.
Subsequent to disposition, the sheriff shall reimburse the owner to the extent
the actual cost is less than the estimated cost, or shall request additional
payment to the extent the actual cost exceeds the estimated cost.

HISTORY: Code 1950, § 8-825.1; 1964, c. 387; 1977, c. 617; 1992, c. 454; 1993,
c. 16; 2005, c. 791; 2006, c. 129.