Sale of wastelands; proceeding by citizen resident; motion and deposit for costs; parties; copy of plat
Va. Code Ann. § 41.1-16
in effectAny citizen, resident of this Commonwealth, who has reason to believe that there are waste and unappropriated lands in this Commonwealth (not being excluded under § 41.1-3 from grant), shall have the right to file a proceeding in the name of the county or city seeking the sale and disposition of such land. The venue for such a proceeding shall be as specified in subdivision 3 of § 8.01-261 . The proceeding shall be instituted by motion signed by the party who institutes the proceeding, or on his behalf, and shall be accompanied with a deposit to cover the costs of the proceeding but in no event to exceed $100. Each landowner adjoining the tract in question shall be made a party to the proceedings.
He shall file with the motion a copy of a plat prepared by a licensed land surveyor giving the metes and bounds of the land alleged to be waste and unappropriated. A copy of the motion and plat shall be served upon each of the landowners adjoining the tract in question.
Code 1950, § 41-84; 1952, c. 185; 1970, c. 291; 1977, c. 624; 1995, c. 850 .
Source: Open US Law by Vaquill AI (CC BY 4.0)URL: https://law.lis.virginia.gov/vacode/41.1-16/Fetched: 10/16/2026