July 1st is right around the corner, and as our loyal members are surely aware, that means that quite a few new laws will become effective here in the Commonwealth. This is the first of many resources that we will release on these new laws in the coming weeks, so don’t expect this to be a comprehensive overview. Instead, this blog will hit the highlights of changes that might affect you and your clients so that you can begin preparing for the changes. We’ll break these highlights down by topic area. Unless noted otherwise, all of these laws will be effective on July 1st, 2026.

*HB stands for “House Bill” and SB stands for “Senate Bill”

DPOR

• HB 1305 – This bill allows the Real Estate Board to take disciplinary cases “under advisement,” defer a finding, or dismiss the action upon terms and conditions set by the Board. This will hopefully speed up disciplinary proceedings and potentially avoid having a violation appear on your DPOR record.
• HB 613 – This bill was part of the Virginia REALTORS^® legislative agenda. DPOR will conduct a comprehensive review (with input from VAR) of the current process for obtaining a real estate license. This report will identify inefficiencies and develop recommendations to improve timing and transparency. The report must be presented to the General Assembly by January 1, 2027.

Buyer Beware

• SB 577 – The buyer beware statement will now include a notice that the buyer should do their own due diligence regarding a property’s proximity to any military ground installation. This bill was originally intended as a mandatory disclosure, but VAR’s Government Relations Team worked with the patron to, instead, add the language to the buyer beware statement.
• SB 649 – Language will be added to the VRPDA buyer beware statement urging buyers to determine whether a property is located in a locality that may provide use value assessment and taxation for real estate. This means that if the use or zoning changes, the property could be subject to rollback taxes. This bill was also originally intended to be a mandatory disclosure.

VRLTA Updates

• HB 15/SB 48 – This bill changes the time period for a material non-compliance for nonpayment of rent from5 days to 14 days. The law now states that if rent is not paid when due, and the tenant fails to pay within 14 days after written notice, the landlord may terminate. This does not affect any grace period that you or your landlord may choose to offer, as that is, and will remain, a business decision.
• HB 174/SB 325 – Military tenants who are terminating their leases early because of military orders will no longer be limited to 60 days before their orders take effect to make that termination. This time limit doesn’t exist in the federal law, so this brings Virginia’s law in line with the federal SCRA.
• HB 1361/SB 294 – When terminating a lease for nonpayment of rent, the notice must contain a written statement of charges and payments over the course of the tenancy or the past 12 months, whichever is shorter. This statement must include any late charges, attorney’s fees, costs, and other charges or damages that are due. This law will not take effect until July 1, 2027.

General

• HB 677/SB 402 – Insurance companies operating in Virginia may no longer refuse, cancel, or fail to renew insurance coverage based solely on the age of the property’s roof if the roof is 15 years or newer. Insurance companies are also prohibited from denying coverage solely on the roof’s condition if a roof inspector determines the roof has at least 5 years of useful life left. This was a big win for the Virginia REALTORS^®  Government Relations Team as a major part of our legislative agenda.
• HB 1178/SB 401 – There are four specific changes to the septic inspection law: 1) “readily accessible” is defined as requiring no more than 30 inches of digging; 2) the 10-day time limit to get your inspection report starts running on the first day of inspection; 3) all septic reports should indicate whether the system is operating as intended on the date of inspection; and 4) language is removed requiring a septic report to list the advertised bedroom count as listed in the MLS or as stated by the owner.

Again, this is just a sampling of the new laws that came from this year’s General Assembly session. Stay tuned to your email for more resources, including a live webinar on June 9, 2026 at 2 p.m.

If you have questions about new laws coming July 1st, you can reach out to our team of attorneys via the Virginia REALTORS^® Legal Hotline.