VirginiaResidential leases would bar maintenance fees and limit service charges
Virginia landlords would be barred from requiring maintenance and shared-area security fees in leases, while utility and service fees could not exceed their costs.
What it does
Residential leases would bar fees for property maintenance, including pest control and trash disposal. They would also bar charges for maintaining or securing shared areas.
Residential leases could not require tenants to pay more for internet, cable, or other utilities or services than the landlord pays.
The proposal does not include the clause allowing written agreements that assign certain landlord duties to tenants, including shared-area care and waste removal.
Argument forTenants could face fewer separate upkeep charges, and limits on service fees could protect them from landlord markups.
Argument againstLandlords could have less flexibility to charge separately for shared upkeep and security, even when those services cost money.
More detail
Landlords could not include lease terms requiring tenants to pay property maintenance fees or shared-area security charges. The ban would cover maintenance fees under the landlord upkeep section, including pest control, trash disposal, and heating and cooling services. Banned lease terms would be unenforceable. If a landlord sued to enforce one, the tenant could recover actual losses and reasonable lawyer fees.
Landlords could not include lease terms requiring utility or service fees above what they pay. The limit would cover internet, cable, and other utilities or services charged through residential rental agreements. Lease terms requiring fees above this limit would be unenforceable.
The proposal would omit the clause expressly allowing tenants to take over certain landlord duties through written agreements. The omitted clause covers shared-area care, waste removal, water and heating duties, specified repairs, and remodeling work. Omitting this permission does not itself state a separate ban on every agreement for tenant work.
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Where it stands
- Introduced
- Passed House
- Passed Senate
- To Governor
- Became Law
Looking ahead
No hearings or votes scheduled.
History
- 2026
- Jul 21Continued from last sessionLatest
- Feb 12Continued to next session in General Laws (Voice Vote)
- Feb 12Subcommittee recommends continuing to (Voice Vote)
- Jan 27Assigned HGL sub: Housing/Consumer ProtectionMinor
- Jan 26Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (HB1409)
- Jan 22Referred to Committee on General LawsMinor
- Jan 22Presented and ordered printed 26103339DIntroduced
HousingConsumer Protection