Virginia REALTORS® 2023 Legislative Agenda
Security Deposits
HB 1542 – Delegate Jeff Campbell
Under current VRLTA law, a landlord has 45 days after the termination date of a lease, or the date the tenant vacates the property (whichever occurs later), to return the security deposit, minus any damages, to the tenant. In the event that damages to the premises exceed the amount of the security deposit and require the services of a third-party contractor, the landlord must notify the tenant and then has only 15 additional days to provide an itemization of the damages and the cost of repairs.
This new legislation extends that additional 15 days to 30 days. Over the past several years, landlords have had significant difficulty meeting this deadline due to labor shortages and supply chain delays. The additional 15 days would enable landlords to provide an accurate cost of repairs to the tenant. The law would sunset in one year.
Ombudsman
HB 1627 – Delegate Carrie Coyner
SB 1042 – Senator Jeremy McPike
This bill seeks to change the procedure followed by the CIC ombudsman for processing notices of final adverse decisions. At all times in the current law, when the Director (or Ombudsman) is directed to contact the association with respect to a notice of final adverse decision, this new language clarifies that they must also contact the association’s governing board and community manager, if applicable.
The bill also seeks to have the Ombudsman refer all notices of final adverse action that have not been remedied within 30 days—or are deemed to be a repeat violation—to the Common Interest Community Board for further action. New language also gives the Ombudsman permission to refer any violation of law to the CIC Board for further action. Finally, the bill adds two additional data points to be tracked by the ombuds office: (1) how long it takes an association to come into compliance after receiving communication from the Ombudsman; and (2) the number of violations that are referred to the CIC Board.
Short-Term Rental Regulation
HB 2271 – Delegate Danny Marshall
SB 1391 – Senator Lynwood Lewis
This bill would make certain categories of local ordinances that currently regulate short-term rentals unenforceable against properties that are managed by a Virginia REALTOR®. There are 8 categories of ordinances identified in the bill. Two examples include limiting the number of days in a calendar year for which a property can be rented and requiring an owner to add additional (or otherwise alter) parking spaces for a short-term rental. Through this legislation, these would not be enforceable against properties managed by a Virginia REALTOR®.
Finally, the bill removes the exemption for properties managed by a real estate licensee from local registries and requires the name and phone number of the REALTOR® contracted to manage the property to be reported to the registry.
Resale Disclosure Act
HB 2235 – Delegate Will Wampler
This bill seeks to create one place within Common Interest Community law to find all information on resale disclosures that are required when a property located within a common interest community is sold. The bill takes current disclosure language out of the POA, Condo, and Cooperative Acts and consolidates it within a new chapter entitled the Resale Disclosure Act.
The Act uses one term, “the resale certificate,” for the packet of information that is required to go from the association to a buyer when a property located within a CIC is sold. The Act also sets forth the requirements for contract disclosures, formatting and contents of the resale certificate, applicable fees, termination rights, and liability. The purpose of this change is to consolidate information that was spread over three different chapters in the Code and often included different requirements, terms, and definitions. This change also seeks to clarify code language and update obligations to current day. Some substantive changes include the contents and format of the resale certificate, the process of calculating fees, and when the fees are paid.
If you have questions or thoughts about the 2023 Virginia REALTORS® agenda or other Government Relations efforts, please contact us at advocacy@virginiarealtors.org.