Housing

Virginia Residential Landlord and Tenant Act; enforcement by localities. Provides that if a condition exists in a dwelling unit that constitutes a material noncompliance by the landlord with the rental agreement or with any provision of law that, if not remedied within a reasonable time frame, constitutes a fire hazard or serious threat to the life, health, or safety of a tenant or occupant of the premises, a locality may institute an action on behalf of any tenant or occupant of the premises who is injured by such material noncompliance for injunction and damages to enforce the landlord's duty to maintain the dwelling unit in a fit and habitable condition, provided that (i) the premises where the violation occurred is within the jurisdictional boundaries of the locality and (ii) the locality has notified the landlord who owns the premises, either directly or through the managing agent, of the nature of the violation and the landlord has failed to remedy the violation to the satisfaction of the locality within a reasonable time after receiving such notice. This bill is identical to HB 14.

Virginia Residential Landlord and Tenant Act; Manufactured Home Lot Rental Act; retaliatory conduct prohibited. Adds numerous actions to the list of prohibited retaliatory actions by a landlord against a tenant under the Virginia Residential Landlord and Tenant Act and Manufactured Home Lot Rental Act and specifies actions by a tenant for which a landlord may not retaliate. The bill modifies and expands the list of actions a landlord may take without violating the prohibition on retaliation. The bill allows a tenant, when the landlord has unlawfully retaliated, to recover actual damages and to assert retaliation as a defense in any action brought against him for possession. The bill has a delayed effective date of January 1, 2027.

Virginia Residential Landlord and Tenant Act; enforcement by localities. Provides that if a condition exists in a dwelling unit that constitutes a material noncompliance by the landlord with the rental agreement or with any provision of law that, if not remedied within a reasonable time frame, constitutes a fire hazard or serious threat to the life, health, or safety of a tenant or occupant of the premises, a locality may institute an action on behalf of any tenant or occupant of the premises who is injured by such material noncompliance for injunction and damages to enforce the landlord's duty to maintain the dwelling unit in a fit and habitable condition, provided that (i) the premises where the violation occurred is within the jurisdictional boundaries of the locality and (ii) the locality has notified the landlord who owns the premises, either directly or through the managing agent, of the nature of the violation and the landlord has failed to remedy the violation to the satisfaction of the locality within a reasonable time after receiving such notice. This bill is identical to SB 290.

Department of Housing and Community Development; loans for the construction of mixed income housing; report. Directs the Department of Housing and Community Development, in collaboration with the Virginia Housing Development Authority, to create a two-year pilot program that would provide loan origination and servicing activities for mixed income housing and submit a report on its findings to the General Assembly by November 1 of each year of the pilot program. The bill provides that any funding for the pilot program, subject to the appropriation act, shall be utilized from up to 15 percent of the annual deposit made to the Virginia Housing Trust Fund. This bill is identical to HB 196 and HB 820.

Virginia Residential Landlord and Tenant Act; application; notice, deposit, fee, and additional information. Provides that, prior to requesting or collecting any payment or information about a prospective tenant, a landlord shall first notify the applicant in writing or by posting in a manner accessible to a prospective tenant certain information relating to the rental application process. The bill has a delayed effective date of January 1, 2027.

Minimum off-street parking requirements in certain areas. Provides that a locality shall not require, as a condition of zoning approval, minimum off-street parking for residential, multifamily, or mixed-use development located within a designated area, as defined in the bill, in amounts exceeding (i) 0.5 parking spaces per dwelling unit for multifamily or mixed-use residential development and (ii) one parking space per dwelling unit for one-family and two-family dwellings and townhouses. The bill also provides that no locality shall adopt or enforce any provision of a zoning ordinance that imposes minimum off-street parking requirements for residential, multifamily, or mixed-use development located within a designated area in excess of such limitations. The bill further provides that any locality with a population greater than 20,000 shall, by ordinance, provide for an administrative reduction of minimum off-street parking requirements of not less than 20 percent for residential, multifamily, or mixed-use development proposed on parcels not located within a designated area. This bill incorporates HB 262.

Real property tax; partial exemption for repurposing underutilized structures for residential use; local incentives. Permits localities to provide partial real estate taxation exemptions for converted real property where such conversion establishes a residential structure that has set aside at least 30 percent of the structure for households with a per capita income at or below 80 percent of the locality's median income or where the building owner is subject to an agreement with the Commonwealth or the locality regarding the provision of affordable housing. Localities have discretion to determine (i) whether a converted building qualifies for the partial exemption, (ii) any additional restrictions and conditions, (iii) whether the exemption is the amount equal to the increase in assessed value or a percentage of such increase resulting from the repurposing of the structure, and (iv) the length of time the exemption will run with the land, not to exceed 15 years. The bill provides that, at any time a building for which its owner claims a partial exemption no longer meets the requirements to receive such exemption, the locality may recapture all or a portion of the exemption granted in the immediately preceding year. Further, if a building owner that claims an exemption as described by the bill sells the building for which he is claiming the exemption and, after the sale, the property no longer meets the requirements described by the bill, the purchaser shall be subject to a penalty. The building owner shall provide written notification of the partial exemption to the purchaser. The bill also permits localities to grant tax incentives or provide regulatory flexibility to qualifying converted real property.

Virginia Residential Landlord and Tenant Act; landlord remedies; noncompliance with rental agreement; payment plan. Requires a landlord who owns more than four rental dwelling units or more than a 10 percent interest in more than four rental dwelling units, before terminating a rental agreement due to nonpayment of rent if the exact amount of rent owed is less than or equal to one month's rent plus any late charges contracted for in the rental agreement and as provided by law, to serve upon such tenant a written notice informing the tenant of the exact amount due and owed and offer the tenant a payment plan under which the tenant must pay the exact amount due and owed in equal monthly installments over a period of the lesser of six months or the time remaining under the rental agreement. The bill prohibits the landlord from charging any additional late fees during the payment plan period in connection with the unpaid rental amount for which the tenant entered into the payment plan so long as the tenant makes timely payments in accordance with the terms of the payment plan. The bill also outlines the remedies a landlord has if a tenant fails to pay the exact amount due and owed or enter into a payment plan within five days of receiving notice or if a tenant enters into a payment plan and after such plan becomes effective fails to pay rent when due or fails to make a payment under the terms of the agreed-upon payment plan. The bill has a delayed effective date of January 1, 2027.

Virginia Residential Landlord and Tenant Act; noncompliance as defense to action for possession for nonpayment of rent. Removes the provision requiring that a tenant in possession of a dwelling unit, prior to asserting a defense against an action for rent or possession, pay into court the amount of rent found by the court to be due and unpaid and for such amount to be held by the court pending the issuance of an order. The bill also limits the discretion of the court in actions for possession based upon nonpayment of rent and actions for rent by a landlord when the tenant is in possession of a dwelling unit. The bill has a delayed effective date of January 1, 2027.

Virginia Residential Landlord and Tenant Act; terms and conditions of rental agreement; notice of rent increase. Requires a landlord who owns more than four rental dwelling units or more than a 10 percent interest in more than four rental dwelling units, whether individually or through a business entity, in the Commonwealth to provide a tenant with written notice of any increase in rent for the subsequent rental agreement term at least 90 days prior to the end of such term and to include in such notice a deadline, which shall be no sooner than 30 days after such notice is delivered, by which the tenant shall advise the landlord of whether the tenant will renew the rental agreement. The bill has a delayed effective date of January 1, 2027.