Virginia Residential Landlord and Tenant Act; rental payment methods, prohibited fees.

Landlords are now required to offer a written rental agreement containing specific terms and must provide a statement of tenant rights and responsibilities to prospective tenants.

Landlords must provide a copy of the signed rental agreement and the tenant rights statement to the tenant within 10 business days of the agreement's effective date.

If a landlord fails to provide the required tenant rights statement, they cannot file an eviction lawsuit (unlawful detainer) until the statement is delivered.

Late fees are now strictly limited to charges explicitly agreed upon in the written rental agreement, capping the fee at the lesser of 10% of the periodic rent or 10% of the remaining balance owed.

Landlords must provide tenants with an additional hard copy of the rental agreement once per year upon request or maintain an easily accessible electronic version.

Landlords must approve or disapprove a tenant's request to sublet or assign the lease within 10 business days of receiving the application; silence is treated as approval.

The document structure was changed to include 'House Substitute' headers and line numbers, indicating a procedural revision by the House Committee rather than a change in the bill's legal requirements.

The bill header was updated to reflect that it is now proposed by the House Committee on General Laws instead of the Senate Committee on General Laws and Technology.