An Act to amend and reenact § 55.1-1245, as it is currently effective and as it shall become effective, of the Code of Virginia, relating to Virginia Residential Landlord and Tenant Act; landlord remedies; noncompliance with rental agreement; payment plan.
HB95 amends Virginia’s Residential Landlord and Tenant Act provision governing landlord remedies for tenant noncompliance with a rental agreement. The bill revises § 55.1-1245 to clarify when a landlord may issue notice of breach, when a tenant may cure a remediable violation, and when a lease may be terminated for nonremediable conduct. It preserves the general rule that a tenant must be given written notice and an opportunity to remedy certain breaches, while continuing to allow immediate termination and possession proceedings for nonremediable criminal or willful acts that pose a threat to health or safety.
The bill also addresses illegal drug activity and other dangerous conduct by tenants, authorized occupants, guests, or invitees, treating such activity as an immediate nonremediable violation and setting evidentiary and hearing procedures for expedited court action. It retains protections for victims of family abuse by preventing lease termination solely because of abuse occurring in the dwelling unit, so long as the tenant provides required documentation and complies with notice requirements if the perpetrator returns. The statute is effective until the later of July 1, 2028, or seven years after the COVID-19 emergency expires, indicating that these landlord-tenant rules are part of Virginia’s post-pandemic housing framework.
HB95 directly amends § 55.1-1245 of the Code of Virginia, changing the legal standards and procedures landlords must follow when responding to tenant noncompliance. It affects eviction and possession actions under the Virginia Residential Landlord and Tenant Act by preserving cure periods for remediable breaches, reaffirming immediate remedies for serious nonremediable misconduct, and specifying expedited court timelines and proof standards for illegal drug activity and other health- or safety-threatening conduct. It also continues statutory protections for tenants who are victims of family abuse, limiting when such abuse can be used as a basis for lease termination.
Based on the bill text and the absence of recorded committee debate or votes in the provided materials, the measure appears to be a technical but substantive landlord-tenant update rather than a highly controversial overhaul. The enacted chapter status suggests the bill ultimately received sufficient support to pass. The structure of the amendment indicates an effort to balance landlord enforcement tools with tenant protections, especially for remediable breaches and family abuse victims.
The main points of tension in a bill like HB95 are likely the scope of landlord authority versus tenant due process. Landlords may favor the bill’s expedited termination and possession procedures for illegal drug activity, criminal or willful acts, and threats to health and safety, while tenant advocates may be concerned about immediate eviction without waiting for a criminal conviction and the presumption of tenant knowledge when misconduct is committed by occupants or guests. Another potential area of concern is the documentation and notice requirements imposed on victims of family abuse, which could be viewed as necessary safeguards by landlords but as burdensome by advocates for survivors.