HB 1361 VA

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Became Law

Virginia Residential Landlord and Tenant Act; civil action for unlawful detainer; termination notice; energy submetering equipment. Provides that no landlord shall file or maintain an action for unlawful detainer against a residential tenant for any alleged lease violation until the landlord has provided the tenant with a proper and effective termination notice and that no notice of termination of tenancy for nonpayment of rent pursuant to the Virginia Residential Landlord and Tenant Act shall be effective unless such notice contains a written statement of charges and payments over the course of the tenancy or the past 12 months, whichever is shorter, and any late charges, attorney fees, costs, and other charges or damages as contracted for in the rental agreement that are due and owing. The bill requires such notice to also include debits and credits incurred by the tenant for energy and utility bills and any additional charges permitted as applicable. The bill also requires the owner of any residential building to maintain adequate records indicating how monthly energy and utility billing fees are calculated and including a history of billing fee payments for each tenant over the duration of the tenancy or the past 12 months, whichever is shorter. Such records shall be made available to the tenant upon request. Finally, the bill removes a provision allowing for the collection of fees when a tenant requests such records. The bill has a delayed effective date of July 1, 2027. This bill is identical to SB 294.

• Michelle Lopes Maldonado · primary

1. Jan 20, 2026 Presented and ordered printed 26104734D · lower
2. Jan 20, 2026 Referred to Committee for Courts of Justice · lower
3. Jan 26, 2026 Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (HB1361) · lower
4. Feb 2, 2026 Assigned HCJ sub: Civil · lower
5. Feb 4, 2026 Subcommittee recommends reporting with substitute (10-Y 0-N) · lower
6. Feb 11, 2026 Reported from Courts of Justice with substitute (22-Y 0-N) · lower
7. Feb 11, 2026 Committee substitute printed 26107222D-H1 · lower
8. Feb 12, 2026 Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (HB1361) · lower
9. Feb 13, 2026 Read first time · lower
10. Feb 16, 2026 Read second time · lower
11. Feb 16, 2026 committee substitute agreed to · lower
12. Feb 16, 2026 Engrossed by House - committee substitute · lower
13. Feb 17, 2026 Moved from Uncontested Calendar to Regular Calendar · lower
14. Feb 17, 2026 Read third time and passed House (79-Y 18-N 0-A) · lower
15. Feb 18, 2026 Constitutional reading dispensed (on 1st reading) · upper
16. Feb 18, 2026 Referred to Committee on General Laws and Technology · upper
17. Feb 25, 2026 Assigned GL&T sub: Housing · upper
18. Mar 3, 2026 Senate committee offered · upper
19. Mar 4, 2026 Reported from General Laws and Technology with amendment (14-Y 1-N) · upper
20. Mar 6, 2026 Rules suspended · upper
21. Mar 6, 2026 Constitutional reading dispensed Block Vote (on 2nd reading) (39-Y 0-N 0-A) · upper
22. Mar 6, 2026 Passed by for the day Block Vote (Voice Vote) · upper
23. Mar 9, 2026 Passed by for the day · upper
24. Mar 10, 2026 Read third time · upper
25. Mar 10, 2026 General Laws and Technology Amendment agreed to · upper
26. Mar 10, 2026 Engrossed by Senate as amended · upper
27. Mar 10, 2026 Passed Senate with amendment (21-Y 19-N 0-A) · upper
28. Mar 11, 2026 Senate amendment agreed to by House (71-Y 28-N 0-A) · lower
29. Mar 30, 2026 Enrolled · lower
30. Mar 30, 2026 Bill text as passed House and Senate (HB1361ER) · lower
31. Mar 30, 2026 Signed by President · upper
32. Mar 31, 2026 Signed by Speaker · lower
33. Mar 31, 2026 Enrolled Bill communicated to Governor on March 31, 2026 · lower
34. Mar 31, 2026 Governor's Action Deadline 11:59 p.m., April 13, 2026 · executive
35. Apr 1, 2026 Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (HB1361) · lower
36. Apr 13, 2026 Approved by Governor-Chapter 783 (effective 7/1/2026) · executive

The published texts of this bill as it moves through the legislature. Each links to the official document on the state legislature site. Data from OpenStates.

• Enrolled · PDF
• Enrolled · HTML
• Senate Amendment · HTML
• General Laws and Technology Amendment · HTML
• General Laws and Technology Amendment · HTML
• Courts of Justice Substitute · PDF
• Courts of Justice Substitute · HTML
• Civil Subcommittee Substitute · PDF
• Civil Subcommittee Substitute · HTML
• Introduced · PDF
• Introduced · HTML