Virginia Residential Landlord and Tenant Act; adverse action by landlord, tenant remedies.
Summary
Virginia Residential Landlord and Tenant Act; adverse action by landlord; tenant remedies. Prohibits a residential 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 from taking adverse action, as defined in the bill, against a prospective tenant due to the prospective tenant's history of a dismissed, nonsuited, or expunged unlawful detainer case or an unlawful detainer case that is eligible for expungement. The bill allows a prospective tenant to recover, as a result of any such adverse action, (i) actual damages, (ii) statutory damages of $1,000, and (iii) reasonable attorney fees. This bill is identical to HB 1872.
Bill status
passed both
4 of 5 stages cleared
Introduction
Dec 2024
Committee Review
Feb 2025
Senate Passage
Apr 2025
House of Delegates Passage
Feb 2025
Vetoed
Mar 2025
Introduced Dec 30, 2024
Vetoed Mar 25, 2025
Maddy AI version diff · 1 comparison
What changed between versions
Introduced
→
Enrolled
·
3 edits
·
Feb 16, 2025
MINOR
SB 815 was enacted into law as an enrolled bill, making amendments to the Virginia Residential Landlord and Tenant Act regarding application fees, deposits, and tenant protections. The bill expanded protections for tenants by adding requirements for landlords who own multiple rental units and clarifying remedies for adverse actions taken against applicants with expunged eviction records.
Scope change
The bill's scope was expanded to apply specifically to landlords who own 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.
ELIGIBILITY
Added a new requirement that landlords owning more than four rental units or more than a 10 percent interest in more than four rental units cannot take adverse action against applicants based on dismissed or expunged unlawful detainer cases.
ENFORCEMENT
Enhanced tenant remedies for non-compliance, allowing recovery of actual damages, statutory damages of $1,000, and reasonable attorney fees for landlords who violate the adverse action restrictions.
MODIFIED
Changed the bill status from introduced to enrolled, indicating it has been approved by the General Assembly and the Governor and is now law.
Floor votes · Senate Jan 24, 2025 · House of Delegates Feb 7, 2025
How they voted
37–0
Passed · 3 other
Total votes 40
Jan 24, 2025
D
Democratic21
95% Yea
R
Republican19
89% Yea
Vote distribution
All Yea
All Nay
Mixed
No data
Full legislative history
Actions timeline
Total actions
31
Key actions
11
Committee
5
Amendments
3
Apr 2, 2025
Vetoed
Senate sustained Governor's veto
upper
Apr 2, 2025
Upper · Passed
Passed by for the day
upper
Mar 25, 2025
Vetoed
Vetoed by Governor
executive
Feb 16, 2025
Upper · Passed
Signed by President
upper
Feb 13, 2025
Lower · Passed
Signed by Speaker
lower
Feb 13, 2025
Upper · Passed
Bill text as passed Senate and House (SB815ER)
upper
Feb 11, 2025
Upper · Passed
House Amendment agreed to by Senate (28-Y 11-N 1-A)
upper
Feb 7, 2025
Lower · Passed
Passed House with amendment (49-Y 45-N)
lower
Feb 7, 2025
Introduced
Engrossed by House as amended
lower
Feb 7, 2025
Lower · Passed
General Laws Amendment agreed to
lower
Feb 4, 2025
Lower · Passed
Reported from General Laws with amendment(s) (12-Y 9-N)
lower
Feb 3, 2025
Committee
Referred to Committee on General Laws
lower
Jan 28, 2025
Upper · Passed
Read third time and passed Senate (23-Y 16-N)
upper
Jan 24, 2025
Upper · Passed
Passed by for the day
upper
Jan 22, 2025
Upper · Passed
Reported from Courts of Justice (11-Y 4-N)
upper
Jan 15, 2025
Committee
Rereferred from General Laws and Technology to Courts of Justice (15-Y 0-N)
upper
Dec 30, 2024
Committee
Referred to Committee on General Laws and Technology
upper
1 primary · 0 co-sponsors
Sponsors
Role
Legislator
Party
State
District
P
Aaron Rouse
DDemocratic
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