The third week of the General Assembly brought some familiar faces to town: Wednesday, January 29 was our Day on the Hill, where builders and industry partners came to Richmond to advocate for legislation to increase housing supply (and ensure no bills do further harm).

HBAV continues to push our main message to General Assembly members: There’s an overwhelming demand for housing in Virginia, Our state’s population grew 0.4% in 2023, with projections to increase by more than 34,000 to 44,000 people annually through 2028. The resulting and unprecedented demand for housing means we must ensure that builders have the tools and resources to supply housing for every Virginian.

So in 2025, we’re letting legislators know that you’re doing everything possible to make the numbers work so that everybody can afford to purchase a home, rent a home or complete a home improvement project.

HBAV’s 2025 Legislative Agenda

The 2025 session is what’s known as a “short session,” in that legislators will meet for only 45 days. The session will end on Feb. 22.

Of the hundreds of bills that have been introduced, HBAV has flagged 221 bills that impact residential construction and land development. Among those bills we support:

Reduce Building and Development Timelines

Our priority bill focuses on streamlining the approval process of site plans and subdivision plats (SB974). The bill, carried by Sen. Schuyler VanValkenburg (D-Richmond), looks to create a more predictable and efficient approval process.

• Bill Status as of January 31: Passed Senate 35-5.

Building the Supply to Meet Demand

HB2660 from Del. Marcus Simon (D-Fairfax) makes the local government approval process for subdivision plats and site plans faster, clearer, and more efficient.

• Bill Status as of January 31: Passed committee and headed to House floor for consideration.
  

In addition, HB2641 from Del. Dan Helmer (D-Fairfax) would require localities to increase their total housing stock by at least 7.5 percent over a five-year period beginning January 1, 2026. In order to meet the 7.5 percent growth target, a locality would develop a housing growth plan that best meets the needs of the locality and may include any of various listed housing growth strategies.

• Bill Status as of January 31: Passed committee and headed to House floor for consideration.

Affordable Housing Finance

Another barrier to housing is often securing financing, leading to our support of HB1701 by Del. David Bulova (D-Fairfax) and SB828 by Sen. Mamie Locke (D-Hampton). The bills extend and expand the Virginia Housing Opportunity Tax Credit (HOTC), set to expire in 2025. This incentive for affordable housing and development has proven effective in making projects financially viable and addressing our critical need for diverse and affordable housing options.

• Bill Status as of January 31: HB1701 was reported from Finance unanimously.
• HBAV is also working to protect the Virginia Historic Rehabilitation Tax Credit to prevent caps reductions or eliminations. This program has had significant economic and community benefits in revitalizing neighborhoods, creating jobs and attracting residential investment to historic areas across Virginia.

Reduce Infrastructure Costs

We’re communicating how the significant cost of infrastructure is leading to less housing and significantly increasing the cost of homes that are built. We’re working with Sen. Jennifer Carroll Foy (D-Fairfax) on SB1189 to establish the Virginia Residential Development and Infrastructure Fund, which creates a state-supported resource for critical housing infrastructure, including water, sewer, roads and stormwater systems for new residential and multifamily development. We’re working with Sen. Lamont Bagby (D-Richmond) on SB1263 to allow localities to provide for the full or partial reimbursement of water and sewer connection fees.

• Bill Status as of January 31: SB1189 was reported unanimously from General Laws and re-referred to Finance, while SB1263 passed committee and is being considered by the full Senate.

Prioritizing Disposition of State Property for Affordable Housing

HB1758 from Debra Gardner (D-Chesterfield) would evaluate surplus government property for affordable housing development. If deemed suitable, the property must be offered exclusively for 180 days to eligible organizations that commit to maintaining affordable housing for at least 40 years.

• Bill Status as of January 31: Passed committee and headed to House floor for consideration.

We are also supporting Gardner’s HB1708, establishing the Access to Housing Task Force to evaluate both long- and short-term access to housing in Virginia, with a report due to the Governor and lawmakers by Nov. 1. The bill has been referred to the Housing Commission to study.

Consumer protections

We’re backing HB1707 by Del. Bulova and SB1059 by Sen. T. Travis Hackworth (R-Tazewell). These would increase the contractor recovery fund from $20,000 to $30,000 per claim. The bills raise the project limit thresholds for A, B, and C, contractors licenses, which have not increased in 15 years.

• Bill Status as of January 31: The House bill passed and in the Senate was referred to General Laws and Technology; the Senate version passed unanimously and heads to the House.

Energy

HB2506 from Del. Chris Runion (R-Augusta) and HB2086 from Del. Irene Shin (D-Fairfax) are related to energy efficient home tax credits. These would authorize an eligible contractor to claim an income tax credit during the upcoming years and the amount equal to $1,000 or $2,000 for building energy-efficient homes.

• Bill Status as of January 31: The bills failed to report from committee.

We’re also supporting SB777 by Sen. Locke to create an Energy Efficiency Weatherization Task Force. The force will work to evaluate ways to coordinate with local governments, utilities and contractors to deliver energy-efficient housing upgrades for Virginia households.

On Defense

The HBAV team prides ourselves on being our members’ biggest line of defense, and every year brings bills that we oppose:

Requiring Surveys for Tree Root Systems

HB2238 by Del. Fernando Martinez (D-Loudoun) would allow localities to require a detailed map of all tree locations and critical root zones in a development. This would add delays and unnecessary costs.

• Bill Status as of January 31: Referred to Senate Agriculture, Conservation, and Natural Resources

Rent control

SB1136 from Jennifer Boysko (D-Fairfax) and HB2175 from Del. Nadarius Clark (D-Suffolk) allow localities to pass ordinances limiting the amount that rents can be increased from year to year. This would lead to a decrease in the quality and quantity of available rental housing, discourages new construction, and exacerbates housing shortages.

• Bill Status as of January 31: The Senate bill was defeated in committee. The House bill passed its committee and is headed to the full House for consideration.

Inclusionary Zoning

SB1313 from Sen. Jeremy McPike (D-Prince William) allows localities to create mandatory affordable housing dwelling unit programs. This discourages development and will exacerbate the shortage of missing middle housing supply in Virginia.

• Bill Status as of January 31: Passed the Senate, 20-19

Road impact fees

HB2683 from Del. Delores Oates (R-Warren) would lower the local government population requirements for eligibility to adopt a road impact fee ordinance from a population of at least 20,000 and a population growth rate of at least 5 percent to a population of at least 15,000 with no growth rate requirement.

• Bill Status as of January 31: Failed in committee unanimously

A Word on Housing Costs

Let’s look at the costs that go into housing construction today, for a moment.

Today, the median price of a new home in Virginia is $461,542.

Of that total cost, regulatory costs account for nearly $94,000 per new home. Breaking that down further, the expense is $41,330 during the development process, and $52,540 during the home’s actual construction. See the graph here from the National Association of Home Builders.

Last year, every time the median new house price jumped by $1,000, we saw that priced – and, in effect, pushed – another 3,846 Virginia households out of the housing market.

As a benchmark, 2.3 million Virginia households can’t afford a new median-priced home, and the current income needed to qualify for a new home in Virginia is $137,496 — a 16.6% increase from 2023.

The bottom line: We know this is a very difficult environment to build, which is driving up costs and prices to buyers and renters.

When the median new house price jumps by $1,000, more than 3,800 Virginia households are priced out of the market.

Photos: Day on the Hill 2025

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