VA SB 531
enactedZoning; development and use of accessory dwelling units, delayed effective date.
Virginia · 2026 Regular Session · upper
Subscribe in a feed reader. The feed covers recorded actions from the last 30 days; Bill Commons may record an action after it happened at the legislature.
Quick answers
Did VA SB 531 pass?
Yes. VA SB 531 has been enacted into law. Latest recorded action (2026-04-13): Approved by Governor-Chapter 895 (effective 7/1/2026)
What is VA SB 531 about?
Zoning; development and use of accessory dwelling units. Requires a locality to include in its zoning ordinances for single-family residential zoning districts accessory dwelling units, or ADUs, as defined in the bill, as a permitted accessory use. The bill requires a person to seek a permit for an ADU from the locality, requires the locality to issue such permit if the person meets certain requirements enumerated in the bill, and restricts the fee for such permit to $500 or less. The bill prohibits the locality from requiring (i) setbacks for the ADU that are greater than the setback required for the primary dwelling or the setback required for accessory structures on the residential lot, whichever is less; (ii) conditions for ADUs that are more restrictive than those for single-family dwellings within the same zoning area with regard to height, rear, or side setbacks, lot size or coverage, or building frontage; or (iii) consanguinity or affinity between the occupants of the ADU and the primary dwelling. The bill has a delayed effective date of July 1, 2027.
Who sponsors VA SB 531?
Kannan Srinivasan is the primary sponsor of VA SB 531, joined by 1 cosponsor.
Description
Zoning; development and use of accessory dwelling units. Requires a locality to include in its zoning ordinances for single-family residential zoning districts accessory dwelling units, or ADUs, as defined in the bill, as a permitted accessory use. The bill requires a person to seek a permit for an ADU from the locality, requires the locality to issue such permit if the person meets certain requirements enumerated in the bill, and restricts the fee for such permit to $500 or less. The bill prohibits the locality from requiring (i) setbacks for the ADU that are greater than the setback required for the primary dwelling or the setback required for accessory structures on the residential lot, whichever is less; (ii) conditions for ADUs that are more restrictive than those for single-family dwellings within the same zoning area with regard to height, rear, or side setbacks, lot size or coverage, or building frontage; or (iii) consanguinity or affinity between the occupants of the ADU and the primary dwelling. The bill has a delayed effective date of July 1, 2027.
- Introduced
- 2026-01-13
- Latest action
- 2026-04-13 — Approved by Governor-Chapter 895 (effective 7/1/2026)
- Bill type
- bill
- Last updated
- —
Sponsors
- Kannan Srinivasanprimary
- Saddam Azlan Salimcosponsor
Committees
Not provided by source.
Action timeline
Newest first
2026-04-13
Approved by Governor-Chapter 895 (effective 7/1/2026)
executive-signature
2026-03-14
Governor's Action Deadline 11:59 p.m., April 13, 2026
executive-receipt
2026-03-14
Enrolled Bill communicated to Governor on March 14, 2026
enrolled,executive-receipt
2026-03-10
Signed by President
passage
2026-03-10
Signed by Speaker
passage
2026-03-10
Bill text as passed Senate and House (SB531ER)
passage
2026-03-10
Enrolled
enrolled
2026-03-04
Passed House (62-Y 37-N 0-A)
passage
2026-03-04
Read third time
reading-3
2026-03-03
Read second time
reading-2
2026-02-27
Reported from Counties, Cities and Towns (13-Y 8-N)
committee-passage
2026-02-17
Assigned HCCT sub: Subcommittee #3
referral-committee
2026-02-17
Referred to Committee on Counties, Cities and Towns
referral-committee
2026-02-17
Read first time
reading-1
2026-02-17
Placed on Calendar
2026-02-12
Read third time and passed Senate (21-Y 19-N 0-A)
passage,reading-3
2026-02-11
Engrossed by Senate - committee substitute (Voice Vote)
substitution
2026-02-11
Committee substitute agreed to (Voice Vote)
substitution
2026-02-11
Read second time
reading-2
2026-02-10
Passed by for the day Block Vote (Voice Vote)
2026-02-10
Constitutional reading dispensed Block Vote (on 1st reading) (40-Y 0-N 0-A)
2026-02-10
Rules suspended
2026-02-09
Committee substitute printed 26107523D-S1
substitution
2026-02-09
Reported from Local Government with substitute (8-Y 7-N)
committee-passage
2026-02-09
Senate committee offered
2026-01-21
Rereferred from General Laws and Technology to Local Government (15-Y 0-N)
referral-committee
2026-01-13
Referred to Committee on General Laws and Technology
referral-committee
2026-01-13
Prefiled and ordered printed; Offered 01-14-2026 26105326D
filing,introduction
Versions
Documents
Votes
Rereferred from General Laws and Technology
2026-01-21 · pass · 15-0
Member-level votes (15)
- Adam P. Ebbin: yes
- Mamie E. Locke: yes
- Bryce E. Reeves: yes
- Jeremy S. McPike: yes
- Todd E. Pillion: yes
- Aaron R. Rouse: yes
- Christopher T. Head: yes
- Emily M. Jordan: yes
- Lashrecse D. Aird: yes
- Schuyler T. VanValkenburg: yes
- Danica A. Roem: yes
- Jennifer D. Carroll Foy: yes
- Timmy French: yes
- Christie New Craig: yes
- Angelia Williams Graves: yes
Reported from Local Government with substitute
2026-02-09 · pass · 8-7
Member-level votes (15)
- Jeremy S. McPike: yes
- William M. Stanley, Jr.: no
- T. Travis Hackworth: no
- David R. Suetterlein: no
- Glen H. Sturtevant, Jr.: no
- Lashrecse D. Aird: yes
- Schuyler T. VanValkenburg: yes
- Danica A. Roem: yes
- Angelia Williams Graves: yes
- Tara A. Durant: no
- J.D. "Danny" Diggs: no
- Stella G. Pekarsky: yes
- Kannan Srinivasan: yes
- Luther Cifers, III: no
- Jennifer B. Boysko: yes
Constitutional reading dispensed R
2026-02-10 · pass · 40-0
Member-level votes (40)
- Lashrecse D. Aird: yes
- Lamont Bagby: yes
- Jennifer B. Boysko: yes
- Jennifer D. Carroll Foy: yes
- Luther Cifers, III: yes
- Christie New Craig: yes
- R. Creigh Deeds: yes
- Bill DeSteph: yes
- J.D. "Danny" Diggs: yes
- Tara A. Durant: yes
- Adam P. Ebbin: yes
- Barbara A. Favola: yes
- Timmy French: yes
- T. Travis Hackworth: yes
- Christopher T. Head: yes
- Michael J. Jones: yes
- Emily M. Jordan: yes
- Mamie E. Locke: yes
- L. Louise Lucas: yes
- David W. Marsden: yes
- Ryan T. McDougle: yes
- Jeremy S. McPike: yes
- Tammy Brankley Mulchi: yes
- Mark D. Obenshain: yes
- Mark J. Peake: yes
- Stella G. Pekarsky: yes
- Russet Perry: yes
- Todd E. Pillion: yes
- Bryce E. Reeves: yes
- Danica A. Roem: yes
- Aaron R. Rouse: yes
- Saddam Azlan Salim: yes
- Kannan Srinivasan: yes
- William M. Stanley, Jr.: yes
- Richard H. Stuart: yes
- Glen H. Sturtevant, Jr.: yes
- David R. Suetterlein: yes
- Scott A. Surovell: yes
- Schuyler T. VanValkenburg: yes
- Angelia Williams Graves: yes
Passage R
2026-02-12 · pass · 21-19
Member-level votes (40)
- Lashrecse D. Aird: yes
- Lamont Bagby: yes
- Jennifer B. Boysko: yes
- Jennifer D. Carroll Foy: yes
- Luther Cifers, III: no
- Christie New Craig: no
- R. Creigh Deeds: yes
- Bill DeSteph: no
- J.D. "Danny" Diggs: no
- Tara A. Durant: no
- Adam P. Ebbin: yes
- Barbara A. Favola: yes
- Timmy French: no
- T. Travis Hackworth: no
- Christopher T. Head: no
- Michael J. Jones: yes
- Emily M. Jordan: no
- Mamie E. Locke: yes
- L. Louise Lucas: yes
- David W. Marsden: yes
- Ryan T. McDougle: no
- Jeremy S. McPike: yes
- Tammy Brankley Mulchi: no
- Mark D. Obenshain: no
- Mark J. Peake: no
- Stella G. Pekarsky: yes
- Russet Perry: yes
- Todd E. Pillion: no
- Bryce E. Reeves: no
- Danica A. Roem: yes
- Aaron R. Rouse: yes
- Saddam Azlan Salim: yes
- Kannan Srinivasan: yes
- William M. Stanley, Jr.: no
- Richard H. Stuart: no
- Glen H. Sturtevant, Jr.: no
- David R. Suetterlein: no
- Scott A. Surovell: yes
- Schuyler T. VanValkenburg: yes
- Angelia Williams Graves: yes
Reported from Counties, Cities and Towns
2026-02-27 · pass · 13-8
Member-level votes (21)
- Dan I. Helmer: yes
- Briana D. Sewell: yes
- Irene Shin: no
- Shelly A. Simonds: yes
- Alex Q. Askew: yes
- Laura Jane Cohen: yes
- Marty Martinez: yes
- Karen Keys-Gamarra: no
- Mark C. Downey: yes
- May Nivar: yes
- Virgil Thornton: yes
- Jessica L. Anderson: yes
- Nicole Cole: yes
- Margaret A. Franklin: yes
- Garrett McGuire: yes
- James W. Morefield: no
- M. Keith Hodges: no
- Joseph P. McNamara: no
- Scott A. Wyatt: no
- Anne Ferrell Tata: no
- Ellen H. McLaughlin: no
H VOTE:
2026-03-04 · pass · 62-37
Member-level votes (99)
- Jessica L. Anderson: yes
- Bonita G. Anthony: yes
- Alex Q. Askew: yes
- Terry L. Austin: no
- Jason S. Ballard: no
- Robert S. Bloxom, Jr.: no
- Gretchen M. Bulova: yes
- Katrina Callsen: yes
- Karen R. "Kacey" Carnegie: yes
- Betsy B. Carr: yes
- Stacey Annie Carroll: yes
- Mike A. Cherry: no
- Nadarius E. Clark: yes
- Laura Jane Cohen: yes
- Joshua G. Cole: yes
- Nicole Cole: yes
- Kelly K. Convirs-Fowler: yes
- Mitchell Cornett: no
- Rae Cousins: yes
- Will Davis: no
- Karrie K. Delaney: yes
- Lindsey Dougherty: yes
- Mark C. Downey: yes
- Michael B. Feggans: yes
- Hyland F. "Buddy" Fowler, Jr.: no
- Lily V. Franklin: yes
- Margaret A. Franklin: yes
- Debra D. Gardner: yes
- Thomas A. Garrett, Jr.: no
- Jackie H. Glass: yes
- Timothy P. Griffin: no
- Elizabeth R. Guzman: yes
- Karen Hamilton: no
- C.E. Cliff Hayes, Jr.: yes
- Dan I. Helmer: yes
- Rozia A. Henson, Jr.: yes
- Phil M. Hernandez: yes
- Charniele L. Herring: yes
- M. Keith Hodges: no
- Patrick A. Hope: yes
- Hillary Pugh Kent: no
- Karen Keys-Gamarra: no
- Terry G. Kilgore: no
- Paul E. Krizek: yes
- Amy J. Laufer: yes
- James A. "Jay" Leftwich: no
- Destiny LeVere Bolling: yes
- Alfonso H. Lopez: yes
- Michelle Lopes Maldonado: yes
- Marty Martinez: yes
- John Chilton McAuliff: no
- Adele Y. McClure: yes
- Garrett McGuire: yes
- Ellen H. McLaughlin: no
- Joseph P. McNamara: no
- Kirk McPike: yes
- Delores L. McQuinn: yes
- Leslie Chambers Mehta: yes
- James W. Morefield: no
- May Nivar: yes
- Delores Oates: no
- Israel D. O'Quinn: no
- Justin Pence: no
- Eric Phillips: no
- Kimberly Pope Adams: yes
- Marcia S. "Cia" Price: yes
- Sam Rasoul: yes
- Atoosa R. Reaser: yes
- David A. Reid: yes
- Chris S. Runion: no
- Charlie Schmidt: yes
- Don Scott: yes
- Phillip A. Scott: no
- Holly M. Seibold: yes
- Briana D. Sewell: yes
- Irene Shin: yes
- Marcus B. Simon: yes
- Shelly A. Simonds: yes
- JJ Singh: yes
- Richard C. "Rip" Sullivan, Jr.: yes
- Anne Ferrell Tata: no
- Joshua E. Thomas: yes
- Virgil Thornton: yes
- Luke E. Torian: yes
- Kathy K.L. Tran: yes
- H. Otto Wachsmann, Jr.: no
- Wendell S. Walker: no
- Jeion A. Ward: yes
- R. Lee Ware: no
- Vivian E. Watts: yes
- Michael J. Webert: no
- Madison Whittle: no
- Bill Wiley: no
- Rodney T. Willett: yes
- Wren M. Williams: no
- Tony O. Wilt: no
- Thomas C. Wright, Jr.: no
- Scott A. Wyatt: no
- Eric R. Zehr: no
Related bills
No related bills recorded for this bill.
Official source
Attribution
Data from openstates_bulk_csv, retrieved 2026-07-24T05:35:59.552682Z
Inspect retained evidence for changes recorded after evidence tracking began:
Session-wide evidence can include changes to other bills:
Use this data
Every field on this page is available from the free public API — no key or licence required. Fetch this bill as JSON: GET /api/v1/bills?jurisdiction=VA&identifier=SB 531. See the API docs or the MCP server for AI assistants.
Known limitations
- Sponsor party and chamber affiliation are not yet captured by this API.
- Committee referrals are not yet captured.
See the methodology page for data sources and limitations.