The General Assembly brought some changes to the VA Landlord and Tenant Act. What you need to know.
RICHMOND—This session of the General Assembly brought a few changes to the Virginia Residential Landlord and Tenant Act, the code that lays out each party's rights and how tenants and landlords should conduct themselves. These changes won't be in affect until July 1. Here's what changed:
Landlords must give at least a 60 day notice for rent increases
A landlord who owns more then four rental units must provide a written notice of changes in rent during the time of the lease at least 60 days before the end of the current rental agreement term, according to HB 1702.
Tenant may terminate lease if the unit is not habitable in the beginning
A tenant has the right to terminate the lease if he/she finds that the house or apartment has issues that a fire hazard or a threat to one's life, health or safety upon moving in. These may include infestation of pests or rodents, lack of heat, lack of hot or cold running water, a lack of electricity or properly operating sewage facilities, and the like.
The tenant must provide a notice to the landlord within 7 days of the start of the lease, and the landlord must return any rent or deposit paid within 15 business days of the notice. If the landlord refuses, the tenant has the right to take it to the court. This act, HB 1635, also allows the prevailing party to recover reasonable attorney fees.
Charges for damages to property
If the damages of the property exceed the tenant's security deposit, tenants now have 30 days to pay back the cost of repair, up from 15 days previously. The landlord must provide the tenant with an itemized list of damages and cost of repair. This bill, HB 1542, expires on June 30, 2024.
Payment for delinquent taxes
HB 2110 allows a landlord more time to pay delinquent taxes to the locality, extending the maximum duration of an installment agreement from 60 to 72 months.
Pre-employment criminal history check
Landlords who own more than 200 dwelling units attached to the same property must give all potential employees who will have access to keys a criminal check before they start the job. Landlords also must have written policies and procedures for storing, issuing, securing and returning the keys/ electronic key codes. HB 2082 does not apply to a financial institution or a real estate licensee.
Joyce Chu, an award-winning investigative journalist, is the Social Justice Watchdog Reporter for The Progress Index. Contact her with comments, concerns, or story-tips at Jchu1@gannett.com or on Twitter @joyce_speaks.
This article originally appeared on The Progress-Index: Here's the laws that changed in Virginia's Landlord and Tenant Act
