The 2025 General Assembly session adjourned on Saturday (Feb. 22). HBAV’s legislative team tracked more than 200 pieces of legislation that touched the home-building industry. Today, we offer a look at how some of the more impactful bills fared.

For bills that fully passed both the House and Senate and head to Governor Glenn Youngkin, we are working to ensure he signs them without amendments or vetoes.

Also: be sure to join our Feb. 28 end-of-session call where we will provide a final update on these bills — and you can ask questions direct to the HBAV legislative team. Register now for this call on Friday, February 28 at 11:30 a.m.

Bills HBAV Supports

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) and co-patron Del. Carrie Coyner (R-Chesterfield), looks to create a more predictable and efficient approval process.

• Bill Status as of Feb. 22: Passed 89-8 after passing the Senate 30-5. Headed to the Governor for consideration.

Building the Supply to Meet the 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. Co-sponsors include Delegates David Owen, Paul Milde, and Mark Sickles.

• Bill Status as of Feb. 22: Passed Senate unanimously and House 97-1. Headed to the Governor 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 Feb. 22: Passed by indefinitely in the Senate after passing the House 50-48. The bill is done for the year.

Affordable Housing Finance

Another barrier to housing is often securing financing, leading to our support of HB1701 by Del. David Bulova (D-Fairfax). The bill extends and expands 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 Feb. 22: Despite being passed by indefinitely in the Senate, HBAV continued working on this issue through the budget bill and succeeded in gaining a 5-year extension — with $64 million in tax credits allocated annually.

As part of Virginia’s budget bill, HBAV worked to protect the Virginia Historic Rehabilitation Tax Credit to prevent cap 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 Feb. 22: Bagby’s bill passed the Senate and House unanimously. It heads to the Governor for consideration. Carroll Foy’s SB1189 did not advance out of the Senate and was left in the Finance and Appropriations Committee, making it dead for the year. However, HBAV continues to work on it through the Virginia budget bill.

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 contractor licenses, which have not increased in 15 years.

• Bill Status as of Feb. 22: Passed both the Senate and House unanimously. Headed to the Governor for consideration.

Tax Breaks for Affordable Housing

HB2245 from Del. Katrina Callsen (D-Charlottesville) and Del. Carrie Coyner (R-Chesterfield) would allow affordable rental housing units to pay less in property taxes than market rate, helping incentivize builders and maintain affordable housing status.

• Bill Status as of Feb. 22: Passed the House 74-25 and Senate 35-4. Headed to the Governor for consideration.

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 Feb. 22: The Runion bill was incorporated into the Shin bill, which failed to pass House Finance.

We’re also supporting SB777 by Sen. Mamie Locke (D-Hampton) 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.

• Bill Status as of Feb. 22: Passed Senate and House unanimously and heads to Governor for consideration.

Bills HBAV Opposes

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 Feb. 22: Passed by indefinitely in a Senate committee and is dead for the year.

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 Feb. 22: Both bills are dead for the year.

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 Feb. 22: Passed the Senate 20-19 and passed the House 50-47. Headed to the Governor for consideration.

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 Feb. 22: Failed in committee unanimously

Bills HBAV Supported that Didn’t Advance

You win some, you lose some, you move forward. These three bills were supported by HBAV and carried by Del. David Owen (R-Henrico), himself a home builder and member, but they are off the table for the year.

• HB2349: Developer performance guarantees; clarifies existing provisions related to periodic partial release. It failed to report from subcommittee on a vote of 5-3.
• HB2480: Removed the need for a traffic study as a condition for approval of a rezoning application that involves either a single-family or multifamily residential use of fewer than 50 residential units. It failed to report from subcommittee on a vote of 5-3.
• HB2499: Would have reduced the initial review period for plats, site plans, and development plans. It failed to report from subcommittee on a vote of 5-3.

In addition: HB1758 from Debra Gardner (D-Chesterfield) would have evaluated surplus government property for affordable housing development. After passing the House, was passed by indefinitely in a Senate committee. The bill is dead for the year. Another Gardner bill, HB1708, would have established the Access to Housing Task Force to evaluate both long- and short-term access to housing in Virginia. It failed.

Photos: Day on the Hill 2025

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