republic-os/legislation/us/states/va/2020/sb-905.md

type, title, description, jurisdiction, legislature, session, identifier, citation, classification, subjects, status, primary_sponsors, version_count, action_count, vote_count, first_action, last_action, source, source_identifier, source_url, source_hash, vintage, source_snapshot, retrieved_at, confidence, tags

type	title	description	jurisdiction	legislature	session	identifier	citation	classification	subjects	status	primary_sponsors	version_count	action_count	vote_count	first_action	last_action	source	source_identifier	source_url	source_hash	vintage	source_snapshot	retrieved_at	confidence	tags
Bill	Landlord and tenant; tenant's remedy by repair, clarifies definition of 'actual costs.'	Landlord and tenant; tenant's remedy by repair. Permits a tenant, under certain circumstances, to have a condition that constitutes a material noncompliance by the landlord with the rental agreement or with provisions of law, or that if not promptly corrected will constitute a fire hazard or serious threat to the life, health, or safety of occupants of the premises, remedied by a third-party licensed contractor or a licensed pesticide business. The bill provides that, unless the tenant has been reimbursed by the landlord, the tenant may deduct from rent the actual costs incurred, not to exceed the greater of one month's rent or $1,500, after submitting to the landlord an itemized statement accompanied by receipts for purchased items and third-party contractor or pest control services.	us/states/va	Virginia General Assembly	2020	SB 905	Virginia SB 905 (2020)	bill		enacted	William M. Stanley, Jr.	6	47	11	2020-01-08	2020-04-09	openstates	ocd-bill/d7db6599-4aee-4a17-8afc-1a73e0d17695	https://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?201+sum+SB905	6325c76c816a04ed78fe80adbaf5bb78fa0585b5b6ab5c190519ec0082043af6	2026-07-01	https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump	2026-07-06	reported	legislation bill us-va

Virginia SB 905 (2020) — Landlord and tenant; tenant's remedy by repair, clarifies definition of 'actual costs.'

Landlord and tenant; tenant's remedy by repair. Permits a tenant, under certain circumstances, to have a condition that constitutes a material noncompliance by the landlord with the rental agreement or with provisions of law, or that if not promptly corrected will constitute a fire hazard or serious threat to the life, health, or safety of occupants of the premises, remedied by a third-party licensed contractor or a licensed pesticide business. The bill provides that, unless the tenant has been reimbursed by the landlord, the tenant may deduct from rent the actual costs incurred, not to exceed the greater of one month's rent or $1,500, after submitting to the landlord an itemized statement accompanied by receipts for purchased items and third-party contractor or pest control services.

Version chain

The bill's text revisions, in order — the diff chain from filing to enrollment.

1. Acts of Assembly Chapter text (CHAP1020) (committee substitute) — source
2. Bill text as passed Senate and House (SB905ER) (committee substitute) — source
3. Engrossed by House - committee substitute SB905H1 (committee substitute) — source
4. Engrossed by Senate - committee substitute SB905S1 (committee substitute) — source
5. Impact statement from DPB (SB905) (committee substitute) — source
6. Impact statement from DPB (SB905S2) (committee substitute) — source

Votes

• Senate acceded to request (40-Y 0-N) — 40–0 (pass) · upper
• Reported from General Laws with substitute (13-Y 8-N) — 13–8 (pass) · lower
• House substitute rejected by Senate (0-Y 40-N) — 0–40 (fail) · upper
• Conference report agreed to by Senate (40-Y 0-N) — 40–0 (pass) · upper
• Constitutional reading dispensed (39-Y 0-N) — 39–0 (pass) · upper
• VOTE: Adoption (54-Y 38-N) — 53–38 (pass) · lower
• Subcommittee recommends reporting with substitute (5-Y 0-N) — 5–0 (pass) · lower
• Reported from General Laws and Technology with substitute (15-Y 0-N) — 15–0 (pass) · upper
• Passed Senate (39-Y 0-N) — 39–0 (pass) · upper
• VOTE: Passage (55-Y 41-N) — 54–41 (pass) · lower
• Constitutional reading dispensed (37-Y 0-N) — 37–0 (pass) · upper

Sponsors

• William M. Stanley, Jr. — primary (person)
• Jennifer L. McClellan — cosponsor (person)

Timeline

The legislative action history — every referral, reading, and vote.

• 2020-01-08 Presented and ordered printed 20104774D introduction
• 2020-01-08 Referred to Committee on General Laws and Technology referral-committee
• 2020-01-28 Impact statement from DPB (SB905)
• 2020-02-05 Reported from General Laws and Technology with substitute (15-Y 0-N) committee-passage
• 2020-02-05 Committee substitute printed 20107742D-S1 substitution
• 2020-02-07 Constitutional reading dispensed (37-Y 0-N)
• 2020-02-10 Read second time reading-2
• 2020-02-10 Reading of substitute waived
• 2020-02-10 Committee substitute agreed to 20107742D-S1
• 2020-02-10 Engrossed by Senate - committee substitute SB905S1
• 2020-02-10 Constitutional reading dispensed (39-Y 0-N)
• 2020-02-10 Passed Senate (39-Y 0-N) passage
• 2020-02-13 Placed on Calendar
• 2020-02-13 Read first time reading-1
• 2020-02-13 Referred to Committee on General Laws referral-committee
• 2020-02-13 Impact statement from DPB (SB905S1)
• 2020-02-14 Assigned GL sub: Housing/Consumer Protection referral-committee
• 2020-02-18 House subcommittee amendments and substitutes offered
• 2020-02-18 Subcommittee recommends reporting with substitute (5-Y 0-N)
• 2020-02-27 Committee substitute printed 20108421D-H1 substitution
• 2020-02-27 Reported from General Laws with substitute (13-Y 8-N) committee-passage
• 2020-03-02 Read second time reading-2
• 2020-03-03 Read third time reading-3
• 2020-03-03 Committee substitute agreed to 20108421D-H1
• 2020-03-03 Engrossed by House - committee substitute SB905H1
• 2020-03-03 Passed House with substitute (55-Y 41-N) passage
• 2020-03-03 VOTE: Passage (55-Y 41-N)
• 2020-03-04 House substitute rejected by Senate (0-Y 40-N)
• 2020-03-05 House insisted on substitute
• 2020-03-05 House requested conference committee
• 2020-03-05 Senate acceded to request (40-Y 0-N)
• 2020-03-05 Conferees appointed by Senate
• 2020-03-05 Conferees appointed by House
• 2020-03-05 Amended by conference committee
• 2020-03-05 Conference substitute printed 20109798D-S2
• 2020-03-07 Conference report agreed to by Senate (40-Y 0-N)
• 2020-03-08 Passed by temporarily
• 2020-03-08 Conference report agreed to by House (54-Y 38-N)
• 2020-03-08 VOTE: Adoption (54-Y 38-N)
• 2020-03-16 Impact statement from DPB (SB905S2)
• 2020-03-18 Enrolled
• 2020-03-18 Signed by President
• 2020-03-19 Signed by Speaker
• 2020-03-20 Enrolled Bill Communicated to Governor on March 20, 2020
• 2020-03-20 Governor's Action Deadline 11:59 p.m., April 11, 2020
• 2020-03-26 Impact statement from DPB (SB905ER)
• 2020-04-09 Approved by Governor-Chapter 1020 (effective 7/1/20) executive-signature

Source

OpenStates / OpenCivicData bulk snapshot 2026-07-01; origin ocd-bill/d7db6599-4aee-4a17-8afc-1a73e0d17695. Confidence: reported (aggregated from official Virginia legislature records).