The 2026 Session of the Virginia General Assembly officially adjourned sine die on Saturday, March 14, bringing to a close a fast-paced, consequential, and often tumultuous legislative session. This year, lawmakers introduced nearly 2,500 bills, ultimately passing over 1,100 measures that will now head to Governor Abigail Spanberger’s desk for consideration.
The Governor typically has 30 days from adjournment to sign, amend, or veto legislation, or else the bills become law without her signature. Any amendments or changes proposed by the Governor would be considered at a reconvened “veto-session” next month.
Also, on deck for next month is a special session to return and finish work on the biennial budget which failed to pass prior to adjournment as the House and Senate continue work to resolve differences regarding data center tax exemptions. The legislature is scheduled to reconvene April 23.
A number of newsworthy issues made headlines in the 2026 session, including:
- Passage of a constitutional amendment allowing a congressional redistricting referendum to be placed on the ballot (Special election is April 21).
- Constitutional amendments dealing with reproductive rights, voting and marriage equality.
- Increasing the minimum wage to $15 an hour over the next several years, and providing paid family and medical leave to all employees beginning in 2029.
- Banning certain firearm sales and related gun-control measures.
- Setting up a retail cannabis sales program.
- And of course, the Fairfax County Casino referendum.
These bills and the real estate related legislation listed below are not yet final since the Governor must still act on the legislation. Below is a summary of some the legislation we tracked most closely throughout the 2026 session that is awaiting her signature.
Be on the lookout later this spring for a comprehensive review of the new laws ultimately passed in Virginia.
The Realtor® Agenda
Addressing Deed Fraud Through Regulation of Notaries and Land Records Alerting; HB163 and SB316. Removes “personal knowledge of identity” from the methods by which a notary may identify an individual for purposes of performing a notarial act. Requires Notary commission and recommission applicants to complete an education course developed and approved by the Secretary of the Commonwealth which includes the topic of real estate fraud, financial exploitation of elderly persons, and training on current trends on such topics and on recognizing instances of such fraud. Requires notaries public to keep a record of all notarial acts occurring on or after July 1, 2026, and to include in such record the form of satisfactory evidence of identification used to verify the identity of the principal and credible witnesses. Similarly, the bill requires settlement agents responsible for recording deeds, deeds of trust, or other documents relating to land records to obtain satisfactory evidence of identity of a seller of real property prior to settlement.
Requires any Clerk of a Court that uses electronic filing of land records to establish a property alert notification system for owners of real property which will send notifications to such owner when documents affecting or purporting to affect the enrolled property are filed with the clerk’s office. The provisions related to the establishment of the property alert notification system have a delayed effective date of July 1, 2027.
Providing homeownership grants for local government and school employees; HB164 and SB328. Eliminates a cap on the maximum amount (previously set at $25,000) a locality may provide to employees of the locality, employees of the school board, and employees of local constitutional officers for homeownership grants to purchase primary residences in the locality. Eliminates the requirement that such grants adhere to the VHDA regional sales price and household income limitation guidelines.
Protecting homeowners from insurance cancellations and coverage refusal due to the age of a roof; HB677 and SB402. Prohibits insurers from refusing coverage or canceling, refusing to renew, or increasing the premiums of a policy written to insure an owner-occupied dwelling if the roof is less than 15 years old. Creates the Residential Property Owners Protection Act to provide consumer protection from contractors providing roofing services for residential property owners, including prohibiting certain predatory advertising and contracts by roofing contractors. The bill has a delayed effective date of January 1, 2027.
Increases consumer protection in septic inspections by clarifying the inspectors scope of services and requirements for performance; HB1178 and SB401. Amends the 2025 Septic Inspection legislation to clarify that system components are not considered readily accessible if access requires removal of surface material exceeding 30 inches in depth to uncover septic tank access lids, distribution devices, or other inspection ports. The bill specifies that an authorized septic system inspector shall submit a written report to the client within 10 business days from the start of the inspection, unless otherwise agreed to in writing by the parties. It requires the report to indicate whether the system is operating as intended. And the bill removes the requirement that authorized septic system inspectors report the advertised bedroom count or design capacity as listed in the multiple listing service or written statement by the property owner.
Protect early lease termination for retiring military personnel; HB174 and SB325. Aligns the Virginia Residential Landlord and Tenant Act (VRLTA) with the federal Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (SCRA) by removing the requirement that military personnel terminating a rental agreement due to identified permissible circumstances shall provide the landlord with a termination date that is no more than 60 days prior to the date of departure necessary to comply with the official orders or any supplemental instructions for interim training or duty prior to the transfer.
Streamline the real estate licensee application approval process; SB613. (This bill was significantly amended to require a study of the issue instead of mandating license changes in 2026.) Requires the Department of Professional and Occupational Regulation (DPOR) to conduct a comprehensive review of the Commonwealth’s current process for obtaining licensure as a real estate salesperson. Based on this review DPOR will recommend statutory, regulatory, and administrative changes to improve the timeliness and effectiveness of the real estate salesperson licensure process and provide a report on or before January 1, 2027.
Realtor® License Plate Fee Modification; HB1339 and SB204. Converts the existing non-revenue sharing special license plate for members of the Virginia Realtors® to a revenue sharing special license plate with the revenue benefiting the Virginia Realtors® Disaster Relief Fund.
Other real estate related Legislation awaiting action by the Governor:
Preservation of affordable housing; HB4. The bill authorizes localities to adopt an ordinance that requires an owner of publicly supported housing 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.
Enforcement by localities of Virginia Residential Landlord and Tenant Act; HB14 and SB290. Provides that if a condition exists in a dwelling unit that constitutes a material noncompliance by the landlord with the rental agreement that constitutes a fire hazard or serious threat to the life, health, or safety of a tenant, 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.
Noncompliance with rental agreement in the Virginia Residential Landlord and Tenant Act; HB15 and SB48. Increases the mandatory waiting period for a landlord to pursue remedies for termination of the rental agreement from five days to 14 days.
Duty of settlement agent regarding restrictive covenants; HB39. Requires a settlement agent to notify the purchaser of any residential real property of the purchaser’s right to remove a restrictive covenant contained in an instrument affecting the title of the property disclosed as the result of the title search performed pursuant to the real estate transaction.
Virginia Residential Landlord and Tenant Act payment plans; HB95. Requires a landlord who owns more than four rental dwelling units, before terminating a rental agreement due to nonpayment of rent if the amount of rent owed is less than or equal to one month’s rent, 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.
Siting of data centers; HB153 and SB94. Provides that, prior to any approval of a rezoning application, special exception application, or special use permit for the siting of a new high energy use facility (HEUF), as defined in the bill, a locality shall require that an applicant perform and submit a site assessment to examine the sound profile of the HEUF on residential units and schools located within 500 feet of the HEUF property boundary. The bill also allows a locality to require that a site assessment examine the effect of the proposed facility on (i) ground and surface water resources, (ii) agricultural resources, (iii) parks, (iv) registered historic sites, and (v) forestland on the HEUF site or immediately contiguous land. The provisions of the bill shall not apply to a site with an existing legislative or administrative approval where an applicant is seeking an expansion or modification of an already existing or approved facility and such expansion does not exceed an additional 100 megawatts or more of electrical power. Finally, the bill provides that its provisions shall not be construed to prohibit, limit, or otherwise supersede existing local zoning authority.
Real estate appraisers fair housing and appraisal bias course; HB170. Requires, in addition to successfully completing an examination, applicants for licensure as a certified residential real estate appraiser or a certified general real estate appraiser to also successfully complete a fair housing and appraisal bias education course administered or approved by the Real Estate Appraiser Board prior to licensure, the specifics of which are provided in the bill.
Virginia Residential Development Infrastructure Pilot Program established; HB196. Establishes the Virginia Residential Development Infrastructure Pilot Program for the purpose of assisting local governments with the costs incurred for expanding or improving public infrastructure needed to support new residential development.
Comprehensive plans to include environmental justice strategy; HB256 and SB425. Requires cities with populations greater than 20,000 and counties with populations greater than 100,000 to consider, at the next and all subsequent reviews of the comprehensive plan, adopting an environmental justice strategy. The bill provides that the locality’s strategy shall be to identify environmental justice and fenceline communities within the jurisdiction of the local planning commission and identify objectives and policies to reduce health risks, to promote civic engagement, and to prioritize improvements and programs that address the needs of environmental justice and fenceline communities, as those terms are defined in the bill.
Assumable conventional home mortgage loans; HB304. Requires any lender for any conventional home mortgage loan secured on or after July 1, 2026, by a mortgage or deed of trust on owner-occupied residential real estate located in the Commonwealth to include provisions in such loan to allow for any of the existing borrowers to purchase the property interest of another borrower on the loan by assuming the seller’s portion of the mortgage in connection with a decree of annulment or divorce if the assuming borrower qualifies for the underlying loan, as determined by the lender.
Local authority for affordable housing performance grant programs; HB352. Allows any locality that has created an industrial development authority or economic development authority to establish, by ordinance, an affordable housing performance grant program.
Virginia Residential Landlord and Tenant Act application notifications; HB379. 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 provides that a landlord shall use the information contained in an application to evaluate an applicant for eligibility for all comparable dwelling units that the landlord owns in the Commonwealth.
Essential services under the Virginia Residential Landlord and Tenant Act; HB519. 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.
Eviction Reduction Program; HB527 and SB628. Establishes the Eviction Reduction Program within the Department of Housing and Community Development to expand the work of the Department in (i) promoting housing stability, (ii) identifying factors that contribute to eviction filings, (iii) providing interventions to prevent or divert evictions, and (iv) supporting prevention and diversion efforts across the Commonwealth.
Expedited approval for certain affordable housing developments; HB594. Allows a locality, by ordinance, to authorize a zoning administrator to use an administrative process to approve rezoning applications for affordable housing developments.
Virginia Residential Landlord and Tenant Act tenant records; HB616. Requires a landlord, upon written request by a tenant, to within 10 business days provide such tenant a statement containing all fees, credits, and payments incurred by the tenant over the duration of the tenancy or the past 12 months, whichever is shorter, provided that the rent payment for the dwelling unit incorporates payment for one or more utility charges, including electricity, gas, water, sewer, trash, or other utilities and services.
Zoning for manufactured housing; HB655 and SB346. Requires localities to permit manufactured homes in all zoning districts where site-built housing is allowed, with certain conditions. The bill provides that localities shall not adopt or enforce any zoning, land-use, or development regulation that treats manufactured homes differently or more restrictively than a single-family site-built dwelling allowed in the same zoning district.
Virginia Residential Landlord and Tenant Act notice of rent increase; HB678. Requires a landlord who owns more than four rental dwelling units to provide a tenant with written notice of any increase in rent for the subsequent rental agreement term at least 90 days prior to the end of such term and to include in such notice a deadline, which shall be no sooner than 30 days after such notice is delivered, by which the tenant shall advise the landlord of whether the tenant will renew the rental agreement.
Vacant building registration; HB802. Permits any locality to require, by ordinance, the owner, or his registered agent, of any building that has been continuously vacant for at least three years to register such building with the locality annually.
Entering adjoining property for repairs or maintenance of property; HB803 and SB77. Allows an owner of real property who seeks to repair or maintain the exterior of his property to petition the circuit court for a right of entry to an adjoining property for the purpose of performing the repairs or maintenance when the property is so situated that it is impossible to perform the repairs or maintenance without entering such adjoining property and permission to enter such adjoining property has been denied.
Virginia Residential Landlord and Tenant Act termination by landlord for fire or casualty damage; HB834. 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.
Affordable housing local zoning ordinance authority; HB867 and SB74. Authorizes any locality in the Commonwealth to provide for an affordable housing dwelling unit program by amending the zoning ordinance of such locality.
Minimum off-street parking requirements in certain areas; HB888. Provides that a locality shall not require minimum off-street parking for residential, multifamily, or mixed-use development located within certain proximity of transit, 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 further provides that any locality with a population greater than 20,000 shall, by ordinance, provide for 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.
Siting of new electric transmission facilities; HB 889 and SB497. Provides that in the siting of new electric transmission facilities, it is the policy of the Commonwealth that existing linear infrastructure corridors shall be prioritized over new corridors. The bill directs the Department of Transportation to convene a work group to identify opportunities and develop recommendations to amend regulations and permitting processes to facilitate the expedient and efficient siting of new electrical transmission infrastructure in existing state highway rights-of-way.
Virginia Residential Landlord and Tenant Act payment methods and fees; HB1005. Requires landlords to accept payment of rent and any security deposit by check, electronic funds transfer, debit or credit card, and money order. The bill also removes the provision requiring the tenant to request a written receipt after paying in the form of cash or money order and requires the landlord to provide such written receipt as a matter of law. Finally, the bill prohibits landlords from requiring a tenant to pay any fee for the maintenance or repair of any unit subject to such rental agreement unless necessitated by the tenant’s violation of a requirement of the Act.
Water and sewer connection fees waiver for first-time homebuyers; HB1144. Provides that any locality may provide for the full or partial reimbursement to a first-time homebuyer of water and sewer connection fees, capital recovery charges, and availability fees paid in connection with any new residential development conveyed to such homebuyer. The bill also permits any locality that has adopted an affordable dwelling unit ordinance pursuant to general law to provide for a waiver of such fees and charges for any development subject to the requirements of such ordinance.
Small lot residential zoning districts; HB1212. 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.
Affordable housing by religious organizations and other nonprofit tax-exempt properties; HB1279 and SB388. Allows for the administrative approval of development and construction of housing on land owned by property tax-exempt religious organizations or certain property tax-exempt nonprofit organizations and provides that zoning ordinances for all purposes shall allow the by-right development and construction of housing on real property owned by such organizations.
Virginia Residential Landlord and Tenant Act unlawful detainer termination notice; HB1361. Provides that no landlord shall file or maintain an action for unlawful detainer against a tenant unless such landlord has provided the tenant with a proper and effective notice of termination. The bill provides that no notice of termination for nonpayment of rent shall be effective unless it contains a written statement of charges and payments over the course of the tenancy or the past 12 months, whichever is shorter, other certain fees and charges that may be due and owing under the rental agreement, and if the rental agreement provides for the use of submetering equipment or energy allocation equipment, or a ratio utility billing system, debits and credits incurred by the tenant for energy and utility bills.
Virginia Residential Landlord and Tenant Act for victims of family abuse; HB1408. Removes the requirement that a tenant who is a victim of family abuse provide the landlord prompt notification should the perpetrator return to the dwelling unit to prevent the landlord from terminating a lease solely due to such act of family abuse occurring in the dwelling unit or on the premises by a perpetrator barred from the dwelling unit. Under the bill, if the tenant provides the landlord with a copy of the protective order, should the perpetrator not already be barred from the unit by the landlord, the lease shall not be terminated due solely to an act of family abuse against the tenant by a perpetrator barred from the dwelling unit.
Regulation of solar contractors and solar installation companies; HB1439 and SB823. Authorizes the Board for Contractors (the Board) to require specific contract provisions and disclosures relating to the sale, lease, or power purchase agreement for a residential solar energy system, as defined in the bill.
Pilot program for underground high voltage transmission lines; HB1487 and SB827. Authorizes the State Corporation Commission, in reviewing any application submitted by a public utility for a certificate of public convenience and necessity for the construction of an electrical transmission line of 500 kilovolts filed between January 1, 2025, and July 1, 2033, to approve up to four applications for qualifying projects to be constructed in whole or in part underground as part of the pilot program for underground transmission lines and to provide an expedited review of any such application.
Virginia Residential Property Disclosure Act comprehensive review; HB1518. Directs the Department of Professional and Occupational Regulation to convene a stakeholder advisory group to assist the Department in conducting a comprehensive review of (i) required disclosures for a buyer to beware, (ii) current methods for a buyer to receive a residential property disclosure statement, and (iii) the statutory language related to residential property disclosure statements and the language used in such disclosure statements.
Partial exemption of property tax for repurposing underutilized structures for residential use; SB181. Permits localities to provide partial real estate taxation exemptions for converted real property where such conversion establishes a residential structure that has set aside at least 30 percent of the structure for households with a per capita income at or below 80 percent of the locality’s median income or where the building owner is subject to an agreement with the Commonwealth or the locality regarding the provision of affordable housing.
Virginia Residential Landlord and Tenant Act prohibited fees for payments; SB313. Prohibits a landlord requiring a tenant to pay any fee to submit rent payments or other amounts due in excess of the actual out-of-pocket expenses charged to the landlord by a third party to process a payment by credit card, debit card, or electronic payment. The bill also prohibits a landlord from requiring a tenant to pay any fee for the maintenance or repair of any dwelling unit unless the repair is necessitated by the tenant’s action or omission.
Rulings or orders of the local circuit court on vested rights; SB504. Provides that a landowner’s vested rights in a specific residential project shall not be affected by a subsequent ruling or order of the local circuit court applicable to a zoning ordinance amendment when such ruling or order affects at least 25 individual parcels within a locality unless the significant affirmative governmental act approving such residential project is the direct subject of the ruling or order.
Development and use of accessory dwelling units; SB531. 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.
Required disclosures for buyer to beware for proximity to military ground installation; SB577. Adds a property’s proximity to any military ground installation to the residential property disclosure statement provided by the Real Estate Board on its website for the buyer to beware as to whether a property may be impacted by related noise or other effects of military operations.
Housing development database; SB666. Requires the Department of Housing and Community Development to collect from each locality and make available to the public, localities, state agencies, and other state and regional public entities in a centralized, machine-readable, screen reader compatible database various data for each new and existing housing development in each locality in the Commonwealth, including data related to the number of housing development plans submitted and approved by the locality and the average approval timeline for housing development plans.
Casino gaming in Fairfax; SB756. Adds Fairfax County to the list of localities eligible to host a casino in the Commonwealth and provides that any proposed site for a casino gaming establishment considered by Fairfax County shall be part of a coordinated mixed-use project development consisting of no less than 1.5 million square feet; be located within one-quarter of a mile of an existing station on the Metro Silver Line, be within two miles of a regional enclosed mall containing not less than 1.5 million square feet of gross building area, and be outside of the Interstate 495 Beltway.
