New Virginia Real Estate Laws That You Should Know

Your Backyard, An Income Stream

Imagine waking up one morning, your neighbor starts pouring a foundation in their backyard, and there's nothing the county can do about it. This is the direction Virginia law is moving towards. The headline grabber was HB816, which would have forced cities and counties to allow by-right multifamily housing on commercially zoned land, taking approval power away from local boards. That bill failed in the Virginia Senate in March on a 17-22 vote after passing the House. Most Northern Virginia localities, including Fairfax and Alexandria, formally opposed it, and a similar version is expected back in the 2027 session when they get together in Virginia's capital of Richmond. (0:25)

However, SB531 makes Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs)—basically backyard cottages or in-law suites—allowed by right in single-family zones statewide effective July 1st of 2027. Permit fees are actually capped at around $500, and localities can't require extra parking or strict family relationship rules. Back in the day, if you had ever tried to do this, they would have had so many things that blocked you from even attempting it. So, this is crazy that it's going to be this accessible and a lot easier to go through the process. Fairfax County's current ADU rules are a lot stricter than this, which was pretty common here in Northern Virginia. So, the county is actually having to rewrite their accessory living unit ordinance to comply with them. But stick with me here because later I'll show you a tax that's already showing up on your dinner bill, plus a property rule change that could throw a wrench in a big court case. (1:06)

Less Parking, More Building

HB888 caps parking minimums within roughly half a mile of a Metro station to about half a parking space per unit for multifamily housing, taking effect July 1st, 2026. This is a game-changer for the Silver Line, Orange Line, and Blue Line areas because mixed-use projects won't need as much land set aside for parking. HB1279 and SB388 let faith institutions and nonprofits build housing by right on their own land starting in January of 2027. That's worth watching because Northern Virginia has large church-owned parcels all over the place, and some of these churches have a ton of land if they haven't sold it to data centers already. (2:01)

Right now, site plan review timelines were already cut under SB974 and HB2660 back in July 2025, moving most approvals to the staff level instead of a planning commission. HB594 allows localities to fast-track rezoning through administrative approval instead of full board review for qualifying income-restricted affordable housing projects starting this year in July. Walkable mixed-use developments like the Quartz District in Woodbridge—around 145 acres at Prince William Parkway and Minnieville Road—are the kind of projects these laws are meant to make easier going forward. I think this is going to be huge. Obviously, here in Northern Virginia and the DMV in general, we need a lot more of these walkable mixed-use communities where people can get close to a Metro or VRE. We really do have a housing problem here in Northern Virginia, and there's not much building going on right now, if you haven't noticed. So, your block might look the same 5 years from now, or it could be completely different depending on where you are here in Virginia. (2:39)

The Tax On Your Dinner

We're getting to the part that's already hitting your wallet before you even step outside your front door. Grab your last restaurant receipt if you were maybe over in Centreville or Reston in Fairfax County and look at that tax line. There's a number on there that wasn't there in December. Add that to every meal out, every utility bill, every new home being built right now, and you start to see what's happening to the cost of living out there, especially if you haven't already noticed the rising gas prices. (4:12)

Fairfax County's new 4% food and beverage tax went into effect in January of this year, and it applies to restaurants, bars, cafes, food trucks, and caterers as well. It stacks on top of the existing 6% Virginia sales tax. So, a meal in unincorporated Fairfax County now carries around a 10% tax in total, which is insane because we all know going out to eat is like $200 bucks. I went the other day by Reston Station, and it was like $250 for me to have a nice meal for my kids and me, but that tax definitely makes it different. The towns of Clifton, Herndon, and Vienna plus the cities of Fairfax and Falls Church are excluded because they have their own meals tax already. You thought you were going to get a break, right? Arlington County also bumped up its meals tax from 4% to 5%, which took effect July 1st of 2025. (4:40)

Why Your Power Bill Climbs

Dominion Energy's approved rate increase adds $11 per month for a typical residential couple this year, with another couple of dollars per month coming in 2027. Of course, they are going to raise our power bills. A big chunk of this is tied to the grid infrastructure needed to support the data center demand in the region. HB1393 and SB253 were passed to try to shift those data center grid costs onto the large users rather than us homeowners. The governor's amendment before signing weakened the direct cost shift language and replaced it with broader selection for the SEC to protect residential customers. Critics say the amendments took out the teeth of the bill, while supporters say it still gives regulators room to act. Loudoun County, often called data center alley, ended by-right data center development back in March of 2025. So, new data centers now need a special exception with public hearings. (5:34)

The $20,000 Hidden Fee

We're going to come back to paperwork in a few minutes because there's a new buyer agreement law that hits you before you even walk through the front door. But first, water and sewer connection fees for new construction are climbing across Northern Virginia. In Loudoun, the combined water and sewer availability charge for a single-family home now runs $20,000 as of January. In Prince William County, the combined fees sit around $18,000. In Fairfax Water, local facility charges run in the $20,000 range. (6:32)

HB1144, signed in April, lets localities waive or reduce those fees for first-time homebuyers. These connection fees rarely show up as a line item on closing because builders bake them into the base price of a new home anyway. I don't know who's going to be building a new home by themselves in Fairfax County, maybe if you're in McLean and you're a multi-millionaire. That's just what's coming out of your pocket. The other side of all this is what homeowners on the investment end are about to deal with, and those rules are buried so deep that most people are going to miss them. (6:50)

The Device That Stops Speeding

Imagine this. You're on I-95 going through Woodbridge, maybe Fredericksburg, and you're doing 105 miles an hour. You get pulled over by Virginia State Police or Prince William County Police, and you go to court. The judge now has a new option on the table: instead of taking your license or sending you to jail, they order you to install a new device in your car that physically won't let you speed anymore. That's a Virginia law starting July 1st. Virginia actually became the first state in the country to require drivers convicted of going over 100 mph to install speed-limiting technology under HB2096. It was signed by Governor Youngkin and goes into effect July 1st of this year. (7:19)

Judges must order ISA installation for anyone convicted of reckless driving speeding at over 100 mph unless they suspend their license. The device is called an Intelligent Speed Assistance system (ISA). It uses GPS technology to detect the speed limit of any given roadway, and if a driver exceeds that speed, it prevents the accelerator pedal from being pressed down any further. If you go into a school zone, this device will adjust automatically using GPS, so it's going to cap you at 25. Drivers have to pay for the speed limiters' installation themselves, and tampering with the device is a class one misdemeanor. Based on similar monitoring devices, the estimated installation cost is about $300 to $600, with monthly fees of around $150. Going over 100 is going to cost you a lot of money in Virginia. The ISA has to be installed on any car you are driving, and you can be ordered into the program for 60 days up to 6 months, or up to 5 years for multiple convictions. For Northern Virginia drivers where I-66, I-95, and Route 28 regularly see triple-digit speeds, this law is coming literally at the end of this month. (8:00)

New Rules For Landlords

We've got a lot more strict rules for landlords and tenants. Imagine spending months trying to handle a non-paying tenant, walking into court ready to wrap it up, and the judge throws the whole thing out because your paperwork used the wrong number of days. That's a real scenario coming to Northern Virginia property owners this July. The pay-or-quit notice period for unpaid rent jumps from 5 days to 14 days under HB15, effective July 1st of this year. Using the old 5-day notice could create a major paperwork problem in court. Owners of more than four rental units must give 60 days' written notice before the end of a lease if they are not renewing under HB1867, which went into effect July of last year. (9:44)

HB2430 requires all rental fees, including security deposits, monthly rent, and any one-time charges, to be listed on the first page of the lease. If a fee is not listed on page one, the owner can't legally collect it. HB2218 bans owners from charging processing fees for electronic rent payments. HB281 removes a rule that tenants have to deposit rent into an escrow if they're raising concerns that their property is not livable, going into effect January of next year. That puts more legal risk on property owners who let maintenance issues slide. SB1291 raised the general court civil claim limit from $25,000 to $50,000, so more property disputes can be handled in general district court instead of circuit court. Anyone with five or more rental units in Northern Virginia needs to review their lease templates and forms. (10:31)

Paperwork Before You Enter

This last section hits everyday buyers, sellers, and homeowners. The moment you walk up to a house in Northern Virginia and say, "I want to see this one," you can't even walk inside now without paperwork. This actually shocks a lot of buyers. HB1684 requires buyers to sign a written representation agreement with their agent before the agent can show them a property. The agreement can be short-term, tied to a single house, or a longer exclusive agreement. Listing agents showing their own property don't need to do that; they can show it as unrepresented. I tell clients they can cancel at any time, but we have to get this signed to explain our charges and how we ask the seller to pay. (11:46)

HB164 removed the previous $25,000 cap on local workforce home ownership grants effective July 1st of this year. The old cap made this program nearly useless in Northern Virginia, where the average single-family home in Fairfax is at least a million dollars. Localities can now decide their own grant amounts for teachers, police, firefighters, and other government employees. Meanwhile, Fairfax County's tax year 2026 base real estate rate was set at $1.12 per $100 of assessed value, slightly down from the prior year, partly because the new meals tax revenue replaced some of that real estate tax revenue. (12:48)

The Change Moving Sellers Out

I have actually had some sellers list their property and move out because of the new gun law changes. I didn't realize how much of an effect this would have on the market. Several new firearms laws were passed and signed in 2026. HB1525 raised the minimum age to purchase a handgun and assault firearm from 18 to 21 and took effect right away. SB727 and HB1524 banned the carry of assault rifles in public streets, sidewalks, and parks effective July 1st of this year. (13:29)

HB217 and SB749 ban the future sale, manufacturing, and transfer of an assault firearm or high-capacity magazines, also effective July 1st of this year, with no impacts on firearms legally owned before that date. I've seen news articles talking about a huge rush purchase of firearms in Virginia. While no verified migration data has come out yet, I have seen a couple of people move to Texas or other areas because they feel like Virginia is becoming a lot stricter. (14:20)

Conclusion

Finally, HB2110 stopped HOAs from requiring a buyer's name when preparing a resale certificate effective July 1st, 2025, which was a transparency win for buyers. HB1706 and SB1210 updated the residential property disclosure statement to include information about aircraft noise from nearby airports. That's worth knowing for buyers near Dulles, Reagan, and the general aviation airports across Northern Virginia. The Virginia Real Estate Board also rolled out updated regulations effective April 1st, 2026, for the first major update in around 7 years. (14:59)

All these Virginia rules have changed while most homeowners weren't paying attention. If you want to know how these new laws can affect your home purchase or home sale, shoot me an email at info@colganteam.com. If you're still trying to figure out where to live here in Northern Virginia, you need to understand the full landscape before you pick the wrong town just because you didn't reach out. (15:26)