Subcommittee orders work group to revise real‑estate disclosure form after bipartisan substitute

Delegates presented competing bills aimed at improving real‑estate disclosures for home buyers and the subcommittee adopted a substitute that combines provisions and sets a 12‑month work group to propose concrete changes.

Del. Fowler said HB1518 would require the Real Estate Board to make the full disclosure form directly available and signed by parties at sale rather than only providing a link. Del. Watts described a constituent case in which omitted permit information on a flipped house cost a buyer roughly $60,000 because an unpermitted load‑bearing wall had been removed. Watts urged adding a simple disclosure item showing whether any permit had been pulled in the prior three years.

The chair proposed incorporating Del. Watts’ bill (HB477) into HB1518 and substituting a work group composed of the Department of Professional and Occupational Regulation (DPOR), the Virginia Real Estate Board, the Virginia Realtors, lawyers from the State Bar, and contractor representatives to review form content, format and usability and report back to the General Laws chair within 12 months. Committee members and real‑estate stakeholders said they supported a collaborative approach and the substitute passed on voice/roll vote.

What happens next: the substitute directs a work group to reconcile what should appear on the state form and to return recommendations to the committee next year; the subcommittee reported the substitute favorably for further action.

Sources: testimony and committee discussion in House General Laws subcommittee hearing.