Hello... I reside in Virginia.

My roommate (co-tenant) has not paid their half of the rent/utilities for months now due to personal situations, but the matter seems like it is not going to resolve.

How do I go about evicting my roommate and collecting the rent money owed to me? I have canceled checks from my bank account showing that I paid the full amount every month. The roommate has receipts for nothing. Both of our names are on our current lease, however. We also have a hand-written agreement we both signed at the start of our lease saying that each of us are responsible for 50% of each month's rent/utilities.

Any help is greatly appreciated!

You will have to follow the laws in your area for eviction.

Just visit the local court house, they will have the forms and can guide you to the information regarding the process.

Once you have the eviction completed, then you can sue them, probably in small claims court ,so you won't need an attorney.

My suggestion for now is to locate if possible, any banking account numbers that may be of value if and when you obtain your judgment. Even though the court may rule in your favor, you will still have to figure out how to collect the money.

Good Luck!