In Virginia, residency is given to a person if they live in the house for 3 months. They are then considered a tenant, even though they legally are not. I have a problem with an ex-girlfriend who refuses to leave. From what I have been told by the police and the courthouse, I have to file the 5 day notice. Then I have to go to the courthouse and file an eviction notice. That notice has to be posted on the door and mailed (or served in person with a process server). A hearing date and time is set. If the person argues, a trial date is set. Once the court rules in your favor, the tenant has 10 days to appeal. After 10 days, you can have the sheriff evict them. The whole process takes 35 days minimum. Does anyone know of any faster route? She is currently facing drug charges, but I can't prove conclusively that she used drugs in the home?

First, please don't piggyback your question on another thread. To avoid confusion I've moved your post to it's own thread.

Second, Can you cite the law that says residency can be established after 3 months. As far as I'm aware that is generally not codified, but is more a matter of precedence than statute. In most cases, if a person can prove legal residency, then they have the same rights as any tenant. So if that law does exist then you can't say she is not legally a tenant. Even if the law doesn't specifically state that, it is general practice so the police and courthouse are telling you the truth.

Also, I'm not sure what 5 day notice you are referring to. A 5 day notice is generally for cause (non payment of rent, breach of lease, etc.) . So you may need a 30 day vacate notice.

The only faster way might be a result of the drug charges. You can try to get a restraining order against her due to the drug charges that would force her to stay away from the house. Otherwise I would start the eviction process immediately.