HB 4 Virginia House of Delegates · 2026 Regular Session

Affordable housing; preservation, definitions, civil penalty.

Summary
Preservation of affordable housing; definitions; civil penalty. Creates a framework for localities to preserve affordable housing by exercising a right of first refusal on publicly supported housing, defined in the bill. The bill authorizes localities to adopt an ordinance that requires an owner to accept a right of first refusal offer by the locality or qualified designee, defined in the bill, in order to preserve affordable housing for at least 15 years. The bill requires that any locality with a population greater than 3,500 adopting such an ordinance to preserve affordable housing submit an annual report to the Department of Housing and Community Development pursuant to existing law.
Bill status signed all 5 stages cleared
Introduction
Nov 2025
Committee Review
Mar 2026
House of Delegates Passage
Mar 2026
Senate Passage
Mar 2026
Signed into Law
Apr 2026
Introduced Nov 17, 2025 Signed Apr 8, 2026
Maddy AI version diff · 2 comparisons

What changed between versions

Enrolled Chaptered · 3 edits
MINOR
The bill text has been converted from a draft legislative proposal to an officially enacted law (Chaptered) for the 2026 session. The substantive policy content regarding affordable housing preservation, including definitions, notice requirements, and right of first refusal rules, remains identical to the draft version.
Scope change
The bill's scope and applicability are unchanged; it remains a new addition to Title 36 of the Code of Virginia.
TECHNICAL

The document status changed from 'Enrolled' (draft) to 'Chaptered' (enacted), adding official chapter numbers and an approval date of April 8, 2026.

The layout and formatting were adjusted to match the official style of the Virginia Acts of Assembly, including the addition of page numbers and specific spacing.

Drafting artifacts, such as the bracketed bill number [H 4] and placeholder lines, were removed or replaced with official formatting.

Floor votes · Senate Mar 6, 2026 · House of Delegates Feb 2, 2026

How they voted

380
Passed · 1 other
Total votes 39
Mar 6, 2026
D Democratic20
20 Yea
100% Yea
R Republican19
18 Yea 1
94% Yea
Vote distribution
All Yea All Nay Mixed No data
Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions
26
Key actions
11
Committee
7
Apr 8, 2026
Signed into law
Approved by Governor-Chapter 352 (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 (HB4ER)
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 (65-Y 34-N 0-A)
lower
Jan 27, 2026
Lower · Passed
Reported from General Laws (15-Y 6-N)
lower
Jan 22, 2026
Lower · Passed
Subcommittee recommends reporting (7-Y 3-N)
lower
Jan 19, 2026
Committee
Assigned HGL sub: Housing/Consumer Protection
lower
Nov 17, 2025
Committee
Referred to Committee on General Laws
lower
1 primary · 22 co-sponsors

Sponsors