The Virginia Housing Commission, an independent legislative commission, had a productive year and studied and made recommendations on a wide variety of housing related issues that affect the Commonwealth.

The 11-member Commission saw changes in membership both among legislators, (Senator Bill Stanley re-joined the Commission) and the addition of new gubernatorial appointees. Senator Mamie Locke continued to ably lead the Commission as Chair and will continue to do so until her tenue ends next December 2025.

The Commission staff benefited from the strong policy and research skills Policy Analyst Jessica Hoff provided as well as the expertise from Molly Bowers who joined the Commission as an Assistant Policy Analyst. The Commission staffed11 public meetings and numerous mediated small group discussions during the 2024 interim.

Affordable housing solutions, zoning and landlord /tenant concerns were the most important topics discussed. In April the Commission began by approving the workplan that included twenty-two bills referred to the Commission during the prior legislative session. (Please see the bill matrix for a full listing and description of the bills.)

Each bill was thoroughly discussed by representatives from each side of the issue. Commissioners were also provided with many topical and pertinent updates on the housing arena. Some topics of particular interest to members included an overview of the Real Estate Settlement and the impact it may have on Virginia’s housing market (Lisa Sturtevant, Chief Economist Bright MLS ) and a joint presentation about the impact of Virginia’s shifting demographics and the economy on the housing market(Hamilton Lombard, University of Virginia Weldon Cooper Center for Public Policy and Ryan Price

Two law professors, Riley Keenan from the University of Richmond and Richard Schragger, from The University of Virginia, separately addressed the full Commission at meetings. Keenan spoke about constitutional issues to weigh when religious institutions provide affordable housing through benefiting from special incentives while Schragger addressed Charlottesville’s inclusive zoning impacts to neighborhoods.

Eviction prevention continued to be an issue of importance to the Commission. The progress of the Eviction Diversion Court Pilot program (created by the Commission) continued to be tracked, and the monitoring showed some success. The Commission decided to make the program available to all courts who wish to implement it throughout the Commonwealth.

The Commission has traditionally supported programs related to low-income housing tax credits and supported housing growth through federal and state programs, and this interim was no exception. Bills on real estate disclosures were also discussed, both dealing with fly-over zones and noise and flood zones. The fly-over zone issue resulted in a bill being endorsed by the Commission for the 2025 legislative session.

In the landlord/tenant area, a piece of legislation which offers protections to victims of domestic violence and victims of human trafficking was proposed. The bill allows victims to safely move by allowing them to break a lease before the end of its term.

The Commission had a workgroup discuss ADU’s (accessory dwelling units) and using ADU’s as a method of providing both additional housing as well as affordable housing was debated. A compromise was reached to create legislation mandating the consideration of ADU’s to be placed in each locality’s Comprehensive Plan.

Bills to supersede localities’ authority concerning zoning and building exceptions were heard in several topic areas including religious properties to be re-purposed and drug recovery houses. Each topic had many speakers offer their perspective and input. There was no consensus on these issues.

All topics that were studied are outlined on the Commission’s comprehensive website. The actual meetings, summaries and materials from each meeting are available to view at VHC.Virginia.gov.

Ultimately, six pieces of legislation were endorsed by the Commission (see December 17 meeting.) The Commission will support the legislation during the 2025 legislative session as well as tracking all housing related legislation.

The Commission will meet again in April to approve topics to study in 2025. All are welcome to attend Virginia Housing Commission meetings.

/s/ Elizabeth Palen
Executive Director, Virginia Housing Commission