Housing

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) setbacks for the ADU that are greater than the setback required for the primary dwelling or the setback required for accessory structures on the residential lot, whichever is less; (ii) 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 (iii) consanguinity or affinity between the occupants of the ADU and the primary dwelling. The bill has a delayed effective date of July 1, 2027.

Local anti-rent gouging authority; civil penalty. Provides that any locality may by ordinance adopt anti-rent gouging 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 the ordinance may be required to give at least 90 days' written notice of a rent increase and cannot increase the rent by more than the locality's calculated allowance, not to exceed three percent, and states that such allowance is effective for a 12-month period beginning July 1 each year. The bill requires the locality to publish such allowance on its website by June 1 of each year. Certain facilities, as outlined in the bill, are exempt from such ordinance. The bill also requires a locality adopting an anti-rent gouging ordinance to establish an anti-rent gouging board to establish rules and procedures by which landlords may apply for and be granted exemptions from the rent increase limits set by the ordinance or delegate such duties and functions to an existing local board, department, or agency. The bill also requires the anti-rent gouging board to establish a fair return on investment rent increase exemption to the annual anti-rent gouging allowance where necessary to offset increased operating expenses. Finally, the bill provides that a locality shall establish a civil penalty for failure to comply with the requirements set out in its ordinance.

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.

Virginia Residential Landlord and Tenant Act; duties of landlord; mold remediation; civil penalty. Provides that a tenant, authorized occupant, or guest or invitee of a tenant or authorized occupant may bring a personal injury or wrongful death action for exposure to mold arising from the condition within the interior of a dwelling unit or for any property damage claims arising out of the landlord-tenant relationship to recover (i) compensatory damages, including medical bills, lost wages, and injury to personal property; (ii) punitive damages; and (iii) reasonable attorney fees and costs, if the mold is caused solely by the gross negligence or willful misconduct of the landlord or managing agent. The bill also mandates a landlord to require a tenant to temporarily vacate the dwelling unit in order for the landlord to perform mold remediation in accordance with professional standards if it has been determined by a physician or other qualified medical professional and certified by a written medical statement that the mold condition in the dwelling unit materially affects the health or safety of the tenant or any authorized occupant.

Loitering; unhoused persons. Prohibits any locality from discriminating against any person on the basis of actual or perceived unhoused status by imposing a civil or criminal penalty against any unhoused person, defined in the bill, of any age for engaging in life-sustaining activities in or upon any public place, including in a legally parked car in a public place, provided that such activities do not obstruct the movement of pedestrian or vehicular traffic in a manner that creates a hazard to others. Life-sustaining activities include sleeping, resting, sitting, standing, lying down, or protecting oneself from the elements.

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.

Department of Housing and Community Development; powers and duties of Director; comprehensive statewide housing needs assessment; review of certain parcels. Requires the Director of the Department of Housing and Community Development to conduct a review of parcels owned by certain partnerships, corporations, or real estate investment trusts as part of the comprehensive statewide housing needs assessment conducted by the Department at least every five years.

Prohibited acquisition of single-family homes; affidavit; civil penalty. Restricts any partnership, corporation, or real estate investment trust that manages funds pooled from investors, is a fiduciary to such investors, has net value or assets under management on any day during a taxable year, and holds an interest in more than 50 single-family homes from acquiring any interest in any other single-family home, as defined in the bill to include manufactured home parks and residential single-family homes split into multiple dwellings, on or after July 1, 2026. The bill also requires an offering purchaser of a manufactured home park to provide a notarized affidavit certifying that the purchaser is not prohibited from acquiring such an interest. Any false statements on such affidavit is subject to a civil penalty of up to $10,000 per occurrence.

Virginia Workforce Housing Assistance Program; report. Establishes the Virginia Workforce Housing Assistance Program to provide grants to eligible employers, defined in the bill, that set up housing down payment assistance programs for employees in amounts equal to the lesser of 15 percent of housing down payment assistance expenses incurred by an eligible employer during the fiscal year or $25,000. The bill specifies that an eligible employer may only receive grants in the aggregate of up to $150,000 across all fiscal years or $250,000 for housing down payment assistance expenses incurred for employees in certain fiscally stressed localities. The bill requires weighting grants according to the household income of participating employees, as measured against the area median income (AMI) for the locality in which the dwelling is located. Any participating employee shall have an annual household income at or below 120 percent of the AMI for the locality in which the employee's dwelling is located and have never owned or purchased under contract for deed, either individually or jointly, a single-family residence in the Commonwealth or outside of the Commonwealth. The bill has an expiration date of July 1, 2028.

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 SB 490.