The Virginia Homeowners Allianceis a free service for homeowners from Virginia's Realtors, who want to stand with you to ensure that your property values aren't negatively affected by government decisions at the General Assembly, Board of Supervisors, or City Hall. We inform Virginia homeowners about government action that affects the value of real estate in the Commonwealth.
Five need-to-know laws for homeowners
(Effective July 1, 2010)
Virginia's legislature sent several bills that benefit homeowners to Gov. McDonnell and approved a $70 billion budget that may reduce local government programs or force them to raise property taxes.
Besides the budget, there were hundreds of bills debated, but we focused on bills dealing with two issues critical to homeowners: 1) tax assessments and 2) property rights. Assessments determine your taxes; and the less restrictive Virginia's property laws are, the more attractive Virginia's real estate markets become.
Read on...
In This Issue
More fairness for homeowners who appeal their property assessments (go)
Upon your request, your real estate assessor must provide you with information about how your assessment was determined. If the assessor doesn’t provide you with this information five days before a court or board of equalization hearing, the information can’t be introduced at the hearing by the assessor. This law also increases the training and experience standards assessors must meet in order to be certified to conduct assessments in Virginia.
Under this law, your local government can’t force you to remove improvements made to your property as long as you followed the rules in effect at the time the improvements were constructed, even if it has adopted stricter rules in the meantime. You also now have the right to replace an existing wastewater disposal system for an existing building even if a new system wouldn’t otherwise be permitted in that location. However, if your system fails and access to the municipal sewer is available, you’ll be required to connect to it.
If you have a family member who needs assistance with daily living activities (like bathing, eating, or dressing) due to a mental or physical impairment, the local government can’t prohibit you from installing a complying temporary family health care structure on your property to help you care for them. There rules about the size and specifications of the structure, who can live in it, how to get approval from your locality to install it, and more.
If you bring a complaint against a homeowners association, by law the association must:
Provide you with a document that includes
the address and telephone number of the association or its manager,
the address, telephone number, and e-mail address of the Office of the Common Interest Community Ombudsman, and
a description of your right to appeal the association’s decision to the Common Interest Community Board if you feel the decision violates Virginia laws or regulations.
Maintain a written record of the complaint for at least one year after the association acts upon it.
This law specifically gives Virginians who live in homeowners associations the right to fly the American flag in accordance with federal law. It also restricts the kinds of rules homeowners associations can enforce against flag displays. The rules are limited to size, placement, and duration of the display of the flag. If the association wants to enforce its rules against a homeowner, it must prove that the flag display harms its interests.
Many areas in Virginia saw a significant drop in real estate assessments due to the declining housing market. In some areas, notably Prince William and Fairfax Counties, the decline was steep enough to catch the interest of national media. Both counties had to raise property taxes to balance their 2011 budgets.
But property tax rate hikes weren’t confined to Northern Virginia: Powhatan County, a mostly rural Richmond suburb, raised its real property tax nine cents per $100 of assessed value in an effort to keep its real estate tax revenue stable. Several other localities felt compelled to increase the property tax rate to balance their budgets.
However, a few counties actually cut their property tax rate. In Southwestern Virginia, Floyd County taxpayers saw their rates drop 13 cents per $100 of assessed value in an attempt to equalize homeowners tax bills as property assessments there bucked the trend by increasing over the previous assessment cycle. Floyd and Powhatan County homeowners were told to expect a tax bill similar to last year's, reflecting changing property assessments in those areas.
Other counties held the line on property tax rates, usually resulting in a drop in the actual real estate tax paid over the previous year. Homeowners in those localities may find themselves paying more in utilities, permits, and other fees. In Henrico County, officials left the real estate tax unchanged, but raised fees to help make up budget shortfalls. In Northern Virginia’s densely populated Arlington County, officials increased utility fees and the motor vehicle decal tax to offset lower projected real estate tax revenue.
Others closed the gap by making cuts to their budgets. Cuts to programs and staff -- especially at schools -- were sometimes deep and always painful, as administrators ruthlessly trimmed budgets back to affordable levels. Some communities, including Norfolk City in the Hampton Roads area, cut library hours, park maintenance, and programs for children and the elderly.
Campbell County, a rural community south of Lynchburg, delayed plans to upgrade the animal control facility, plans to build a firing range, information technology upgrades, and new vehicles for police, fire, and rescue. They aren’t alone – capital projects in some localities have been shelved in the hope of better financial days ahead.
According to our evaluation of the updates posted to VAHomeownersAlliance.com, we found that generally, localities facing budget gaps used a combination of new fees, budget cuts, and real estate tax adjustments. Many Virginia homeowners may notice cuts to non-essential community services or higher property tax rates over the next year. The good news is that while the property taxes Virginians pay for these services haven't gone down, in most cases they haven't gone up either.
The General Assembly has adjourned for the year, but your local government meets year round. Your membership in the Virginia Homeowners Alliance keeps you informed about local real estate taxes, property assessments, new residential and commercial developments, transportation, school construction and a host of other issues affecting your home, neighborhood, and way of life.
Read YOUR VIRGINIA newsletter six times per year and visit VAHomeownersAlliance.com every day to stay informed about state and local issues that affect your property values and homeowner rights. The next edition will feature more specific information about how you’ll benefit from the three homeowner friendly bills passed by the General Assembly.
