As REALTORS® ease back into the swing of things after the holidays, the Government Relations team has tirelessly prepared and is assembled and ready for the 2023 Virginia General Assembly Session. The mission: generate success with our 2023 Legislative Agenda and ensure laws that are made coincide with our Standing Positions.

Virginia’s lawmakers are geared up and ready to govern! The 2023 Legislative Session will begin January 11th and will last approximately 45 days. The Virginia REALTORS® Public Policy Committee has advanced the following initiatives for 2023:

Security Deposit Bill
This initiative would allow an additional period of time for a landlord to return a security deposit to a tenant after they vacate the property—this period of time would extend beyond the current 45-day maximum. This initiative comes as a direct result of landlords having significant difficulty meeting this deadline due to labor shortages and supply chain delays. The additional days will enable landlords to provide accurate costs of repair to the tenant. This would be a one-year extension.

Short-Term Rentals
A bill that will protect your clients who use their investment properties as a short-term rental against overreaching local ordinances. This legislation aims to make certain categories of local ordinances that regulate short-term rentals unenforceable against properties that are managed by a Virginia REALTOR®.

Resale Disclosure Act
This bill seeks to create one place within the code to find all information on resale disclosures that are required when a property located within a common interest community is sold.

Common Interest Communities (CIC) Ombudsman Bill
This bill will work to ensure that homeowners are made aware of and understand what is occurring and the consequences of those actions that their HOA or Association Boards take during and thereafter. (The bill seeks to change the procedure followed by the CIC ombudsman for processing notices of final adverse decisions.) It is important for any REALTORS®’ clients who either live or want to live in an association to understand what goes on within the management of that association.

How Can YOU Help?
Our Government Relations team in Richmond works around the clock to ensure successes during legislative session, but there is no greater impact than when the unified voice of our 38,000+ REALTORS® show their support for pro-real estate legislation and opposition to bills that will hurt themselves and their clients.

Calls for Action
Be on the lookout for Calls for Action (CFA) this year. We will likely call on you to help amplify our REALTOR® message as key legislation moves through the legislative process. CFAs are an easy way for us to lock arms and send a clear message to lawmakers. It only takes a few moments and a couple of clicks for you to support our efforts.

Social Media
Be sure to like, follow, and share any updates that we post to the Virginia REALTORS® Facebook page. The more engaged you are, the more unified our message becomes. Plus, you’ll get insider access to the lawmaking process and the fun being had by our members during their Days on the Hill!

Be on the lookout for more information on the legislative agenda and other bills of interest! This information will be available as we see additional legislation drop at the onset of the 2023 General Assembly Session. If you have questions, please contact us at advocacy@virginiarealtors.org.