Subcommittee unanimously advances several technical housing and real-estate bills

The General Laws Housing and Consumer Protection Subcommittee handled several noncontroversial measures and recommended all three for reporting by unanimous 8-0 votes.

House Bill 1704 would add a prompt to resale certificates used in common-interest-community transactions so prospective buyers are alerted to whether they could be responsible for all or part of an association insurance deductible. Sponsor Delegate Bulova described the change as a small transparency measure.

House Bill 1706, a recommendation from the Virginia Housing Commission, adds a buyer-beware statement advising prospective buyers to consider a property’s proximity to airports and directs buyers to noise maps on the Department of Aviation website; the bill sets a July 31, 2025 date for the Department of Aviation to post the necessary materials and asks the Real Estate Board to update its disclosure form.

House Bill 1653 removes a duplicative licensing-transfer fee that real-estate licensees currently pay when they change branches within the same principal place of business and firm. The sponsor described the fee as a barrier to entry and part of an effort to reduce burdensome fees.

All three bills were moved and seconded without substantive opposition and reported by the subcommittee by 8-0 recorded votes.