General Assembly>Division of Legislative Services>Publications>Session Summaries>2006>Property and Conveyances

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Property and Conveyances

Passed

P HB128

Condominium Act; authorizing condominium association to be applicants in land use matters. Provides that the declarant is authorized to execute, file, and process any subdivision, site plan, zoning, or other land use applications or disclosures related to the condominium during the period that the condominium is under his control. The bill also provides that once the condominium is no longer under the control of the declarant, the authority to execute such land use applications shall belong to the executive organ of the unit owners' association or a representative appointed by the unit owners' association. In addition, the bill clarifies the owner of condominiums for purposes of compliance with the disclosures in land use proceedings pursuant to § 15.2-852 and disclosures of real parties in interest pursuant to § 15.2-2289. This bill is identical to SB 430.
Patron - Cosgrove

P HB286

Virginia Residential Property Disclosure Act; disclosure of pending enforcement actions under the Uniform Statewide Building Code. Provides that disclosure and disclaimer forms under the Virginia Residential Property Disclosure Act shall contain a notice to purchasers that the owner represents that there are no pending enforcement actions pursuant to the Uniform Statewide Building Code that affect the safe, decent, and sanitary living conditions of the property of which the owner has been notified by the locality.
Patron - Marshall, D.W.

P HB320

Virginia Residential Landlord and Tenant Act; noncompliance with rental agreement; recovery of damages by landlord. Allows a landlord to seek the award of costs or attorney's fees under § 8.01-27.1 and other civil recovery under § 8.01-27.2 as a part of other damages requested and an unlawful detainer action. Under current law the landlord would be required to seek such damages separately.
Patron - Albo

P HB558

Condominium Act; actions for breach of warranty; notice of declarant. Provides that no cause of action for breach of warranty shall be commenced on or after January 1, 2007, unless a written statement by the claimant or his agent, attorney or representative, of the nature of the alleged defect has been to the sent to the declarant, by registered or certified mail, at his last known address, as reflected in the records of the Real Estate Board, more than six months prior to the commencement of the action giving the declarant an opportunity to cure the alleged defect within a reasonable time. The bill provides that sending the required notice shall toll the statute of limitations for commencing a breach of warranty action for a period not to exceed six months. The bill also contains technical amendments.
Patron - Oder

P HB693

Virginia Real Estate Time-Share Act; nonjudicial foreclosure; termination of time-share program; public offering statement; resale certificate. Provides for nonjudicial foreclosure of liens by the time-share association and sets out the process therefor. The bill, among other things, also (i) provides that, without permission of such member, the name, address, telephone number and other personal information about a time-share owner or member of the association are not open to inspection by association members; (ii) provides that the association is not required to produce records that are a matter of public record or are otherwise readily available from another source; (iii) allows the developer to terminate a time-share project if he is the sole owner of all of the time-shares; (iv) provides that the offering or sale of any product that is registered with the Real Estate Board is exempt from the Wet Settlement Act; (v) allows a developer to post a letter of credit or cash with the Real Estate Board for the protection of escrowed purchase deposits; (vi) gives the developer 180 days after a sale to record the deed; and (vii) provides that if the developer has substantially complied in good faith with the Virginia Time-Share Act, a nonmaterial error or omission is not actionable and the purchaser cannot cancel his purchase contract after the expiration of the cancellation period. Finally, the bill contains technical amendments.
Patron - Suit

P HB906

Trust for care of animal. Amends the Uniform Trust Code to provide that trust assets can be used for burial or other postdeath expenditures of the pet if provided for in the trust instrument and more clearly defines the trustee's duties and rights. Also delineates that excess funds shall be distributed pursuant to the residuary clause of the settlor's will.
Patron - Oder

P HB907

Virginia Residential Landlord and Tenant Act; confidentiality of tenant records; interest on security deposits. Adds two exceptions to a landlord's holding a tenant's records confidential, which exceptions are for information requested (i) pursuant to a subpoena in a civil case and (ii) by a contract purchaser of the landlord's property, provided the contract purchaser agrees in writing to maintain the confidentiality of such records. The bill also sets out the rate of interest to be paid on security deposits for the years 2004, 2005, and 2006. The bill also contains technical amendments.
Patron - Oder

P HB1025

Sheriff's duty to remove property pursuant to an ejectment proceeding. Makes it clear that a sheriff does not have to remove the property of a defendant in an ejectment proceeding, but he must oversee the removal of such property. The bill also provides that the sheriff and owner of the real property do not have liability for the loss for any removed personal property.
Patron - Hurt

P HB1236

Exemptions to the Virginia Fair Housing Law. Removes exemption of single-family house from the Fair Housing Law section relating to restrictive covenants. Section 36-96.6 states in pertinent part that any restrictive covenants based on race, color, religion, national origin, sex, elderliness, familial status or handicap are void and against Virginia public policy. This bill incorporates HB 696.
Patron - Melvin

P HB1319

Tenants by the entireties in real and personal property; transferred into trusts. Amends statute to allow any property owned as tenants by the entireties to be transferred into joint, separate, revocable or irrevocable trusts. Currently only the principal family residence can be transferred into a trust while maintaining tenants by the entireties' immunity. The changes also eliminate the requirements that the property has to be transferred in equal shares if being transferred to separate trusts.
Patron - Morgan

P HB1536

Virginia Residential Landlord and Tenant Act; property of deceased tenants. Authorizes the landlord to dispose of the property of a deceased tenant provided the landlord gives at least 10 days written notice to the contact person authorized by the tenant in the rental agreement or to the estate of the tenant in accordance with law.
Patron - Suit

P HB1562

Virginia Residential Property Disclosure Act; disclosure of previous mining operation and the presence of abandoned mines. Provides that for the sale of new dwellings the builder or owner, if the builder is not the owner, must disclose to the purchaser whether the builder or owner has any knowledge of (i) whether mining operations had previously been conducted on the property or (ii) the presence of abandoned mines, shafts, or pits. The disclosure requirement is limited to property located wholly or partially in the Town of Ashland, City of Richmond and Counties of Charles City, Chesterfield, Goochland. Hanover, Henrico, New Kent, and Powhatan.
Patron - Waddell

P HB1575

Utility easements. Provides that in the case of utility easements, the easement is considered to touch and concern the servient estate and shall run with the land whether or not the easement is appurtenant or in gross. The bill applies to easements expressly granted by an instrument recorded on or after July 1, 2006.
Patron - Parrish

P HB1584

Charges for utility services in manufactured home parks. Authorizes manufactured home park owners the same authority as residential and commercial building owners to charge residents for actual utility costs and other reasonable service charges outlined in a rental agreement or lease. Currently, manufactured home park owners are prohibited from charging amounts in addition to the actual utility costs.
Patron - Suit

P SB118

Landlord and tenant duties and responsibilities; evictions; domestic violence. Provides that a tenant may not be evicted because of family abuse against the tenant that occurs on the leased premises where the perpetrator has been barred from the dwelling unit or subjected to a protective order if the tenant makes certain timely notifications to the landlord.
Patron - Howell

P SB269

Condominium Act; conversion condominiums; notice to locality. In the case of receipt of an application for a condominium that is a conversion condominium, the agency shall, within five business days, also issue a notice of filing to the chief administrative officer of the county or city in which the proposed condominium is located, which notice shall include the name and address of the applicant and the name and address or location of the proposed condominium.
Patron - Whipple

P SB427

Virginia Residential Landlord Tenant Act; confidentiality of tenant records. Authorizes a tenant to designate a third party to receive a duplicate copy of a summons in an unlawful detainer action and any other written notices from the landlord. The bill also provides that the failure of the landlord to provide the copy to the designated third party does not affect the validity of any judgment entered against the tenant.
Patron - Lambert

P SB430

Virginia Condominium Act; authorization of condominium association to be applicants in land use matters; disclosure. Provides that the declarant is authorized to execute, file, and process any subdivision, site plan, zoning, or other land use applications or disclosures related to the condominium during the period that the condominium is under his control. The bill also provides that once the condominium is no longer under the control of the declarant, the authority to execute such land use applications shall belong to the executive organ of the unit owners' association or a representative appointed by the unit owners' association. In addition, the bill clarifies the owner of condominiums for purposes of compliance with the disclosures in land use proceedings pursuant to § 15.2-852 and disclosures of real parties in interest pursuant to § 15.2-2289. This bill is identical to HB 128.
Patron - Devolites Davis

P SB433

Mortgage satisfaction. Imports into the Virginia Code provisions of the Uniform Residential Mortgage Satisfaction Act relating to definitions, notifications, rescinding erroneously recorded certificates of satisfaction, requirements on secured creditors, and the form and effect of satisfaction. Current Code provisions relating to payoff statements, mortgage satisfaction via settlement agents and court proceedings, and penalties for errors or omissions in satisfaction procedures are retained. The bill was passed by the 2005 Session, but was required to be reenacted.
Patron - Devolites Davis

P SB446

Fee for recording name of registered agent. Increases the clerks' filing fee for appointment of a resident agent for a nonresident property owner from $1 to $10.
Patron - Devolites Davis

P SB448

Uniform Real Property Electronic Recording Act. Reenacts the Uniform Act which was passed in 2005 with the requirement that it be reenacted by the 2006 Session. The Act authorizes circuit court clerks to record land transaction records electronically, and to convert paper records into electronic records. The bill also states that in any circumstance where the law requires that a land records document be an original that an electronic land records document satisfying this Act satisfies the law.
Patron - Devolites Davis

P SB670

Virginia Residential Property Disclosure Act; disclosure of resource protection areas. Requires the owner of residential real property located in any resource protection areas and other environmentally protected zones that are subject to governmental regulation, to furnish to a purchaser a written disclosure stating that such property is located in such a resource protection area or other environmentally protected zone.
Patron - O'Brien

Failed

F HB696

Exemptions to the fair housing law. Removes exemption of single-family house from the Fair Housing Law section relating to restrictive covenants. Section 36-96.6 states in pertinent part that any restrictive covenant based on race, color, religion, national origin, sex, elderliness, familial status, or handicap is void and against Virginia public policy. The above change to the Fair Housing Law exemptions makes § 36-96.6 applicable to single-family homes and their owners. This bill was incorporated into HB 1236.
Patron - Suit

F HB878

Property Owners' Association Act; display of political signs. Provides that, notwithstanding any provision in a declaration, no declaration or association's rules and regulations or architectural guidelines shall restrict or prohibit the display by a lot owner on his lot of a candidate sign or a sign that advertises the support or defeat of any question submitted to the voters in accordance with state election law. For the purposes of the bill, "candidate sign" means a sign on behalf of a candidate for public office or a slate of candidates for public office. The bill provides, however, that an association may restrict the display of such signs (i) in the common areas or (ii) in accordance with federal or state law, and may establish reasonable restrictions as to the size, place, duration, and manner of placement or display of such signs, except that no restriction on the duration of the display of such signs shall be less than (a) 45 days before the primary election, general election or vote on the proposition or (b) seven days after the primary election, general election, or vote on the proposition. The bill also requires the association disclosure packet to contain a statement of any restrictions on the size, place, duration, and manner of placement or display of such signs. The bill contains technical amendments. The bill also clarifies that the display of the flag of (i) the United States, (ii) the Commonwealth, (iii) any active branch of the armed forces of the United States, or (iv) any military valor or service award of the United States also includes display on mailboxes and similar structures.
Patron - Frederick

F HB1008

Trusts. Amends Uniform Trust Code to make the applicable statutes prospective, so that the new sections apply to trusts that are irrevocable or that become irrevocable on July 1, 2006, or after.
Patron - Hurt

F HB1026

Property; noncharitable irrevocable trusts. Makes prospectively effective (July 1, 2006) the application of the Uniform Trust Code provision relating to the modification or termination of noncharitable irrevocable trusts.
Patron - Hurt

F HB1320

Extension of tenants by the entireties protection from creditors. Allows the tenants by the entireties protection against creditors to extend to a conveyance of property to a limited liability company. Current law allows the protection of tenants by the entireties ownership of a husband and wife's principal residence to continue after they convey it to a revocable or irrevocable trust. This amendment extends that protection to conveyance of property to a limited liability company. It also eliminates the requirement that it be a principal residence, and in the case of revocable trusts, that it be conveyed in equal shares.
Patron - Morgan

F HB1360

Enjoyment of easement; driveway easements. Provides that in cases of driveway easements, the dominant estate shall not participate in any activity or place objects on the burdened land that create unsafe road conditions.
Patron - Bell

F HB1368

Property; Home Serenity and Tranquility Act; civil penalty. Creates the Home Serenity and Tranquility Act, which prohibits the operation on an athletic field owned or operated by a public or private entity of any event (i) before the hour of eight o'clock in the morning, (ii) after the hour of six o'clock in the evening, or (iii) on Sunday without the unanimous written consent of the affected homeowners. The bill defines athletic field, homeowner, and affected homeowner. The bill provides a civil penalty for violation and gives an aggrieved homeowner a cause of action for violations.
Patron - Hull

F SB399

Unclaimed property; minimum reportable amount. Establishes a minimum reportable amount for the holder of unclaimed property. The bill exempts holders from reporting unclaimed property of any single owner if the cumulative value of the owner's unclaimed property is $50 or less.
Patron - Hanger

F SB447

F SB582

Enjoyment of easement; visual nuisance. States that unreasonable interference with the enjoyment of an easement, if the easement provides the principal route of ingress and egress to the owner of the dominant estate's residence, includes placing objects adjacent to or in the vicinity of the easement that create a visual nuisance.
Patron - Stosch

F SB623

Condominium Act; responsibility for insurance deductibles. Requires a condominium unit owner to pay the deductible under the condominium's master casualty policy if the cause of damage to or destruction of any portion of the condominium originated in or through the owner's unit or any component thereof, without regard to whether the unit owner was negligent.
Patron - Cuccinelli

Carried Over

C HB393

Condominium Act; conversion condominiums; rights of certain elderly or disabled persons. Gives a tenant in a conversion condominium who is elderly or disabled and eligible for a lease extension under current law and ordinance, the ability to assign the right to purchase his unit to a government agency, housing authority, or nonprofit corporation for the purpose of leasing that unit back to the tenant and keeping the unit as affordable housing.
Patron - Englin

C HB1096

Condominium and Property Owners' Association Acts; display of flags. Provides that, except as otherwise expressly provided in the declaration, no condominium instruments or declaration shall restrict or prohibit the display by a unit or lot owner of a flag of (i) the United States, (ii) the Commonwealth, (iii) any active branch of the armed forces of the United States, or (iv) any military valor or service award of the United States. The bill provides, however, that an association may restrict the display of such flags in the common areas and may establish reasonable restrictions as to the size, place, duration, and manner of placement or display of such flags. The bill also requires the public offering statement, resale certificate, or association disclosure packet to contain a statement of any restrictions on the size, place, duration, and manner of placement or display of such flags. The bill contains technical amendments.
Patron - Amundson

C SB248

C SB268

Condominium Act; conversion condominiums. Provides that tenants residing in a county where the urban county executive form of government is in effect (Fairfax County) shall have the right to transfer their right to purchase their units to the local housing authority or a qualified nonprofit organization actively engaged in producing and preserving affordable housing as determined by such county. The acquisition of such units by the local housing authority or such qualified nonprofit organization shall not (i) exceed the greater of one unit or five percent of the total number of units in the condominium and (ii) impede the condominium conversion process. In determining which, if any, units shall be acquired pursuant to this section, preference shall be given to elderly or disabled tenants. The bill contains a technical amendment.
Patron - Whipple

C SB492

Easements; land locked parcels. Requires beginning July 1, 2006, that no parceled land can be subdivided so as to have a land locked parcel unless a permanent 20 foot right of way is provided. Property land locked prior to that date shall have an entrance and exit right of way of 20 feet if an existing utility right of way permits.
Patron - Ruff

C SB621

Property Owners' Association Act; display of political signs. Provides that, except as otherwise expressed in the declaration, no declaration or association's rules and regulations or architectural guidelines shall restrict or prohibit the display by a lot owner on his lot of a candidate sign or a sign that advertises the support or defeat of any question submitted to the voters in accordance with state election law. For the purposes of the bill, "candidate sign" means a sign on behalf of a candidate for public office or a slate of candidates for public office. The bill provides, however, that an association may restrict the display of such signs (i) in the common areas or (ii) in accordance with federal or state law, and may establish reasonable restrictions as to the size, place, duration, and manner of placement or display of such signs, except that no restriction on the duration of the display of such signs shall be less than (a) 30 days before the primary election, general election or vote on the proposition or (b) seven days after the primary election, general election, or vote on the proposition. The bill also requires the association disclosure packet to contain a statement of any restrictions on the size, place, duration, and manner of placement or display of such signs. The bill contains technical amendments. The bill also clarifies that the display of the flag of (i) the United States, (ii) the Commonwealth, (iii) any active branch of the armed forces of the United States, or (iv) any military valor or service award of the United States also includes display on mailboxes and similar structures.
Patron - Puller

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General Assembly>Division of Legislative Services>Publications>Session Summaries>2006>Property and Conveyances

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