Virginia Code

Va. Code Ann. § 8.01-241 (2026)

Limitation of enforcement of deeds of trust, mortgages and liens for unpaid purchase money

✓ current as of May 2026

Find cases: SyfertCases citing this section VA-LISlaw.lis.virginia.gov JustiaTitle on Justia CornellLII Search CasesGoogle Scholar

A. No deed of trust or mortgage heretofore or hereafter given to secure the payment of money, and no lien heretofore or hereafter reserved to secure the payment of unpaid purchase money, shall be enforced after 10 years from the time when the original obligation last maturing thereby secured shall have become due and payable according to its terms and without regard to any provision for the acceleration of such date; provided that the period of one year from the death of any party in interest shall be excluded from the computation of time.

B. Notwithstanding the limitations prescribed by subsection A, a deed of trust or mortgage given, and a lien reserved to secure the payment of money, for which the original obligation last maturing thereby secured became due and payable according to its terms between July 1, 1988, and July 1, 2000, without regard to any provision for the acceleration of the date such obligation became due and payable, shall not be enforced after July 1, 2010. However, the provisions of this subsection shall have no effect on the rights of a person who (i) acquired an interest in the real property securing such deed of trust or mortgage between July 1, 2008, and the date of enactment of this subsection and (ii) would otherwise have priority over or take free of such deed of trust or mortgage under the laws of the Commonwealth at that time.

C. The limitations prescribed by this section may be extended by the recordation of a certificate in the form provided in § 8.01-241.1 prior to the expiration of the limitation period prescribed herein in the clerk's office in which such lien is recorded and executed either by the party in whom the beneficial title to the property so encumbered is vested at the time of such recordation or by his duly authorized attorney-in-fact, or agent. Recordation of the certificate shall extend the limitations of the right to enforce the lien for 10 years from the date of the recordation of the certificate. The clerk of the court shall index the certificate in both names in the index of the deed book and give reference to the book and page in which the original writing is recorded. Unless the deed or deeds executed pursuant to the foreclosure of any mortgage or to the execution of or sale under any deed of trust is recorded in the county or city where the land is situated within one year after the time the right to enforce the mortgage or deed of trust shall have expired as hereinabove provided, such deed or deeds shall be void as to all purchasers for valuable consideration without notice and lien creditors who make any purchase of or acquire any lien on the land conveyed by any such deed prior to the time such deed is so recorded.

Code 1950, § 8-11; 1950, p. 19; 1977, c. 617; 1980, c. 499; 1994, c. 547; 1999, c. 788; 2008, c. 226; 2009, c. 163.

Notes of Decisions

Cited in 9 cases (2 in the last 5 years), 1987–2025 · leading case: Kerns v. Wells Fargo Bank, N.A., 818 S.E.2d 779 (Va. 2018).

Sort: Relevance Newest Treatment

Kerns v. Wells Fargo Bank, N.A., 818 S.E.2d 779 (Va. 2018). · cites it 4× “Kerns contends that a breach of this provision in the deed of trust implicates the limitation period in Code § 8.01-241. Kerns concedes, however, that he "did not raise that issue in this case.”

Sch. Bd. v. United States Gypsum Co., 360 S.E.2d 325 (Va. 1987). · cites it 4× “01-247 ("No action shall be maintained on any contract which is governed by the law of another state or country if the right of action thereon is barred by the laws of such state or country or of this Commonwealth.”

CVE, LLC v. Refund Recovery Specialists, LLC (Va. Ct. App. 2025). · cites it 38× “Significantly, Code § 8.01-241 contains its own mechanism for extending the life of a deed of trust.”

Benkahla v. White, 82 Va. Cir. 116 (Fairfax Cir. Ct. 2011). · cites it 3× “See Va. Code § 8.01-241(A). Accordingly, Mr. Benkahla’s allegation that any foreclosure action in this case is time-barred under a five-year limitations period is contrary to Virginia law.”

United States v. Lomas Mortg., USA, Inc., 742 F. Supp. 936 (W.D. Va. 1990). “The Court is further of the opinion that no equitable defenses exist which would prevent Lomas from foreclosing on the property.”

Hayes v. Fay Servicing, LLC (W.D. Va. 2023). · cites it 7× “First, Plaintiff contends that Defendant is time-barred from enforcing the terms of the Deed of Trust pursuant to Virginia Code § 8.01-241. Id. ¶ 5.1. The relevant Virginia Code Section provides: No deed of trust .”

Ben-Ami v. Katz, 356 B.R. 389 (Bankr. E.D. Va. 2006). · cites it 2× “01-246(2) (2006) (5 year limitation on enforcement of written contracts).”

O'Grady v. Nationsbank of Va., N.A., 55 Va. Cir. 430 (Richmond County Cir. Ct. 1999). · cites it 3× “Defendants, however, cite the twenty-year limitations period for enforcement of a Deed of Trust, Va. Code § 8.01-241 (1950 & Supp.), rather than the fifteen-year period after which a presumption of payment arises, Va.”

Lake Holiday Country Club, Inc. v. Summit Golf Club, Inc., 48 Va. Cir. 365 (Frederick Cir. Ct. 1999). “1990) (suit to enforce deed of trust not barred by *372 laches because twenty year statute of limitations of § 8.01-241 had not expired). In recent years, die doctrine of laches has been discussed in the context of at least two cases where members of corporations challenged the…”

— Va. Code Ann. § 8.01-241(A) — 3 cases

CVE, LLC v. Refund Recovery Specialists, LLC (Va. Ct. App. 2025). “Significantly, Code § 8.01-241 contains its own mechanism for extending the life of a deed of trust.”

Benkahla v. White, 82 Va. Cir. 116 (Fairfax Cir. Ct. 2011). “See Va. Code § 8.01-241(A). Accordingly, Mr. Benkahla’s allegation that any foreclosure action in this case is time-barred under a five-year limitations period is contrary to Virginia law.”

Hayes v. Fay Servicing, LLC (W.D. Va. 2023). “First, Plaintiff contends that Defendant is time-barred from enforcing the terms of the Deed of Trust pursuant to Virginia Code § 8.01-241. Id. ¶ 5.1. The relevant Virginia Code Section provides: No deed of trust .”

— Va. Code Ann. § 8.01-241(D) — 1 case

CVE, LLC v. Refund Recovery Specialists, LLC (Va. Ct. App. 2025). “Significantly, Code § 8.01-241 contains its own mechanism for extending the life of a deed of trust.”

Annotations are extracted automatically from the opinions in the Syfert caselaw corpus and ranked by authority, recency, and treatment. Dots show Syfertize treatment of the citing case itself.