HB 221 Virginia House of Delegates · 2026 Regular Session

Appeals bond; indigent parties, appeal of unlawful detainer.

Summary
Requirement for appeals bond; indigent parties; appeal of unlawful detainer. Removes the requirement for an indigent defendant, as defined in the bill, to post an appeal bond in an unlawful detainer action appealed from the general district court.
Bill status signed all 5 stages cleared
Introduction
Jan 2026
Committee Review
Feb 2026
House of Delegates Passage
Feb 2026
Senate Passage
Feb 2026
Signed into Law
Apr 2026
Introduced Jan 8, 2026 Signed Apr 13, 2026
Maddy AI version diff · 3 comparisons

What changed between versions

Enrolled Chaptered · 3 edits
MINOR
The bill was formally enacted into law as Chapter 579 of the 2026 Virginia Acts of Assembly. The substantive text of the legislation regarding appeal bonds and eviction procedures remains unchanged from the enrolled version, with the only modifications being the addition of official chapter headers, approval dates, and page numbering.
TECHNICAL

Added official chapter title, approval date (April 13, 2026), and page numbering to the end of the document to finalize its status as law.

Removed placeholder text and draft formatting markers used during the legislative process.

Adjusted line breaks and spacing to match the final printed format of the Virginia Code.

Floor votes · Senate Feb 20, 2026 · House of Delegates Feb 3, 2026

How they voted

390
Passed
Total votes 39
Feb 20, 2026
D Democratic20
20 Yea
100% Yea
R Republican19
19 Yea
100% Yea
Vote distribution
All Yea All Nay Mixed No data
Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions
28
Key actions
12
Committee
6
Amendments
2
Apr 13, 2026
Signed into law
Approved by Governor-Chapter 579 (effective 7/1/2026)
executive
Feb 25, 2026
Upper · Passed
Signed by President
upper
Feb 25, 2026
Lower · Passed
Signed by Speaker
lower
Feb 25, 2026
Lower · Passed
Bill text as passed House and Senate (HB221ER)
lower
Feb 23, 2026
Upper · Passed
Passed Senate (21-Y 17-N 0-A)
upper
Feb 23, 2026
Upper · Passed
Passed Senate (20-Y 17-N 0-A)
upper
Feb 20, 2026
Upper · Passed
Passed by for the day Block Vote (Voice Vote)
upper
Feb 18, 2026
Upper · Passed
Reported from Courts of Justice (11-Y 3-N)
upper
Feb 4, 2026
Committee
Referred to Committee for Courts of Justice
upper
Feb 3, 2026
Lower · Passed
Read third time and passed House (62-Y 35-N 0-A)
lower
Feb 2, 2026
Introduced
Engrossed by House as amended
lower
Feb 2, 2026
Lower · Passed
committee amendments agreed to
lower
Jan 28, 2026
Lower · Passed
Reported from Courts of Justice with amendment(s) (13-Y 6-N)
lower
Jan 21, 2026
Lower · Passed
Subcommittee recommends reporting with amendment(s) (9-Y 1-N)
lower
Jan 19, 2026
Committee
Assigned HCJ sub: Civil
lower
Jan 8, 2026
Committee
Referred to Committee for Courts of Justice
lower
1 primary · 1 co-sponsor

Sponsors