HB 771 Virginia House of Delegates · 2026 Regular Session

Land subdivision and development; mandatory provisions of a subdivision ordinance.

Summary
Land subdivision and development; mandatory provisions of a subdivision ordinance; periodic partial and final release of certain performance guarantees. Provides that the amount of a certified check, cash escrow, bond, or letter of credit required to be furnished by an owner or developer to a governing body related to certain improvements dedicated for public use within any subdivision shall not exceed the total estimated cost of construction as determined by a duly licensed professional engineer or land surveyor and a reasonable allowance for estimated administrative costs, inflation, and potential damage to existing roads or utilities, which shall not exceed five percent of the estimated construction costs. Current law requires that such amount not exceed the total of the estimated cost of construction based on unit prices for new public or private sector construction in the locality and such reasonable allowance, which shall not exceed 10 percent of the estimated construction costs. The bill also provides that periodic partial releases of certain performance guarantees granted to subdividers or developers may not occur before the completion of at least 15 percent of the public facilities covered by any bond, escrow, letter of credit, or other performance guarantee. Current law provides such partial release may not occur before the completion of at least 30 percent of such public facilities. The bill also requires that a certification of partial or final completion of such public facilities from a duly licensed professional engineer or land surveyor be accepted without requiring further inspection of such public facilities. Current law allows, but does not require, such certifications be accepted without further inspection.
Bill status in committee 1 of 4 stages cleared
Introduction
Jan 2026
Committee Review
Floor Vote
Governor
Introduced Jan 13, 2026 Last action Feb 18, 2026
Maddy AI version diff · 2 comparisons

What changed between versions

Counties, Cities and Towns Substitute Subcommittee #3 Subcommittee Substitute · 3 edits
MINOR
The bill underwent significant formatting and layout changes between versions, with the text being reorganized into a more structured format with line numbers and proper spacing. The substantive legislative content regarding performance guarantee releases appears to remain unchanged, though the presentation has been standardized for the subcommittee substitute version.
TECHNICAL

The document formatting was restructured, changing from a simple text format to a numbered line-by-line layout typical of legislative substitutes, with added spacing and header information.

Header information was updated to reflect the subcommittee substitute status with proper session year (2026) and bill tracking numbers.

The original 'OFFERED FOR CONSIDERATION' date line was removed and replaced with the new subcommittee formatting structure.

Floor votes

How they voted

No floor votes recorded yet.
Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions
6
Key actions
3
Committee
5
Feb 18, 2026
Lower · Passed
Left in Committee Counties, Cities and Towns
lower
Jan 29, 2026
Lower · Passed
Subcommittee recommends laying on the table (5-Y 1-N)
lower
Jan 29, 2026
Lower · Passed
House subcommittee offered
lower
Jan 28, 2026
Committee
Assigned HCCT sub: Subcommittee #3
lower
Jan 13, 2026
Committee
Referred to Committee on Counties, Cities and Towns
lower
1 primary · 0 co-sponsors

Sponsors

Role
Legislator
Party
State
District
P
Photo of Eric Zehr
Eric Zehr
RRepublican
VA
51