A BILL to amend and reenact § 55.1-1250 of the Code of Virginia, relating to Virginia Residential Landlord and Tenant Act; landlord remedies; tenant's right of redemption; attorney fees.
HB1093 amends the Virginia Residential Landlord and Tenant Act section governing a landlord’s acceptance of rent after filing an unlawful detainer action and a tenant’s right of redemption. The bill clarifies when a landlord may accept partial payments while still preserving the right to evict, requires written notice to the tenant that partial payment does not waive eviction rights, and allows that notice to be included in the termination notice. It also specifies that full payment of all amounts due before the initial court date limits attorney’s fees to no more than $100 and requires dismissal of the unlawful detainer action once the tenant pays the listed amounts.
The bill further expands and details the redemption process by allowing a tenant, or a third party on the tenant’s behalf, to tender payment of rent, late fees, attorney fees, and court costs at or before the return date, and by providing a 10-day continuation period for payment when a local government or nonprofit entity submits a written redemption tender. It also sets procedures for post-judgment payment before eviction, requires landlords to provide an itemized statement of amounts owed upon request, and directs landlords to cancel the writ of eviction and notify the court when payment is made. The bill includes special rules for landlords with four or fewer rental units, public housing or HUD-regulated housing, and payments made after a writ has issued.
HB1093 would amend § 55.1-1250 of the Code of Virginia, changing the statutory framework for eviction-related payment and redemption rights under the Virginia Residential Landlord and Tenant Act. It affects landlords, tenants, courts handling unlawful detainer actions, and third parties such as nonprofits or local governments that may assist tenants with redemption payments. The bill also touches related procedures for attorney fees, writs of eviction, and satisfaction of money judgments under Virginia landlord-tenant and civil procedure law.
No committee transcript or recorded vote information is provided, and the bill was left in the House Committee on General Laws and Technology. Based on the text alone, the bill appears to be aimed at clarifying and standardizing eviction and redemption procedures rather than making a broad policy shift. Its structure suggests an effort to balance landlord remedies with tenant opportunities to cure nonpayment and avoid eviction.
The main points of potential contention are the balance between landlord enforcement rights and tenant protections. Landlords may object to limits on attorney fees, mandatory notice language, and the requirement to cancel evictions after payment, while tenant advocates may support the clearer redemption rights and the ability of nonprofits or local governments to intervene. The special limitation allowing small landlords to restrict redemption to once per lease period may also reflect compromise between these competing interests.