Spanberger Signs Bill Requiring 14-Day Notice Before Beginning Eviction Proceedings
Local Legal Aid Works attorneys say legislation is a win-win for landlords and tenants.
By Adele Uphaus
MANAGING EDITOR AND CORRESPONDENT
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Among the bills Gov. Abigail Spanberger has signed into law this month is House Bill 15, which increases from period of time landlords are required to wait between asking for overdue rent and beginning eviction proceedings from five to 14 days.
The extension was temporarily in place between 2020 and 2021 as a result of the pandemic, but was allowed to expire, and local housing attorneys are glad to see it become law again.
“While that previous 14-day law was in place during the pandemic, we can say with 100% assurance that it saved lives, kept people housed during the pandemic, avoided catastrophic consequences of eviction, and allowed the landlords to get their rent,” said Ann Kloeckner, executive director of Legal Aid Works, in an email to the Advance.
“That provision was allowed to expire, along with other pandemic-era measures, and although it was reintroduced in subsequent General Assembly sessions, it was not successful in passing both chambers and the governor’s veto, until this year,” Kloeckner said. “We are eager to use this tool again to help low-income families stay housed.”
The bill, which was introduced by Newport News delegate Marcia Price in the House and by Virginia Beach’s Aaron Rouse in the Senate, amends the Virginia Residential Landlord and Tenant Act to state that landlords may terminate a lease for nonpayment of rent only if it has been 14 days since providing written notice of nonpayment.
This amendment recognizes the fact that five days is not enough time for tenants to bring rent payments current, Kloeckner said.
“Who gets paid every five days? Not many people,” she said. “So giving the tenants a more reasonable time period to get current which more likely matches their pay periods is a logical way to create a balanced win-win: the landlords are more likely to get the money to which they are entitled without the expense and time it takes to start an eviction petition in court; and the tenants get more time to gather resources and stay housed.”
Alexander Reidell, Legal Aid Works’s managing attorney, said the change to a 14-day required notice “was long overdue even before the pandemic, and in my opinion it was a grievous mistake to allow that change to expire.”
“Countless people benefited and will benefit from having the additional time to get paid and use that money to pay the rent rather than immediately being forced into the eviction process,” Reidell said in an email to the Advance. “I’m very glad to see this brought back.”
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