Property and Conveyances

P Passed

P HB842
Uniform Principal and Income Act. Replaces the prior uniform act to reflect modern trust investment practices in the allocation of principal and income. The bill provides procedures for trustees administering estates in separating principal from income, and ensuring that the intention of the creator of the trust is the guiding principle for trustees. The bill is recommended by the Virginia Commissioners to the National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws.
Patron - Clement

P HB1369
Notice of use of pesticides. Requires landlords, condominium unit owners' associations and proprietary lessees' associations to post conspicuous signs at least 48 hours before pesticides are applied in common areas.
Patron - Almand

P HB1444
Releases made by court; costs and attorneys fees. Reduces the presumption period that an encumbrance on realty or personal property has been satisfied from 20 to 15 years after the date of maturity on the encumbrance.
Patron - Howell

P HB1454
Manufactured Home Lot Rental Act; renewal of rental agreement. Prohibits park owners from increasing the amount of a security deposit or requiring an additional security deposit from a year-round resident upon automatic renewal of his rental agreement. The bill also provides for the Virginia Housing Study Commission to review the issue of security deposits as it relates to the automatic renewal of a manufactured home lot rental.
Patron - Puller

P HB1595
Property Owners' Association Act; notice of meetings. Provides that meetings of the association shall be held in accordance with the provisions of the bylaws at least once each year after the formation of the association. The bylaws shall specify an officer who shall, at least 14 days in advance of any annual or regularly scheduled meeting, and at least seven days in advance of any other meeting, send to each member notice of the time, place, and purposes of such meeting. Notice shall be sent by United States mail to all members at the address of their respective lots and to such other addresses as any of them may have designated to such officer, or notice may be hand-delivered by the officer, provided the officer certifies in writing that notice was delivered to the member. This bill conforms the Property Owners' Association Act to the Condominium Act as it relates to notice of meetings.
Patron - Albo

P HB1632
Condominium and Property Owners' Associations; access to books and records. Requires (i) requests for records be made for a purpose related to the owner's membership in the association and (ii) clarification of the types of documents to which an association may deny access, including the private files of individual condominium or lot owners. The bill also contains technical amendments.
Patron - Cantor

P HB1997
Tenants by the entireties. Clarifies that a tenancy by the entireties may be created in personal property and that the part of a person's estate held in such tenancy is manifestly intended to go to the other tenant upon death.
Patron - Howell

P HB2276
Virginia Residential Landlord and Tenant Act; rent escrow required in certain cases. Provides that where a landlord has filed an unlawful detainer action seeking possession of the premises and the tenant seeks to obtain a continuance of the action or to set it for a contested trial, the court shall, upon request of the landlord and as a condition of granting the continuance or contested trial date, order the tenant to pay an amount equal to the rent that would be due as of the continuance or contested trial date into the court escrow account Upon payment of the required amount by the tenant, the action shall be continued in the court's discretion or set for a contested trial, with the provision that should the tenant fail to pay future rent due under the rental agreement, the court shall enter judgment against the tenant upon request of the landlord. The court shall not require the rent to be escrowed where it finds the tenant has asserted a good faith defense or if the landlord has requested the continuance or the contested trial. The bill also contains a provision allowing the court, to meet the ends of justice, to grant a tenant an additional week to pay the rent due into the court escrow account.
Patron - Bryant

P HB2302
Virginia Residential Landlord and Tenant Act; tenants' obligations. Provides that a tenant shall not remove or tamper with a properly functioning smoke detector, including removing any working batteries, so as to render the smoke detector inoperative.
Patron - Davis

P HB2331
Virginia Residential Landlord and Tenant Act; definitions. Clarifies that the definition of "natural person" includes general partnerships, limited liability partnerships, registered limited liability partnerships or limited liability companies.
Patron - McClure

P HB2534
Condominium Act; conveyance of units not yet completed. Conforms the Condominium Act to the Real Estate Time-Share Act in allowing for the conveyance of a time-share interest in a condominium unit that has not been substantially completed. In this instance, the bill requires the developer to post, with the Real Estate Board, a completion bond for 100 percent of the cost of completion of the unit. The bill also requires disclosure of the not-yet-complete status of the unit as well as the existence of the completion bond to the purchaser of the time-share interest. The bill contains technical amendments.
Patron - Diamonstein

P HB2537
Virginia Residential Landlord and Tenant Act; barring invitees of a tenant. Provides that a guest or invitee of a tenant may be barred from the premises by a landlord upon written notice served personally upon the guest or invitee of the tenant for conduct on the landlord's property where the premises are located which violates the terms and conditions of the rental agreement, local ordinance, or state or federal law. The notice shall describe the acts of the guest or invitee which are the basis for the landlord's action. In addition to the remedies against the tenant authorized by the Act, a landlord may apply to the magistrate for a warrant for trespass, provided the guest or invitee has been personally served with notice by the landlord. The bill also allows a tenant to file a tenant's assertion in accordance with §§ 55-248.27 and 55-248.30 requesting that the general district court review the landlord's action to bar the guest or invitee. The bill defines the term "guest or invitee of a tenant."
Patron - Albo

P HB2699
Condominium Act; resale certificate. Requires condominium unit owners when selling their units to disclose to the purchaser in the purchase contract that (i) the unit is located within a development which is subject to the Condominium Act, (ii) the Act requires the seller to obtain from the unit owners' association a resale certificate and provide it to the purchaser, (iii) the purchaser may cancel the contract within three days after receiving the resale certificate, and (iv) the right to receive the resale certificate and the right to cancel the contract are waived conclusively if not exercised before settlement. The bill provides that (i) if the contract does not contain the required disclosure, the purchaser's sole remedy is to cancel the contract prior to settlement; (ii) the information contained in the resale certificate shall be current as of a specified date within 30 days of the date of the contract; (iii) the purchaser may cancel the contract (a) within three days after the date of the contract, if the purchaser receives the resale certificate on or before the date that the purchaser signs the contract; (b) within three days after receiving the resale certificate if the resale certificate is hand-delivered; or (c) within six days after the postmark date if the resale certificate is sent to the purchaser by United States mail; and (iv) the notice of cancellation shall be hand-delivered or sent by United State mail, return receipt requested, to the unit owner selling the unit. Such cancellation shall be without penalty and the unit owner shall cause any deposit to be returned promptly to the purchaser. The above requirements conform the Condominium Act to the Property Owners' Association Act.
Patron - Drake

P SB902
Self-service storage facilities; liens. Increases, from $150 to $250 the amount that a self-service storage facility owner's lien on personal property stored in a leased space has priority over other liens or security interests encumbering the property. The measure also increases the amount of a self-service storage facility owner's lien on a stored motor vehicle or watercraft that is subject to a recorded lien from $150 to $250.
Patron - Chichester

P SB933
Residential Landlord and Tenant Act; security deposits; annual rate of interest. Requires that security deposits accrue interest at an annual rate equal to one percent below the Federal Reserve Discount rate as of January 1 of each year. Under current law, this interest rate must be equal to the Federal Reserve Discount rate as of January 1 of each year.
Patron - Schrock

P SB999
Property owners' associations; amendment of declaration. Provides that a declaration may be amended by agreement of owners of two-thirds of the lots subject to that declaration. The bill also authorizes an association created before July 1, 1999, to "opt-in" to the two-thirds amendment provision created under this bill, provided the "opt-in" is accomplished in accordance with the declaration. The bill also provides (i) that an action to challenge the validity of an amendment may not be brought more than one year after the amendment is effective and (ii) when an amendment is effective.
Patron - Mims

P SB1090
Property Owners' Association Act; right of cancellation. Provides that whenever a contract is canceled by a purchaser based on seller's failure to provide certain contract disclosures or pursuant to the right of cancellation provided by the Property Owners' Association Act, any deposit or escrowed funds shall be returned within 30 days of the cancellation, unless the parties to the contract agreed upon a shorter period.
Patron - Mims

P SB1138
Property Owners' Association Act; meetings of the board of directors. Provides additional notice requirements for meetings of the board of directors of a property owners' association. Under the bill, members of the association who have requested notice must be provided with the time, date and place of each meeting. The bill also provides that members may (i) request to be notified on a continual basis and (ii) receive reasonable notice of special or emergency meetings. At least one copy of all agenda packets that are furnished to members shall be made available at the same time such documents are furnished to the board of directors. The bill also prohibits the board of directors from voting by secret or written ballot in an open meeting except for election of officers.
Patron - Mims

P SB1175
Virginia Residential Landlord and Tenant Act; barring invitees of a tenant. Provides that a guest or invitee of a tenant may be barred from the premises by a landlord upon written notice served personally upon the guest or invitee of the tenant for conduct on the landlord's property where the premises are located which violates the terms and conditions of the rental agreement, local ordinance, or state or federal law. The notice shall describe the acts of the guest or invitee which are the basis for the landlord's action. In addition to the remedies against the tenant authorized by the Act, a landlord may apply to the magistrate for a warrant for trespass, provided the guest or invitee has been personally served with notice by the landlord. The bill also allows a tenant to file a tenant's assertion in accordance with §§ 55-248.27 and 55-248.30 requesting that the general district court review the landlord's action to bar the guest or invitee. The bill defines the term "guest or invitee of a tenant."
Patron - Mims

P SB1323
Landlord and tenant; escrow of rent for continuance. Requires the tenant to place rent due as of the initial court date into escrow in an unlawful detainer action in order for the court to allow a continuance or schedule case for a full hearing. Failure to pay the rent due into escrow results in a judgment against the tenant. However, if the court finds that the tenant has asserted a good faith defense, the court shall not require the rent to be escrowed. If the landlord requests a continuance or sets the matter for contested trial, the court shall not require the rent to be escrowed. The court may disburse the moneys held in escrow to the landlord for payment of his mortgage or other expenses relating to the dwelling unit.
Patron - Williams


F Failed

F HB1882
Landlord and tenant; access to telecommunications services. Prohibits landlords from demanding or accepting compensation from certificated telecommunications service providers as a condition of giving tenants access to the services of such providers. Similar prohibitions exist under current law concerning cable television, satellite master antenna, subscription television and direct broadcast satellite television services.
Patron - Keating

F HB2063
Property Owners' Association Act; charges for rule violations. Increases from $50 to $100 the maximum charge an association may assess against a member for a single offense (violation of the association's rules).
Patron - Davies

F HB2258
Property Owners' Association Act; applicability. Clarifies the applicability of the Property Owners' Association Act.
Patron - Watts

F HB2333
Property; rule against perpetuities. Removes, from the dictates of the rule against perpetuities, trusts established by a trust agreement where at least one trustee is a corporate trustee authorized to do business in Virginia.
Patron - McClure

F HB2375
Estates in trust subject to debts of beneficiaries; exception for certain trusts. Reconciles a current inconsistency in the Code. The definition of "gross income" includes trust income when determining child support. However, the provisions of the Code which govern "spendthrift trusts" do not allow invasion of such trusts unless the beneficiary, in this case the child support obligor, somehow becomes liable to the Commonwealth or the United States. This amendment provides that a condition in a spendthrift trust shall not operate to the prejudice of a claim by, or on behalf of, the child of the beneficiary for support or other court-ordered payments for the child.
Patron - Almand

F HB2421
Property; notice of trustee sale. Requires trustees to provide notice of any proposed sale in execution of a deed of trust by personal delivery or by certified or registered mail to each individual owner of the property to be sold at the last known address of each individual owner as reflected in the records of the party secured and as agreed to by the parties, even if the owners are at the same address. Similar notice is required (to each individual owner) when a note or other evidence of indebtedness secured by a deed of trust is lost and the trustee nonetheless proceeds to sale.
Patron - Barlow

F HB2507
Virginia Residential Landlord and Tenant Act; rental agreements. Provides that nothing in the Virginia Residential Landlord and Tenant Act shall be construed to invalidate a charge for the late payment of rent, provided that the late charge is expressed in the rental agreement and does not exceed an amount equal to 10 percent of the amount of the monthly rent or exceeds 10 percent in an amount determined by a court to be reasonable.
Patron - Drake

F HB2616
Property Owners' Association Act; applicability. Makes the Property Owners' Association Act applicable to all developments subject to a declaration initially recorded after January 1, 1959, and to property owners' associations incorporated or otherwise organized after such date. Currently, the POAA applies only to those associations which impose a mandatory assessment of $150 or more per year.
Patron - Plum

F HB2640
Landlord and tenant; telecommunications carriers; telecommunications service facilities; property owner's conditions. Provides that property owners may not discriminate against telecommunications carriers who want to install telecommunications service facilities on such property to serve tenants. Property owners may, however, impose reasonable and nondiscriminatory limitations and restrictions on telecommunications carriers seeking access to the property, including (i) conditioning when the property may be accessed, (ii) limiting the number of telecommunications providers who may have access to the property to install telecommunications facilities, (iii) requiring an indemnification agreement, and (iv) requiring the tenant or the telecommunications carrier to bear the entire cost of installing, and operating or removing such installed telecommunications facilities.
Patron - Devolites

F SB929
Unclaimed property; notices to be posted on a website. Requires the State Treasurer to routinely and promptly post on a website on the Internet information relating to unclaimed property in the same manner and relative form as he is required to publish annually in the newspaper.
Patron - Woods

F SB943
Landlord and tenant; access to telecommunications services. Prohibits landlords from demanding or accepting compensation from certificated telecommunications service providers as a condition of giving tenants access to the services of such providers. Similar prohibitions exist under current law concerning cable television, satellite master antenna, subscription television and direct broadcast satellite television services.
Patron - Edwards


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