Virginia Residential Landlord and Tenant Act; enforcement by localities.
Summary
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.
Bill status
signed
all 5 stages cleared
Introduction
Dec 2025
Committee Review
Mar 2026
House of Delegates Passage
Mar 2026
Senate Passage
Mar 2026
Signed into Law
Apr 2026
Introduced Dec 22, 2025
Signed Apr 13, 2026
Maddy AI version diff · 2 comparisons
What changed between versions
Enrolled
→
Chaptered
·
1 edit
MINOR
The bill has been formally enacted into law as Chapter 542 of the 2026 Virginia Acts of Assembly. The substantive legal text regarding landlord-tenant enforcement remains identical to the previous version, with no changes to rights, duties, or procedures.
Scope change
None; the scope and applicability of the law remain unchanged.
TECHNICAL
The document format was updated from a draft bill to an official enrolled act, including the addition of chapter numbers, approval dates, and session headers.
Floor votes · Senate Mar 6, 2026 · House of Delegates Feb 2, 2026
How they voted
38–0
Passed · 1 other
Total votes 39
Mar 6, 2026
D
Democratic20
100% Yea
R
Republican19
94% Yea
Vote distribution
All Yea
All Nay
Mixed
No data
Full legislative history
Actions timeline
Total actions
28
Key actions
11
Committee
7
Apr 13, 2026
Signed into law
Approved by Governor-Chapter 542 (effective 7/1/2026)
executive
Mar 31, 2026
Lower · Passed
Signed by Speaker
lower
Mar 30, 2026
Upper · Passed
Signed by President
upper
Mar 30, 2026
Lower · Passed
Bill text as passed House and Senate (HB14ER)
lower
Mar 10, 2026
Upper · Passed
Passed Senate (21-Y 19-N 0-A)
upper
Mar 9, 2026
Upper · Passed
Passed by for the day
upper
Mar 6, 2026
Upper · Passed
Passed by for the day Block Vote (Voice Vote)
upper
Mar 4, 2026
Upper · Passed
Reported from General Laws and Technology (9-Y 6-N)
upper
Feb 25, 2026
Committee
Assigned GL&T sub: Housing
upper
Feb 3, 2026
Committee
Referred to Committee on General Laws and Technology
upper
Feb 2, 2026
Lower · Passed
Read third time and passed House (66-Y 33-N 0-A)
lower
Jan 27, 2026
Lower · Passed
Reported from General Laws (17-Y 4-N)
lower
Jan 22, 2026
Lower · Passed
Subcommittee recommends reporting (8-Y 2-N)
lower
Jan 19, 2026
Committee
Assigned HGL sub: Housing/Consumer Protection
lower
Dec 22, 2025
Committee
Referred to Committee on General Laws
lower
1 primary · 21 co-sponsors
Sponsors
Role
Legislator
Party
State
District
P
Cia Price
DDemocratic
Co
Adele McClure
DDemocratic
Co
Betsy Carr
DDemocratic
Co
Bonita Anthony
DDemocratic
Co
Debra Gardner
DDemocratic
Co
Destiny LeVere Bolling
DDemocratic
Co
Elizabeth Bennett-Parker
DDemocratic
Co
Irene Shin
DDemocratic
Co
J.J. Singh
DDemocratic
Co
J.R. Henson
DDemocratic
Co
Jackie Glass
DDemocratic
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