Housing

Virginia Residential Landlord and Tenant Act; Virginia Consumer Protection Act; mold remediation. Requires landlords subject to the Virginia Residential Landlord and Tenant Act to utilize mold inspectors and remediators certified by a nationally or internationally recognized certifying body for mold remediation that comply with (i) the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) and the Institute of Inspection Cleaning and Restoration Certification S520 Standard for Professional Mold Remediation, as revised, or (ii) any other equivalent ANSI-accredited mold remediation standard, when conducting or offering to conduct mold remediation in the Commonwealth. The bill additionally prohibits selling or offering for sale services as a professional mold inspector without meeting the same requirements of a mold inspector under the Act. Finally, the bill directs the Department of Housing and Community Development to establish and publish a resource to educate the public on laws, policies, and information about the mold inspection and mold remediation industry in the Commonwealth.

Virginia Residential Landlord and Tenant Act; essential services. Adds central air conditioning when supplied by the landlord and operating or represented as operating as of the effective date of the rental agreement to the list of what constitutes an essential service for purposes of the Virginia Residential Landlord and Tenant Act.

Zoning; development and use of accessory dwelling units. Requires a locality to include in its zoning ordinances for single-family residential zoning districts accessory dwelling units, or ADUs, as defined in the bill, as a permitted accessory use. The bill requires a person to seek a permit for an ADU from the locality, requires the locality to issue such permit if the person meets certain requirements enumerated in the bill, and restricts the fee for such permit to $500 or less. The bill prohibits the locality from requiring (i) construction of new dedicated parking for an ADU in most instances; (ii) setbacks for the ADU more than five feet from the property line; (iii) conditions for ADUs that are more restrictive than those for single-family dwellings within the same zoning area with regard to height, rear or side setbacks, lot size or coverage, or building frontage; or (iv) consanguinity or affinity between the occupants of the ADU and the primary dwelling. The bill has a delayed effective date of July 1, 2027.

Approval of land use applications; residential development. Requires every locality to take final action to approve, approve with conditions, or deny any land use application for the rezoning or development of property that includes residential development within 12 months from the date of submission of such application to the locality.

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.

Private activity bonds; allocation of state ceiling. Increases the housing allocation of the Virginia state ceiling on private activity bonds from 57 to 67 percent by (i) increasing the allocation to the Virginia Housing Development Authority from the current 43 percent to 50 percent and (ii) increasing the allocation to local housing authorities from the current 14 percent to 17 percent. The bill also maintains the current 18 percent for the Governor's state allocation portion and reduces the industrial development bonds for manufacturing and exempt facilities portion of the ceiling from 25 to 15 percent. This bill is identical to HB 1227.

Local rent stabilization authority; civil penalty. Provides that any locality may by ordinance adopt rent stabilization provisions. The bill provides for notice and a public hearing prior to the adoption of such ordinance and specifies that all landlords who are under rent stabilization may be required to give up to a two-month written notice of a rent increase and cannot increase the rent by more than the locality's rent stabilization allowance, described in the bill as the maximum amount a landlord can increase a tenant's rent during any 12-month period, in effect at the time of the increase. The bill sets such allowance as equal to the annual increase in the Consumer Price Index for the region in which the locality sits, states that such allowance is effective for a 12-month period beginning July 1 each year, and requires the locality to annually by June 1 publish such allowance on its website. Certain facilities, as outlined in the bill, are exempt from any such ordinance. The bill also requires such ordinance to provide a procedure by which a landlord may apply for an exemption from the rent stabilization provisions in situations where the net operating income generated by the rental facility has not been maintained due to escalating operating expenses or for other appropriate reasons as established by the locality. Finally, the bill provides that a locality may establish a civil penalty for failure to comply with the requirements set out in the ordinance that shall not exceed $2,500 per separate violation.

Study; JLARC; housing projects; zoning restrictions and permitting and approval processes; report. Directs the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission to study local zoning ordinances and permitting and approval processes for housing projects. The resolution additionally directs JLARC to provide recommendations to address regulations, ordinances, and processes that inhibit the approval and construction of multi-family or smaller square-footage housing projects in order to improve access to more affordable housing for residents of the Commonwealth.

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.