Panel advances HB329 to expand legal protections against landlord retaliation

Delegate McClure presented HB329 to the subcommittee as a measure to strengthen tenant protections against landlord retaliation when tenants assert rights such as habitability, privacy and utility access. The sponsor said existing law is too narrow and leaves out common retaliatory behaviors such as harassment and unequal enforcement of rules.

Committee counsel located the statutory language and confirmed the bill includes terms such as 'threatening, harassing, or coercing the tenant' and lists examples (increasing fees, selectively decreasing services, bringing or threatening possession actions, terminating rental agreements). Counsel and the sponsor said the bill does not invent new criminal penalties in the hearing but expands civil protections and enforcement pathways under the Virginia Landlord and Tenant Act.

A broad coalition of tenant advocates and legal services (Housing Opportunities Made Equal, Virginia Poverty Law Center, Legal Aid Justice Center, Virginia Student Power Network) testified in support, stating the bill was the result of stakeholder negotiations. Andrea Wilson, joining remotely, gave personal testimony describing repeated retaliation in Prince William County and urged passage to create meaningful enforcement beyond the current dependence on tenants’ capacity to sue.

The subcommittee moved and seconded the bill report; the clerk closed the roll and HB329 was reported by a vote of 10 to 0.