Housing

Requirement for appeals bond; indigent parties; appeal of unlawful detainer. Removes the requirement for an indigent defendant, as defined in the bill, to post an appeal bond in an unlawful detainer action appealed from the general district court.

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.

Small lot residential zoning districts. Requires any locality with a population of 50,000 or more to adopt, maintain, and apply to land within its boundaries at least one zoning district classification that permits a single-family dwelling on a lot with a minimum lot area not exceeding 3,000 square feet. The bill provides that such zoning district classifications shall not impose minimum lot widths exceeding 30 feet or setback, lot coverage, or density requirements that would preclude construction of eligible dwellings on conforming lots. The bill's provisions do not apply to areas within a historic district.

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 HB 14.

Virginia Residential Landlord and Tenant Act; Manufactured Home Lot Rental Act; retaliatory conduct prohibited. Adds numerous actions to the list of prohibited retaliatory actions by a landlord against a tenant under the Virginia Residential Landlord and Tenant Act and Manufactured Home Lot Rental Act and specifies actions by a tenant for which a landlord may not retaliate. The bill modifies and expands the list of actions a landlord may take without violating the prohibition on retaliation. The bill allows a tenant, when the landlord has unlawfully retaliated, to recover actual damages and to assert retaliation as a defense in any action brought against him for possession. The bill has a delayed effective date of January 1, 2027.

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 HB 820.

Virginia Residential Landlord and Tenant Act; application; notice, deposit, fee, and additional information. Provides that, prior to requesting or collecting any payment or information about a prospective tenant, a landlord shall first notify the applicant in writing or by posting in a manner accessible to a prospective tenant certain information relating to the rental application process. The bill has a delayed effective date of January 1, 2027.

Minimum off-street parking requirements in certain areas. Provides that a locality shall not require, as a condition of zoning approval, minimum off-street parking for residential, multifamily, or mixed-use development located within a designated area, as defined in the bill, in amounts exceeding (i) 0.5 parking spaces per dwelling unit for multifamily or mixed-use residential development and (ii) one parking space per dwelling unit for one-family and two-family dwellings and townhouses. The bill also provides that no locality shall adopt or enforce any provision of a zoning ordinance that imposes minimum off-street parking requirements for residential, multifamily, or mixed-use development located within a designated area in excess of such limitations. The bill further provides that any locality with a population greater than 20,000 shall, by ordinance, provide for an administrative reduction of minimum off-street parking requirements of not less than 20 percent for residential, multifamily, or mixed-use development proposed on parcels not located within a designated area. This bill incorporates HB 262.

Virginia Residential Landlord and Tenant Act; landlord remedies; noncompliance with rental agreement; payment plan. Requires a landlord who owns more than four rental dwelling units or more than a 10 percent interest in more than four rental dwelling units, before terminating a rental agreement due to nonpayment of rent if the exact amount of rent owed is less than or equal to one month's rent plus any late charges contracted for in the rental agreement and as provided by law, to serve upon such tenant a written notice informing the tenant of the exact amount due and owed and offer the tenant a payment plan under which the tenant must pay the exact amount due and owed in equal monthly installments over a period of the lesser of six months or the time remaining under the rental agreement. The bill prohibits the landlord from charging any additional late fees during the payment plan period in connection with the unpaid rental amount for which the tenant entered into the payment plan so long as the tenant makes timely payments in accordance with the terms of the payment plan. The bill also outlines the remedies a landlord has if a tenant fails to pay the exact amount due and owed or enter into a payment plan within five days of receiving notice or if a tenant enters into a payment plan and after such plan becomes effective fails to pay rent when due or fails to make a payment under the terms of the agreed-upon payment plan. The bill has a delayed effective date of January 1, 2027.

Virginia Residential Landlord and Tenant Act; noncompliance as defense to action for possession for nonpayment of rent. Removes the provision requiring that a tenant in possession of a dwelling unit, prior to asserting a defense against an action for rent or possession, pay into court the amount of rent found by the court to be due and unpaid and for such amount to be held by the court pending the issuance of an order. The bill also limits the discretion of the court in actions for possession based upon nonpayment of rent and actions for rent by a landlord when the tenant is in possession of a dwelling unit. The bill has a delayed effective date of January 1, 2027.