Great news! With Governor Glenn Youngkin’s deadline to sign, amend, or veto all passed legislation now having passed, the Virginia REALTORS® legislative agenda is nearly complete. The Governor signed the following bills:

  • Buyer Representation (Legislation which now requires a buyer’s agent to have a written agreement before showing a property.)

These bills will become law effective July 1, 2025.

Governor Youngkin also made a slight change to the Virginia REALTORS® legislative proposal regarding qualifications to serve on the Virginia Real Estate Board, amending the overall years of service required from ten years to seven. With enhanced criteria for service, specifications on areas of expertise, and requiring active participation as a real estate licensee all remaining in the legislation, your Government Relations team feels this legislation remains a vast improvement over the status quo. Our hope is that this amendment will be accepted by the legislature on April 2nd when the legislature reconvenes to address all of Governor Youngkin’s amendments and vetoes.

After the General Assembly returns next week for Governor Youngkin’s amendments and vetoes, they will consider either accepting his amendments, rejecting his amendments, and whether or not to override a veto, which requires 2/3rds of the legislature. (Fun fact: It has been 14 years since a veto has been overridden in the General Assembly!) Should the General Assembly reject any of the Governor’s amendments, Governor Youngkin then has two weeks to either veto or sign those outstanding legislation bills. Your Government Relations team will have a full update on the General Assembly legislative actions after the Governor makes his final decisions.

If you missed the detailed recap from this year’s General Assembly Session, you can find that here. As always, please keep an eye out for updates from our legal department on new laws and how they might impact your business.