When the certificate pursuant to the provisions in § 8.01-99 shall have been published with an advertisement of the sale or renting of property, or when such bond shall have been given prior to a sale or renting not publicly advertised, any person purchasing or renting such property in pursuance of such advertisement or in pursuance of the decree or order of sale or renting, shall be relieved of all liability for the purchase money or rent, or any part thereof, which he may pay to any special commissioner, as to whom the proper certificate shall have been appended to such advertisement, or who shall have given the bond aforesaid.
§ 8.01-101.Purchasers relieved of liability for purchase money paid to such commissioner.
Chapter 3. Actions · Article 11. General Provisions for Judicial Sales · Last amended 1977 · Last verified July 16, 2026
In one sentenceSection 8.01-101 protects a purchaser or renter who pays a special commissioner named on a properly certified or bonded advertisement, relieving that buyer of liability for the purchase money or rent even if the commissioner later mishandles the funds.
Full Text of § 8.01-101
Plain-English Summary
Section 8.01-101 protects the person paying money into a judicial sale, not just the commissioner running it. Once the certificate described in Section 8.01-99 has been published along with the sale or rental advertisement — or, for a sale not publicly advertised, once the bond itself was given beforehand — anyone who buys or rents the property in reliance on that advertisement, or in reliance on the court’s decree or order, is protected.
That protection covers the purchase money or rent, or any part of it, that the buyer or renter pays to the special commissioner named in the certificate or bond. If the commissioner later fails to account for the money, the loss falls on the commissioner and the commissioner’s surety, not on the purchaser who paid in good faith.
Frequently Asked Questions
If I buy property at a Virginia judicial sale and the commissioner later disappears with my money, am I liable for the loss?
No. Section 8.01-101 relieves you of liability for the purchase money you paid to a commissioner as to whom the proper certificate was attached to the advertisement or who had given the required bond.
Does this protection apply to renters as well as purchasers?
Yes. It covers rent paid to a properly certified or bonded commissioner in the same way it covers purchase money.
What has to happen before a purchaser gets this protection?
The certificate under Section 8.01-99 must have been published with the sale advertisement, or, if the sale was not publicly advertised, the bond must have been given before the sale or renting occurred.
Who bears the risk if a bonded commissioner mishandles the sale proceeds?
The commissioner and the surety on the commissioner’s bond bear that risk, not the purchaser or renter who paid in reliance on the certificate.
Does buying in pursuit of the court’s decree matter here, or only the advertisement?
Both routes are covered — a person who pays in pursuance of the advertisement, or in pursuance of the decree or order of sale or renting, is relieved of liability.
Amendment History
Code 1950, § 8-659; 1977, c. 617.
Source & verification. Section text and amendment history are
reproduced verbatim from the Code of Virginia, published by the
Code of Virginia, Virginia Division of Legislative Automated Systems. Last verified July 16, 2026.
· Official source
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