Virginia 2026 Session Status: Introduced

HB278 — Local anti-rent gouging authority; civil penalty.

Last action — Continued from last session

  1. 1
    Introduced
  2. 2
    In Committee
  3. 3
    Passed House of Delegates
  4. 4
    Passed Senate
  5. 5
    To Executive
  6. 6
    Enacted

This bill has been introduced in the House of Delegates. Introduced January 09, 2026. It must pass committee before a floor vote.

Next likely step: a committee referral and hearing.

Odds of enactment

Low chance

Based on the sponsor, cosponsors, and committee posture, this bill has a low chance of becoming law.

Upgrade to see the exact probability and what's driving it.

A statistical estimate from our own model of past outcomes — an insight, not a guarantee. Policymaking is volatile.

Prognosis

Not enough signal yet

Not enough signal yet to read this bill's trajectory — we surface a likelihood only once there's real movement (stage, sponsorship, committee, or votes) to point to.

Based on stage, sponsorship breadth, committee status, recorded votes, and cross-state momentum — a description of the observable signals, not a prediction.

In plain language

This bill gives local authorities the power to impose penalties for rent gouging.

The bill allows local governments to take action against excessive rent increases, establishing civil penalties for such practices. This aims to alleviate housing affordability issues.

What this means for you
  • Families: This means families may experience more stable rent prices, helping them maintain housing affordability.

Summary

Local anti-rent gouging authority; civil penalty.

Bill Text

We don't have the full text on file for this bill yet.

Read HB278 on the official Virginia source →

Action History

  1. H Continued to next session in Counties, Cities and Towns (Voice Vote)

  2. H Placed on Counties, Cities and Towns Agenda

  3. H Subcommittee recommends continuing to (Voice Vote)

  4. H Placed on Counties, Cities and Towns Agenda

  5. H Assigned HCCT sub: Subcommittee #3

  6. H Referred to Committee on Counties, Cities and Towns

  7. H Prefiled and ordered printed; Offered 01-14-2026 26105101D

Sponsors

Sponsorship breakdown

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1 sponsors · 0 co-sponsors · 147 not signed on

Sponsors (1)

Co-sponsors (0)

None.

Not signed on (147)

147 members have not signed on to this bill.

Show all 147 →

"Not signed on" means a member has not sponsored or co-sponsored this bill — it does not imply opposition. Members flagged Voted No have a recorded No vote on this bill.

Whip count is in markup. Polling the chamber and every recorded vote this session. Only the first open is slow. It’s instant for you after this. Calling the roll · Tallying · Engrossing

Subjects

housing civil-rights
Cross-referencing the record. Reading this bill against every other bill in the corpus by meaning, not keywords. Only the first open is slow. It’s instant for you after this. Matching · Ranking · Engrossing

Frequently asked questions

What does HB278 do?
Local anti-rent gouging authority; civil penalty.
Who sponsors HB278?
HB278 is sponsored by Nadarius E. Clark.
What is the current status of HB278?
This bill has been introduced in the House of Delegates. Introduced January 09, 2026. It must pass committee before a floor vote.
Where can I track HB278?
Track HB278 free on One Click Politics — get push/email alerts when it moves.

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Last checked for changes 3 months ago · updated continuously

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