SB 531 VA

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Became Law

Zoning; development and use of accessory dwelling units. Requires a locality to include in its zoning ordinances for single-family residential zoning districts accessory dwelling units, or ADUs, as defined in the bill, as a permitted accessory use. The bill requires a person to seek a permit for an ADU from the locality, requires the locality to issue such permit if the person meets certain requirements enumerated in the bill, and restricts the fee for such permit to $500 or less. The bill prohibits the locality from requiring (i) setbacks for the ADU that are greater than the setback required for the primary dwelling or the setback required for accessory structures on the residential lot, whichever is less; (ii) conditions for ADUs that are more restrictive than those for single-family dwellings within the same zoning area with regard to height, rear, or side setbacks, lot size or coverage, or building frontage; or (iii) consanguinity or affinity between the occupants of the ADU and the primary dwelling. The bill has a delayed effective date of July 1, 2027.

• Kannan Srinivasan Democratic · primary

1. Jan 13, 2026 Prefiled and ordered printed; Offered 01-14-2026 26105326D · upper
2. Jan 13, 2026 Referred to Committee on General Laws and Technology · upper
3. Jan 21, 2026 Rereferred from General Laws and Technology to Local Government (15-Y 0-N) · upper
4. Feb 9, 2026 Senate committee offered · upper
5. Feb 9, 2026 Reported from Local Government with substitute (8-Y 7-N) · upper
6. Feb 9, 2026 Committee substitute printed 26107523D-S1 · upper
7. Feb 10, 2026 Rules suspended · upper
8. Feb 10, 2026 Constitutional reading dispensed Block Vote (on 1st reading) (40-Y 0-N 0-A) · upper
9. Feb 10, 2026 Passed by for the day Block Vote (Voice Vote) · upper
10. Feb 11, 2026 Read second time · upper
11. Feb 11, 2026 Committee substitute agreed to (Voice Vote) · upper
12. Feb 11, 2026 Engrossed by Senate - committee substitute (Voice Vote) · upper
13. Feb 12, 2026 Read third time and passed Senate (21-Y 19-N 0-A) · upper
14. Feb 17, 2026 Placed on Calendar · lower
15. Feb 17, 2026 Read first time · lower
16. Feb 17, 2026 Referred to Committee on Counties, Cities and Towns · lower
17. Feb 17, 2026 Assigned HCCT sub: Subcommittee #3 · lower
18. Feb 27, 2026 Reported from Counties, Cities and Towns (13-Y 8-N) · lower
19. Mar 3, 2026 Read second time · lower
20. Mar 4, 2026 Read third time · lower
21. Mar 4, 2026 Passed House (62-Y 37-N 0-A) · lower
22. Mar 10, 2026 Enrolled · upper
23. Mar 10, 2026 Bill text as passed Senate and House (SB531ER) · upper
24. Mar 10, 2026 Signed by Speaker · lower
25. Mar 10, 2026 Signed by President · upper
26. Mar 14, 2026 Enrolled Bill communicated to Governor on March 14, 2026 · upper
27. Mar 14, 2026 Governor's Action Deadline 11:59 p.m., April 13, 2026 · executive
28. Apr 13, 2026 Approved by Governor-Chapter 895 (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
• Local Government Substitute · PDF
• Local Government Substitute · HTML
• Local Government Substitute · PDF
• Local Government Substitute · HTML
• Introduced · PDF
• Introduced · HTML