General Assembly Approves Home Inspector Licensure, Effective in 2017; Modifies Agency Law

The Virginia General Assembly passed a number of measures affecting Realtors® and their clients during the 2016 legislative session. NVAR and the Virginia Association of Realtors® (VAR) worked to pass several measures on behalf of members, including those bills introduced as part of the 2016 Realtor® Legislative Agenda. 

Measures summarized below were signed into law by Governor Terry McAulliffe (D). With the exception of the home inspector licensing bill, all other laws become effective July 1, 2016. Home inspector licensing takes effect July 1, 2017. Please visit go.NVAR.com/____ for more information about all of the new laws impacting the real estate industry and to learn how to help protect Realtors® and property rights through the Northern Virginia Realtors® Political Action Committee. 

REALTOR® BILLS
VIRGINIA PROPERTY OWNERS' ASSOCIATION AND CONDOMINIUM ACTS HOUSEBILL 684 (PEACE) 
Makes several changes to the Property Owners’ Association Act and the Condominium Act, including the following:
• Prohibits a unit owners' association from conditioning or prohibiting the rental of a unit, making an assessment, or imposing a rental fee or any other fee except as expressly provided by law;
• Prohibits associations from evicting tenants or requiring the association to be given a power of attorney to evict tenants; 
• Prohibits associations from requiring use of their lease or addendum;
• Provides that the unit owner may designate a licensed broker to act as the owner’s authorized representative with respect to the lease; 
• Defines, for purposes of delivering the disclosure packet, who the purchasers’ and sellers’ designated agent is and that delivery of the packet is effected by using one of the methods outlined in the Code of Virginia; 
• Stipulates that if a unit is governed by more than one association, the three-day right of rescission does not begin until the last packet or resale certificate has been delivered;  
• Adds a right of cancellation under the Condo Act if the resale certificate is unavailable when requested, to mirror provisions already in the POA Act; and

AGENCY LAW; VIRGINIA REAL ESTATE BOARD DEFERRED JUDGMENTS
HOUSE BILL 567 (MILLER)
Makes various changes relating to the Virginia Real Estate Board (VREB) and the agency law, including the following;
• Allows the VREB to grant waivers or exemptions for continuing education requirements for reasons of certified illness or undue hardship; 
• Allows VREB to defer findings or dismiss actions to keep violations from appearing on a licensee's permanent record; 
• Requires the supervising broker of a branch office to provide the name and license number of each real estate licensee working in the branch beginning January 1, 2017 and thereafter upon the renewal of each licensee’s license; 
• Provides that standard agency only applies in residential real estate transactions; 

HOME INSPECTOR LICENSING
SENATE BILL 453 (STANLEY)
HOUSE BILL 741 (MILLER)
Creates a standard licensure system for home inspectors in Virginia. The law will take effect on July 1, 2017 in order to give the Department of Professional and Occupational Regulation time to prepare and implement the new program. 

OTHER BILLS OF INTEREST
VIRGINIA RESIDENTIAL LANDLORD AND TENANT ACT
HOUSE BILL 735 (MILLER)
Modifies provisions under the landlord and tenant law and the Virginia Residential Landlord and Tenant Act (VRLTA), including the following: 
• Provides that unless a tenant is at fault in situations resulting in the need for mold remediation, the landlord is obliged to pay all costs associated with the tenant's temporary relocation as well as the costs of the remediation; 
• Provides that a landlord's collection agency and a third party providing background screening or credit reporting services to the landlord may have access to tenant records;
• Allows the landlord to charge a tenant for providing a copy of the tenant’s records, if the rental agreement so provides; 
• Requires a tenant to maintain carbon monoxide detectors to the standards established in the Uniform Statewide Building Code; 
• Clarifies that a landlord is not obligated to make repairs to address damages identified in the move-in inspection report unless otherwise required to do so under the VRLTA; 
• Provides that if, upon inspection of the dwelling unit, the landlord determines that there is a violation of the lease or of the law which materially affects health and safety and can be remedied by repairs, the landlord may make such repairs and send the tenant an invoice for payment. If, upon inspection of the dwelling unit, the landlord discovers a violation of the rental agreement, the VRLTA, or other applicable law, the landlord may send a written notice of termination; and
• Allows a landlord to recover damages, costs and reasonable attorney fees against a tenant if the tenant declines to permit the landlord or managing agent to exhibit the dwelling unit for sale or lease. 
 
ZONING; NON-CONFORMING USES
HOUSE BILL 367 (DAVIS)
Extends protections for business owners if a locality issues a notice of zoning violation for use on a specific property after the business owner has paid taxes and operated for more than 15 years. Provides that in such a case, the business owner has a right to file for rezoning or use permit without payment of  filing or related fees. 

RESIDENTIAL PROPERTY DISCLOSURE ACT; ZONING AND PERMITTED USES OF ADJACENT PARCELS
HOUSE BILL 746 (BELL, JOHN J.)
Adds language to the Virginia Residential Property Disclosure Statement’s list of disclosures that the owner makes no representation to the zoning classification or permitted uses of parcels adjacent to the parcel that is being purchased, and advises the purchaser to exercise due diligence pertaining to these matters.

VIRGINIA RESIDENTIAL PROPERTY DISCLOSURE ACT; COVENANTS AND RESTRICTIONS AFFECTING THE PROPERTY
HOUSE BILL 1264 (ROBINSON)
Adds language to the Virginia Residential Property Disclosure Statement’s list of disclosures that the owner makes no representation to covenants and restrictions that may be recorded in land records that affect the real property or any improvements located on the property, and advises the purchaser to exercise due diligence pertaining to these matters . Similarly, the law advises purchasers to exercise due diligence in regard to the costs associated with maintaining, repairing or inspecting any wastewater system, including costs or requirements related to the pump-out of septic tanks. 

LOCAL PERMITTING OR LICENSURE: CONSENT OF HOMEOWNERS' ASSOCIATION
HOUSE BILL 1146 (HOPE) SENATE BILL 389 (SUROVELL)
Prohibits a locality from requiring the consent of a condo association, homeowners' association, or real estate cooperative prior to the issuance of a permit, certificate or license, including a building permit or a business license.

REAL ESTATE LOANS; DISCLOSURE OF TERMS OF MORTGAGE APPLICATION
HOUSE BILL 123 (MARSHALL, D.W.)
Deletes the requirement that a residential mortgage lender’s or broker’s disclosure statement state that all the loan terms not legally locked in are subject to change until settlement. It also qualifies the requirement to describe when the interest, points and fees will be locked in, to apply only to those loans for which such terms will be locked in. It conforms disclosure statement requirements to a federal rule requiring that closing disclosures reflecting the actual loan terms be provided to the consumer no later than three business days before loan consummation.

REAL ESTATE SETTLEMENT AGENTS; CLOSING "DISCLOSURE" 
SENATE BILL 204 (STUART)
Adds a new term, "closing disclosure," to provisions relating to real estate settlement agents. The term is defined as the combined mortgage loan disclosure statement of final loan terms and closing costs prescribed under the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), to comply with changes made to the real estate closing process by the CFPB. 

Josh Veverka is the NVAR government affairs director.