An Act to amend the Code of Virginia by adding in Chapter 8 of Title 36 a section numbered 36-140.02, relating to Department of Housing and Community Development; Eviction Reduction Program; report.
HB527 creates a new section of the Virginia Code establishing the Eviction Reduction Program within the Department of Housing and Community Development. The program is intended to expand efforts to promote housing stability, identify causes of eviction filings, provide interventions to prevent or divert evictions, and support eviction-prevention and diversion efforts across the Commonwealth. The bill also directs the Department to develop program guidelines and criteria in consultation with stakeholders, including program grantees.
The measure requires the Department to submit an annual report to the General Assembly by October 1. That report must include the number of households served, including children in those households, the outcomes for those households, the types of assistance provided, the geographic distribution of the program, the number of households that successfully completed the existing Eviction Diversion Program under § 55.1-1260, and any legislative recommendations to further the program’s goals. The bill also states that it does not affect actions already taken by the Department under the program before enactment.
HB527 adds a new statutory reporting and program framework to Title 36, giving the Department of Housing and Community Development explicit authority to administer the Eviction Reduction Program and to formalize its goals, consultation process, and annual reporting obligations. It does not create new landlord-tenant penalties or alter eviction procedures directly, but it does reinforce and expand state-level eviction prevention and diversion efforts, with effects on households facing housing instability, local and regional service providers, and grantees participating in the program. The bill also ties the new program to the existing Eviction Diversion Program in § 55.1-1260 through required reporting on completed cases.
The available context suggests the bill was noncontroversial and received enough support to be enacted as Chapter 164. Because there are no recorded committee transcripts or vote details in the provided material, there is no evidence of formal opposition in the record supplied. The bill’s focus on housing stability, prevention of eviction, and reporting to the General Assembly indicates a generally supportive policy posture toward eviction diversion and homelessness prevention.
No specific points of contention are documented in the provided transcripts or vote history. Potential areas that could draw scrutiny, based on the bill text, include the scope of the Department’s program administration, the use of state resources for eviction prevention, and the requirement for annual reporting on outcomes and geographic distribution. However, the supplied record does not identify any named opponents, amendments, or disputed provisions.