1) An important CARES Act decision from the Va. Court of Appeals held that the mandatory 30- day waiting period under the CARES Act before a landlord may evict a tenant in "covered" housing does not bar a landlord from filing an unlawful detainer within that 30-day period applies only occurs when the sheriff executes on the writ of eviction. Woodrock River Walk, LLCv. Rice,82 VA, App. 906 S.E.2d 682 (2024).

2) Civil jurisdiction in the general district court has been raised to $50,000 for all civil cases, not just personal injury. Va. Code 16.1-77. The unlimited jurisdiction in unlawful detainer actions remains in place.

3) Under Va. Code 55.1-1204, the fee disclosure requirement on the first page of the VRLTA lease now requires an itemization of all charges to the tenant that comprise the security deposit, the rent due per payment period and any additional one-time charges due to the commencement of the lease or that will be included in the first rental payment. The mandatory statement that precedes this itemized listing now reads "no additional security deposits or rent shall be charged unless they are listed below or incorporated into this agreement by way of a separate addendum after execution of this rental agreement."

4) Under new Va. Code 55.1-1204 (J)(I), no landlord may charge a tenant any fee for the collection or processing of any payment of rent, security deposit, or any other fees, unless the landlord offers an alternative method of payment that does not include additional fees.

5) Under new Va. Code 55.1-1204(J)(2), a landlord with four or fewer rental dwellings, or up to a 10 percent interest in four or fewer rental dwelling units, shall not be required to accept payment of periodic rent and any security deposit by debit or credit card.

6) Under 55.1-1204(K) a landlord who owns more than four rental dwelling units or more than a 10 percent interest in more than four rental dwelling units, whether individually or through a business entity, in the Commonwealth, shall be required to provide written notice to any tenant who has the option to renew a rental agreement or whose rental agreement contains an automatic renewal provision of any increase in rent during the subsequent rental agreement term. Such landlord shall also provide written notice of nonrenewal to any tenant. Such notice shall be provided to the tenant no less than 60 days prior to the end of the rental agreement term. This subsection shall not apply to any periodic tenancy created pursuant to subsection C of 55.1-1253.

This new requirement is in addition to the previously required written notice required to be given to a tenant who has the option to renew a rental agreement or to a tenant whose rental agreement contains an automatic renewal provision where there is to be an increase in rent. Va. Code 55.1-1204.

7) The Eviction Diversion Program under 55.1-1260 is no longer a pilot program and it may be implemented by any general district court in the Commonwealth.

8)Under victims right to an early termination under 55.1-1236, stalking in violation of 18.2-60.3 or trafficking in violation of 18.2-344 et seq have been added as grounds for a tenant to terminate the lease or where there is an order of protection under 16.1-253.1 or 16.1-279.1 or a preliminary protective order pursuant to 19.2-152.9 or a permanent protective order under 19.2-152.10.