# Virginia HB519: Virginia Residential Landlord and Tenant Act; definition of essential services.

Virginia HB519, Virginia Residential Landlord and Tenant Act; definition of essential services., is a 2026 Regular Session House bill sponsored by Marty Martinez (Democratic); status signed, last action 2026-04-13 (Acts of Assembly Chapter text (CHAP0624)); PRIA reads it as touching household money (as of 2026-10-12).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VA-HB519-2026
- As of: 2026-10-12
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: Virginia HB519
- State: Virginia
- Session: 2026 Regular Session
- Title: Virginia Residential Landlord and Tenant Act; definition of essential services.
- Status: signed
- Chamber: House
- Introduced: 2026-01-13
- Last action: 2026-04-13, Acts of Assembly Chapter text (CHAP0624)
- Sponsor: Marty Martinez (Democratic)
- Cosponsors: 0
- Touches household money: yes
- Roll calls: 7 (154 yes, 69 no in all)
- Economic provisions PRIA read: 1

## Summary

Virginia Residential Landlord and Tenant Act; essential services. Adds central air conditioning when supplied by the landlord and operating or represented as operating as of the effective date of the rental agreement to the list of what constitutes an essential service for purposes of the Virginia Residential Landlord and Tenant Act.

## Bill overview: provisions PRIA read

- Central air protections expand for Virginia renters: benefit, low. Virginia law now treats qualifying central air conditioning as an essential service for renters. This protection applies when the landlord supplies the system. It must be working, or described as working, on the rental agreement's effective date.

## Sponsors and cosponsors

- Sponsor: Marty Martinez (Democratic), House

## Roll call votes

| Date | Chamber | Motion | Result | Yes | No | Other |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 2026-03-10 | Senate | Passed Senate | pass | 21 | 19 |   |
| 2026-03-06 | Senate | Constitutional reading dispensed Block Vote (on 2nd reading) | pass | 39 | 0 |   |
| 2026-03-06 | Senate | Passed by for the day Block Vote (Voice Vote) | pass | 0 | 0 |   |
| 2026-03-04 | Senate | Reported from General Laws and Technology | pass | 9 | 6 |   |
| 2026-02-09 | House | Read third time and passed House | pass | 63 | 35 |   |
| 2026-02-03 | House | Reported from General Laws with amendment(s) | pass | 15 | 6 |   |
| 2026-01-29 | House | Subcommittee recommends reporting with amendment(s) | pass | 7 | 3 |   |

## Actions (32)

- 2026-04-13: Acts of Assembly Chapter text (CHAP0624) (Governor)
- 2026-04-13: Approved by Governor-Chapter 624 (effective 7/1/2026) (Governor)
- 2026-04-01: Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (HB519) (House)
- 2026-03-31: Governor's Action Deadline 11:59 p.m., April 13, 2026 (Governor)
- 2026-03-31: Enrolled Bill communicated to Governor on March 31, 2026 (House)
- 2026-03-31: Signed by Speaker (House)
- 2026-03-30: Bill text as passed House and Senate (HB519ER) (House)
- 2026-03-30: Enrolled (House)
- 2026-03-30: Signed by President (Senate)
- 2026-03-10: Passed Senate (21-Y 19-N 0-A) (Senate)
- 2026-03-10: Read third time (Senate)
- 2026-03-09: Passed by for the day (Senate)
- 2026-03-06: Passed by for the day Block Vote (Voice Vote) (Senate)
- 2026-03-06: Constitutional reading dispensed Block Vote (on 2nd reading) (39-Y 0-N 0-A) (Senate)
- 2026-03-06: Rules suspended (Senate)
- 2026-03-04: Reported from General Laws and Technology (9-Y 6-N) (Senate)
- 2026-02-25: Assigned GL&T sub: Housing (Senate)
- 2026-02-10: Referred to Committee on General Laws and Technology (Senate)
- 2026-02-10: Constitutional reading dispensed (on 1st reading) (Senate)
- 2026-02-09: Read third time and passed House (63-Y 35-N 0-A) (House)
- 2026-02-08: Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (HB519) (House)
- 2026-02-06: Engrossed by House as amended (House)
- 2026-02-06: committee amendments agreed to (House)
- 2026-02-06: Read second time (House)
- 2026-02-05: Read first time (House)
- 2026-02-03: Reported from General Laws with amendment(s) (15-Y 6-N) (House)
- 2026-01-29: House subcommittee offered (House)
- 2026-01-29: Subcommittee recommends reporting with amendment(s) (7-Y 3-N) (House)
- 2026-01-23: Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (HB519) (House)
- 2026-01-19: Assigned HGL sub: Housing/Consumer Protection (House)
- 2026-01-13: Referred to Committee on General Laws (House)
- 2026-01-13: Prefiled and ordered printed; Offered 01-14-2026 26100423D (House)

## Bill text

- Chaptered, 2026-04-13: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1221636.HTML), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1221635.PDF)
- Enrolled, 2026-03-30: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1210731.HTML), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1210730.PDF)
- Engrossed, 2026-02-06: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1116291.HTML), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1116290.PDF)
- Amendment, 2026-02-03: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1115367.HTML)
- Amendment, 2026-01-29: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1103189.HTML), [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1103438.HTML)
- Introduced, 2026-01-13: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1084773.HTML), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1084771.PDF)

## Related bills

- HB5: Employment; paid sick leave, civil penalties. (signed)
- SB199: Employment; paid sick leave, civil penalties. (signed)
- HB95: Va. Residential Landlord and Tenant Act; landlord remedies, noncompliance with rental agreement. (signed)
- HB1393: Electric utilities; pilot program for energy assistance and weatherization for certain individuals. (signed)
- HB834: Virginia Residential Landlord and Tenant Act; fire or casualty damage, termination by landlord. (signed)
- HB675: Protection of employees; coercion or threat based on immigration status, civil penalty. (signed)

## Sources
- [Chaptered (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1221636.HTML)
- [Chaptered (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1221635.PDF)
- [Enrolled (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1210731.HTML)
- [Enrolled (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1210730.PDF)
- [Engrossed (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1116291.HTML)
- [Engrossed (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1116290.PDF)
- [Amendment (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1115367.HTML)
- [Amendment (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1103189.HTML)
- [Amendment (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1103438.HTML)
- [Introduced (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1084773.HTML)
- [Introduced (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1084771.PDF)

## Related
- [HB5: Employment; paid sick leave, civil penalties.](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VA-HB5-2026)
- [SB199: Employment; paid sick leave, civil penalties.](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VA-SB199-2026)
- [HB95: Va. Residential Landlord and Tenant Act; landlord remedies, noncompliance with…](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VA-HB95-2026)
- [HB1393: Electric utilities; pilot program for energy assistance and weatherization for…](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VA-HB1393-2026)
- [HB834: Virginia Residential Landlord and Tenant Act; fire or casualty damage, terminat…](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VA-HB834-2026)
- [HB675: Protection of employees; coercion or threat based on immigration status, civil…](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VA-HB675-2026)
- [Virginia bills](https://policyrisk.com/states/virginia/bills)
- [Virginia state hub](https://policyrisk.com/states/virginia)
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Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VA-HB519-2026 (as of 2026-10-12).