Housing

Virginia Residential Landlord and Tenant Act; fire or casualty damage; termination by landlord. Requires a landlord, prior to giving a tenant 21 days' notice of his intention to terminate the rental agreement for a dwelling unit that has been damaged or destroyed by fire or casualty, to (i) make a reasonable effort to meet with the tenant to discuss reasonable alternatives and offer the tenant a substantially similar dwelling unit, if one is available, or (ii) determine that the damage was caused by the tenant's failure to maintain the dwelling unit in accordance with relevant law. Current law allows the landlord to terminate such agreement by giving the tenant 14 days' notice of his intention to terminate on the basis of the landlord's determination that such damage requires the removal of the tenant and that the use of the premises is substantially impaired. The bill requires the landlord, upon receiving a request from the tenant after the tenant has received such notice, to reevaluate the extent of damage and habitability of such dwelling unit unless the landlord has determined that the damage was caused by the tenant's failure to maintain the dwelling unit. The bill has a delayed effective date of January 1, 2027.

Virginia Residential Landlord and Tenant Act; material noncompliance by landlord; rent escrow; relief. Removes the requirement that, prior to the granting of any relief, a tenant shall pay into escrow any amount of rent called for under the rental agreement. The bill requires the tenant, during the pendency of the action, to pay into escrow the amount of rent that becomes due within five days of the date due under the rental agreement, unless or until such amount is modified by a subsequent order of the court. The bill also provides that a failure of the tenant to make timely payments into escrow shall not be grounds for dismissal of the underlying action but may be considered by the court when issuing an order. The bill has a delayed effective date of  January 1, 2027.

Virginia Fair Housing Law; unlawful conduct. Directs the Fair Housing Board to promulgate regulations defining "quid pro quo harassment," "hostile environment harassment," and other terms related to unlawful conduct under the Virginia Fair Housing Law. The bill directs the Fair Housing Board to adopt emergency regulations to implement the provisions of the bill.

Affordable housing; local zoning ordinance authority. Authorizes any locality in the Commonwealth to provide for an affordable housing dwelling unit program by amending the zoning ordinance of such locality. Current law restricts such authorization to counties with an urban county executive form of government or county manager plan of government and certain other localities. In addition to optional increases in density, the bill provides that such program may include certain additional implementation measures including lot size reductions and accessory housing unit allowances. The bill has a delayed effective date of July 1, 2027, and is identical to SB 74.

Virginia Residential Landlord and Tenant Act; landlord remedies; noncompliance with rental agreement; mandatory waiting period. Increases the mandatory waiting period for a landlord to pursue remedies for termination of the rental agreement from five days to 14 days. The waiting period begins after a landlord serves written notice on a tenant notifying the tenant of his nonpayment of rent and of the landlord's intention to terminate the rental agreement if rent is not paid. This bill is identical to HB 15.

Affordable housing; local zoning ordinance authority. Authorizes any locality in the Commonwealth to provide for an affordable housing dwelling unit program by amending the zoning ordinance of such locality. Current law restricts such authorization to counties with an urban county executive form of government or county manager plan of government and certain other localities. In addition to optional increases in density, the bill provides that such program may include certain additional implementation measures including lot size reductions and accessory housing unit allowances. The bill has a delayed effective date of July 1, 2027, and is identical to HB 867.

Virginia Residential Landlord and Tenant Act; landlord remedies; noncompliance with rental agreement; mandatory waiting period. Increases the mandatory waiting period for a landlord to pursue remedies for termination of the rental agreement from five days to 14 days. The waiting period begins after a landlord serves written notice on a tenant notifying the tenant of his nonpayment of rent and of the landlord's intention to terminate the rental agreement if rent is not paid. This bill is identical to SB 48.

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.

Housing for local employees; grants for homeownership and workforce housing alternatives. Eliminates the maximum amount a locality may provide (i) to employees of the locality, employees of the school board, and employees of constitutional officers for homeownership grants to purchase primary residences in the locality and (ii) to school division personnel for residential housing assistance grants to provide affordable workforce housing alternatives. The bill also eliminates the requirement that such grants adhere to the Virginia Housing and Development Authority regional sales price and household income limitation guidelines. Current law imposes a maximum grant amount of $25,000 for individual grants per employee, as well as a maximum lifetime cumulative amount of $25,000 per employee. This bill is identical to HB 164.

Public utilities; water and sewerage companies; discounted rates for low-income customers. Provides that a public utility engaged in the business of furnishing water or sewerage facilities may propose and the State Corporation Commission may approve rates and tariff provisions that provide discounted service to customers with an annual household income equal to or less than 200 percent of the federal poverty level. The bill permits the utility to recover the costs of providing such discounted service through its rates for commercial and industrial customers. The bill has a delayed effective date of January 1, 2027, and is identical to SB 650.