Virginia Residential Property Disclosure Act; required disclosures for buyer to beware.
HB1706 amends Virginia’s Residential Property Disclosure Act to expand the list of “buyer beware” disclosures that must be provided to purchasers of residential real property. The bill keeps the existing framework that the seller makes no warranties about the property’s condition and instead requires buyers to conduct their own due diligence before settlement. It adds a new disclosure specifically addressing whether a property is near a public use airport and whether aircraft noise may affect the property, and it directs buyers to review airport noise zone maps if available.
The bill also requires the Real Estate Board to make a flood risk information form available on its website and updates the disclosure statement to point buyers to flood-related resources, FEMA maps, and state flood-risk information. In addition, it requires the Department of Aviation to provide a website address where purchasers can access public use airport aircraft noise zone maps, including maps that meet FAA noise modeling criteria and show day-night average sound levels. The Real Estate Board must then include that website address on the disclosure statement.
More broadly, the bill reinforces and expands the state’s existing disclosure regime by adding another category of environmental and location-based risk information for homebuyers. The affected parties are residential sellers, buyers, real estate professionals, the Real Estate Board, and the Department of Aviation. It does not create new liability standards for property conditions, but it does require updated forms and online resources to support buyer awareness.
The overall sentiment appears strongly favorable and noncontroversial. The bill moved through the House and Senate with unanimous votes at each recorded stage, including subcommittee, committee, and floor passage, indicating broad bipartisan support. The discussion record provided contains no opposition or recorded debate.
There is little visible contention in the available materials. The main policy choice is whether to add aircraft noise proximity to the list of mandatory disclosures and to formalize access to airport noise maps, alongside flood-risk information. Any potential concern would likely center on the administrative burden of maintaining maps and updating disclosure forms, but no such objection appears in the voting history or transcripts provided.
HB1706 amends Code of Virginia § 55.1-703, the Virginia Residential Property Disclosure Act’s “buyer to beware” disclosure provision, by adding aircraft noise proximity as a required disclosure topic and by expanding related informational resources. It also directs the Department of Aviation to create a public website address for airport noise zone maps and requires the Real Estate Board to incorporate that link into the residential property disclosure statement. The bill further formalizes the availability of a flood risk information form on the Real Estate Board’s website, reinforcing existing flood-risk disclosure practices without changing the underlying rule that sellers generally make no warranties about property conditions.
The bill’s sentiment is uniformly positive in the available record. It passed every committee and floor vote unanimously, including 8-0 in subcommittee, 21-0 in committee, 97-0 in the House, 13-0 in Senate committee, 38-0 on Senate reading, and 39-0 in the Senate. No committee transcript is provided, but the voting pattern suggests broad bipartisan agreement and no organized opposition.
No notable contention is reflected in the provided materials. The only substantive policy issue apparent from the text is the expansion of mandatory disclosures to include proximity to public use airports and aircraft noise zones, along with the administrative coordination needed between the Real Estate Board, Department of Aviation, localities, and airport operators. However, the bill advanced unanimously at every stage, suggesting that any concerns about added disclosure obligations, map availability, or administrative burden were either minimal or resolved through the substitute.