The officer having such distress warrant, or an attachment for rent, if there be need for it, may, in the daytime, break open and enter into any house or close in which there may be goods liable to the distress or attachment and may, either in the day or night, break open and enter any house or close wherein there may be any goods so liable that have been fraudulently or clandestinely removed from the demised premises. He may also levy such distress warrant or attachment on property liable for the rent found in the personal possession of the party liable therefor.
§ 8.01-130.11.When officer may enter by force to levy distress or attachment.
Chapter 3. Actions · Article 13.1. Warrants in Distress · Last amended 2019 · Last verified July 16, 2026
In one sentenceSection 8.01-130.11 lets an officer holding a distress warrant or rent attachment break and enter a house or enclosure in the daytime to reach liable goods, break and enter day or night to reach goods fraudulently or clandestinely moved off the premises, and levy on liable property found in the debtor’s personal possession.
Full Text of § 8.01-130.11
Plain-English Summary
Section 8.01-130.11 gives the officer executing a distress warrant, or an attachment for rent, the authority to force entry when necessary. In the daytime, the officer may break open and enter a house or enclosure that holds goods liable to the distress or attachment. That authority widens when goods liable to the distress have been fraudulently or clandestinely removed from the leased premises: for those goods, the officer may break open and enter either by day or by night, wherever the goods have been taken.
The section also lets the officer levy the warrant or attachment on property liable for the rent that turns up in the personal possession of the party who owes it, without needing to locate that property on the leased premises at all.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can a sheriff break down a door to levy a distress warrant in Virginia?
Yes, in the daytime, if the house or enclosure holds goods liable to the distress or attachment, under § 8.01-130.11.
Is there a difference between daytime and nighttime forced-entry authority under this section?
Yes. General forced entry to reach liable goods is limited to daytime, but § 8.01-130.11 allows entry day or night when the goods have been fraudulently or clandestinely removed from the leased premises.
What if a tenant hides goods elsewhere to keep them away from the landlord?
Section 8.01-130.11 anticipates that: it allows the officer to break and enter, at any hour, wherever goods liable to the distress have been fraudulently or clandestinely moved.
Can the officer seize goods found on the tenant personally, rather than on the leased premises?
Yes. Section 8.01-130.11 allows the warrant or attachment to be levied on liable property found in the personal possession of the party who owes the rent.
Does this forced-entry authority apply to attachments for rent as well as distress warrants?
Yes. Section 8.01-130.11 covers an officer holding either a distress warrant or an attachment for rent.
Amendment History
Code 1919, § 5526; Code 1950, § 55-235; 2019, c. 712.
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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