Charlottesville Office of Human Rights sponsoring tenant rights forum tonight

While not an official meeting, the Charlottesville Office of Humans Rights is marking Fair Housing Month with a special event to be held CitySpace which will be accessible via Zoom. 

“The presentation will provide an overview of the Virginia Fair Housing Law, the Charlottesville Human Rights Ordinance, and the Virginia Residential Landlord and Tenant Act and explain how to recognize potential housing discrimination and navigate common processes like reasonable accommodation requests, tenant’s assertions, and repair requests,” reads a press release sent out on April 16. 

Charlottesville City Council has had a Human Rights Ordinance in place since May 2013 when Council voted 3-1 to approve it with one Councilor abstaining. After adoption of the Charlottesville Affordable Housing Plan in March 2021, the Human Rights Commission decided to make access to housing a priority. 

The budget for the Office of Human Rights has increased in recent years from $282,438 in FY2023 to $487,553 in FY2024. That was due to the hiring of two new staff members to boost up the ability of the office to investigate cases. 

The Office of Human Rights is within the City Manager’s Office. The budget for FY25 lists several performance metrics including one that tracks the number of inquiries the office receives for various inquiries. In 2023, the office received 73 complaints related housing which resulted in two official complaints. (see above image)

There were several pieces of legislation to increase tenants rights in the 2024 General Assembly by amending the Virginia Residential Landlord and Tenant Act. Many of these were vetoed, several others were amended, and several were signed into law. Here’s a list of the latter: 

• HB352 would make it easier for military personnel to break their rental agreement in certain circumstances such as a stop movement order. One such order was issued in March 2020 related to the COVID-19 pandemic.
• HB701 would alter the notice a landlord must give to a tenant before routine maintenance is performed. 
• HB764 would make it easier for someone who has a protective order can terminate their lease with written notice. 
• HB957 would make landlords responsible for damages a tenant incurs if a violation of the building code was reported to the landlord by the tenant. 
• HB967 would require a written rental agreement to have on the first page a clear statement of fees and rent printed in 14-point type. 
• HB1272 would require a landlord to provide a copy of the signed written agreement to the tenant as well as an electronic copy. 

To learn more about what happens in the Office of Human Rights and on the Commission of Human Rights, check out the many annual reports from the past eleven years. 

Before you go: The time to write and research of this article is covered by paid subscribers to Charlottesville Community Engagement. In fact, this particular installment is from the April 22, 2024 Week Ahead edition of the newsletter.