Virginia Residential Landlord and Tenant Act; civil action for unlawful detainer; termination notice; energy submetering equipment. Provides that no landlord shall file or maintain an action for unlawful detainer against a residential tenant for any alleged lease violation until the landlord has provided the tenant with a proper and effective termination notice and that no notice of termination of tenancy for nonpayment of rent pursuant to the Virginia Residential Landlord and Tenant Act shall be effective unless such notice contains a written statement of charges and payments over the course of the tenancy or the past 12 months, whichever is shorter, and any late charges, attorney fees, costs, and other charges or damages as contracted for in the rental agreement that are due and owing. The bill requires such notice to also include debits and credits incurred by the tenant for energy and utility bills and any additional charges permitted as applicable. The bill also requires the owner of any residential building to maintain adequate records indicating how monthly energy and utility billing fees are calculated and including a history of billing fee payments for each tenant over the duration of the tenancy or the past 12 months, whichever is shorter. Such records shall be made available to the tenant upon request. Finally, the bill removes a provision allowing for the collection of fees when a tenant requests such records. The bill has a delayed effective date of July 1, 2027. This bill is identical to SB 294.
Summons for unlawful detainer; additional information; legal resources; plain-language overview of process. Provides that any summons for an unlawful detainer issued may, with the approval of the chief judge of the general district court or the chief judge of the circuit court, have attached additional information prepared by the Commonwealth, the locality in which the unlawful detainer hearing is to be held, or a nonprofit organization serving the jurisdiction in which such hearing is to be held regarding (i) legal resources available to the plaintiff and defendant, (ii) a plain-language overview of the unlawful detainer process, and (iii) the Eviction Diversion Program eligibility and applicability.
Department of Housing and Community Development; powers and duties of Director; comprehensive statewide housing needs assessment; review of certain parcels. Requires the Director of the Department of Housing and Community Development to conduct a review of parcels owned by certain partnerships, corporations, or real estate investment trusts as part of the comprehensive statewide housing needs assessment conducted by the Department at least every five years.
Workforce housing for employees of a county or county school board; lease of surplus property. Allows any county board of supervisors or county school board to lease as lessor surplus or underutilized property. The bill provides that such leases shall be conditioned on the development of workforce housing serving employees of the county or school division with up to 80 percent of area median household income. The bill also prohibits establishment of a minimum lot size exceeding 5,000 square feet for such workforce housing and provides that the placement of manufactured houses that are on a permanent foundation and on individual lots shall be permitted subject to development standards that are equivalent to those applicable to site-built single-family dwellings.
Residential property owners; insurance policies; roofing services by contractors; prohibited practices and consumer protection. Prohibits insurers from refusing coverage or canceling, refusing to renew, or increasing the premiums of a policy written to insure an owner-occupied dwelling solely based on the age or condition of the asphalt shingle roof, except in certain circumstances. The bill also contains provisions related to consumer protection in the context of contractors providing roofing services for residential property owners. The bill prohibits certain advertisements and conduct by contractors in such context. The bill includes contract terms that must be included by contractors in such context, and permits a residential property owner to cancel a contract for roofing services in the case of a declaration of a state of emergency by the Governor applicable to the geographic area where the property is located. Provisions of the bill related to prohibited conduct and requirements for contractors providing roofing services are subject to the enforcement provisions of the Consumer Protection Act. The bill has a delayed effective date of January 1, 2027, and is identical to HB 677.
Affordable dwelling unit program; City of Roanoke. Adds the City of Roanoke to the list of localities with authority to provide for an affordable dwelling unit program. The bill provides that such change shall not become effective unless reenacted by the 2027 Session of the General Assembly. The bill also requires the Virginia Housing Development Authority to analyze the potential efficacy of the provisions of the bill for the provision of affordable housing in the City of Roanoke and to report the results of such analysis no later than November 1, 2026.
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 820 and SB 490.
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 SB 490.
Department of Housing and Community Development; administration of Urban Public-Private Partnership Redevelopment grant program; report. Directs the Department of Housing and Community Development to review and develop criteria and guidelines for the administration of the Urban Public-Private Partnership Redevelopment grant program in consultation with the Virginia Association of Counties, the Virginia First Cities Coalition, the Virginia Municipal League, and the Virginia Economic Developers Association. The bill requires such criteria to include (i) award prioritization for (a) localities experiencing an above average and high level of fiscal stress as designated by the Commission on Local Government in its most recent Report on Comparative Revenue Capacity, Revenue Effort, and Fiscal Stress of Virginia's Cities and Counties and (b) localities experiencing a significant decrease in commercial real estate assessments and (ii) the amount and type of local matches with consideration of both monetary and non-monetary contribution requirements. The bill requires the Director of the Department to report the Department's findings to the Chairs of the Senate Committee on Finance and Appropriations, the Senate Committee on General Laws and Technology, the House Committee on Appropriations, and the House Committee on General Laws no later than November 1, 2026.
Unlawful detainer; bifurcation of case; contested rent and damages. Provides that, at an initial hearing on an unlawful detainer, if the defendant contests the amount of rent and damages alleged to be due and owing to the plaintiff, the court shall not bifurcate the unlawful detainer case. Under current law, at the initial hearing, upon request of the plaintiff, the court is required to bifurcate the unlawful detainer case and set a continuance date no later than 120 days from the date of the initial hearing to determine final rent and damages.
