I am a 73 year old woman on retirement income plus I have a rental house to supplement my income. Through no fault of mine, the tenant is threating to default on the one year written rental agreement/lease after only 5 months of tenancy but her daughter has told me that because she is on social security, I can not collect anything from her even if I get a judgment. Under the circumstances, I think the court would award me a full judgment and I would like to know if being on social security gives anybody a free ride to beat honest people out of a just debt or is there some way that a judgment can be collected. All advice is welcome.

BAKfromVA, just terminate her tenancy for non payment of rent in writing, and then evict if you need to. Getting a judgment for the rest of the year will be a waste of your time and money. This is why landlords should get first, last, and security in advance, and send out written notices of late payment/future eviction as soon as they can. Even if she had plenty of income, there's no guarantee someone will actually pay the judgment.

No, being on SS doesn't give people a free ride, but it does limit your options. The term is "judgment proof". It means a person who has no attachable income or assets.


Under the circumstances, I think the court would award me a full judgment

This is actually not correct. The court will award you only lost rental. You will also be required to show a good faith effort to rent the property to someone else.

So you need to do as Joy said. The next day after she misses a rent payment, you give her a 5 day pay or quit notice. This gives her 5 days to pay in full (including late fees) or vacate. If she doesn't vacate then you need to go to court for an eviction order. The court will issue the order and award you costs. If she still doesn't vacate, you hire a sheriff to physically remove her. She will be responsible for the rental until you replace her or the lease ends.
This site gives more detail about the process The Eviction Process in Virginia - Avvo.com (http://www.avvo.com/legal-guides/ugc/the-eviction-process-in-virginia).

However, if she is judgment proof, you will have a hard time collecting what she owes you. So you need to move quickly as soon as she misses a rent payment.

As Joy also noted, this is why landlords collect a security deposit, to protect themselves against vacancy.

I agree with Scott, except

If she still doesn't vacate, you hire a sheriff to physically remove her.

Is not quite correct.

You physically move all possessions to the curb. You can request a sheriff's deputy be present to prevent interference but you do the labor. Sheriff's department doesn't do any labor.

I agree with Scott, except


Is not quite correct.

You physically move all possessions to the curb. You can request a sheriff's deputy be present to prevent interference but you do the labor. Sheriff's department doesn't do any labor.

Maybe that's the way it is where you are, but in most jurisdictions that I know of, the landlord should not handle any belongings. They can be sued for damages. The sheriff generally won't do the physical labor but they will bring a crew to do it. The sheriff or a deputy HAS to be there to serve notice and oversee the removal.