As of July 1, 2020, Virginia law now requires that any person performing a septic inspection in connection with a real estate transaction must have an appropriate license or accreditation. Based on our conversations with members and the number of questions to the Legal Hotline, we know that many of you are very concerned about the impacts of this law.

To try and mitigate some of those concerns, the Standard Forms subcommittee made several tweaks to the Virginia REALTORS^® Purchase Contract. Specifically, it removed the requirement that a Seller provide the Purchaser with a certificate stating that the septic system is in good working order. It also removed references to “home” inspections throughout the contract to make it clear that the inspection contingency is much broader than just a home inspection and allows for a number of other inspections.

For those who want to have a separate septic inspection contingency, distinct from the home inspection contingency, language has been added to the Standard Clause Booklet to facilitate that. These changes will go live on our website and all forms providers who have our forms on September 1, 2020. Stay tuned to our website for any additional changes.