Edit: Affordable_Housing_Panel_Talking_Points_-_2026-05-27

Markdown Content:

= Affordable Housing Panel Talking Points - 2026-05-27 =

== Affordability Summit Answers ==

=== Overview ===

==== Take a minute to explain what you personally felt the most passionate about this session. ====

* '''Affordability was the central issue this session.'''
* Families are being squeezed by housing, utilities, healthcare, childcare, and wages all at once.
* The goal was to make Virginia more livable for working families.
* For Del. Cole, strong examples include:
** HB1279 / SB388, “Faith in Housing,” to help faith communities and nonprofits build affordable housing. ([https://lis.virginia.gov/bill-details/20261/HB1279 Virginia LIS, HB1279]; [https://lis.virginia.gov/bill-details/20261/SB388 Virginia LIS, SB388])
** HB242, addressing utility budget-billing stability. ([https://www.governor.virginia.gov/newsroom/news-releases/2026/april-releases/name-1115949-en.html Governor’s Office, April 8, 2026])

==== What one issue did you feel was the most important in the session this year? ====

* '''Housing affordability was the most important issue.'''
* Housing affects every other affordability pressure: work, school, childcare, healthcare, transportation, and family stability.
* Virginia’s statewide median home sold price was $439,945 in April 2026, up 3.5% from April 2025. ([https://virginiarealtors.org/2026/05/21/key-takeaways-april-2026-virginia-home-sales-report/ Virginia REALTORS, April 2026 Home Sales Report])
* Virginia has a shortage of 159,765 rental homes affordable and available to extremely low-income renters. ([https://nlihc.org/housing-needs-by-state/virginia NLIHC, Virginia Housing Needs])

=== Housing Affordability and Supply ===

==== What role, if any, do you think the state should play in addressing rising rent and home costs? ====

* '''The state has a real role, in partnership with local governments.'''
* The state should help increase housing supply.
* The state should preserve existing affordable housing.
* The state should reduce unnecessary barriers that make housing more expensive.
* The state should support renters so temporary hardship does not become homelessness.
* The state should help localities finance infrastructure needed for housing growth.

==== Were there any notable bills in this year’s session to address housing costs? ====

* '''Yes. The 2026 session produced a serious housing package.'''
* HB1279 / SB388, “Faith in Housing,” allows qualifying faith-based organizations and nonprofits to build affordable housing on land they already own. ([https://lis.virginia.gov/bill-details/20261/HB1279 Virginia LIS, HB1279]; [https://lis.virginia.gov/bill-details/20261/SB388 Virginia LIS, SB388])
* SB531 requires localities to allow accessory dwelling units in single-family residential zones. ([https://lis.virginia.gov/bill-details/20261/SB531 Virginia LIS, SB531])
* HB4 creates a right-of-first-refusal framework to help localities preserve publicly supported affordable housing. ([https://lis.virginia.gov/bill-details/20261/HB4 Virginia LIS, HB4])
* HB352 and HB594 give localities more tools to support affordable housing development. ([https://www.governor.virginia.gov/newsroom/news-releases/2026/april-releases/name-1115949-en.html Governor’s Office, April 8, 2026])
* HB15 / SB48 strengthened renter protections. ([https://www.governor.virginia.gov/newsroom/news-releases/2026/april-releases/name-1115949-en.html Governor’s Office, April 8, 2026])

==== What housing-related issues do you believe will have the biggest impact on Virginia families over the next five years? ====

* '''Supply, deeply affordable rentals, preservation, and infrastructure will matter most.'''
* Virginia needs more homes overall.
* Virginia also needs homes affordable to people with the lowest incomes.
* NLIHC reports a shortage of 159,765 affordable and available rental homes for extremely low-income renters in Virginia. ([https://nlihc.org/housing-needs-by-state/virginia NLIHC, Virginia Housing Needs])
* Preservation matters because Virginia cannot build its way out while losing existing affordable homes.
* Local implementation will determine whether the 2026 housing laws actually produce homes.

=== Childcare ===

==== How is the lack of affordable childcare impacting Virginia’s workforce? ====

* '''Childcare is workforce infrastructure.'''
* When childcare is unavailable or unaffordable, parents reduce hours, turn down jobs, or leave the workforce.
* Childcare costs also compound housing costs.
* If rent or a mortgage is already too high, childcare can break the family budget.

==== Did the General Assembly pass any legislation to address the rising cost of childcare? ====

* '''Yes, but the childcare answer should stay narrower than the housing answer.'''
* HB18 / SB3 created an Employee Child Care Assistance Program / Pilot Program. ([https://www.doe.virginia.gov/state-board-data-funding/virginia-board-of-education/education-legislation/2026-bills Virginia Department of Education, 2026 Bills])
* HB1208 / SB134 addressed early childhood care and education access calculations. ([https://www.doe.virginia.gov/state-board-data-funding/virginia-board-of-education/education-legislation/2026-bills Virginia Department of Education, 2026 Bills])
* The broader point: Virginia needs employers, the state, and local partners working together to expand affordable childcare access.

=== Healthcare ===

==== What policies could help reduce healthcare costs for working families? ====

* '''Virginia should target prescription costs, insurance barriers, provider access, and preventive care.'''
* Prior authorization reform can reduce delays and administrative barriers.
* In-network referral reforms can help patients avoid surprise costs.
* Telemedicine can improve access, especially for high-risk pregnancies and underserved areas.
* The Governor’s April 2026 affordability package included bills on prior authorization, in-network referrals, telemedicine access, contraception, and prescription drug costs. ([https://www.governor.virginia.gov/newsroom/news-releases/2026/april-releases/name-1115949-en.html Governor’s Office, April 8, 2026])
* Honest caveat: healthcare costs are not solved in one session; federal policy, insurance markets, hospital systems, and prescription drug pricing all still matter.

=== Workforce ===

==== What do you think are the biggest workforce challenges facing Virginia right now? ====

* '''Virginia’s workforce challenge is also an affordability challenge.'''
* Workers need wages that keep up with housing, childcare, healthcare, utilities, and transportation.
* Employers need workers who can afford to live near available jobs.
* Virginia raised the minimum wage path to $15 per hour, expanded workforce training, and supported apprenticeships. ([https://www.governor.virginia.gov/newsroom/news-releases/2026/april-releases/name-1116004-en.html Governor’s Office, April 9, 2026])
* Workforce policy should include job training, wages, housing, childcare, and quality of life.

==== How can Virginia attract and retain young professionals and skilled workers? ====

* '''Virginia has to compete on quality of life, not just job openings.'''
* Young workers need affordable housing, career paths, childcare, healthcare, and communities where they can stay.
* Apprenticeships and workforce training help create career pathways.
* Paid family and medical leave helps workers stay attached to the workforce during major life events.
* Virginia is on track to establish paid family and medical leave by 2028. ([https://www.governor.virginia.gov/newsroom/news-releases/2026/may-releases/name-1117632-en.html Governor’s Office, May 12, 2026])

=== Final Thoughts ===

==== What is the affordability issue that you think deserves the most public attention? ====

* '''Housing deserves the most public attention.'''
* Housing is the foundation for family stability.
* If people cannot afford to live near work, schools, childcare, and healthcare, every other problem gets harder.
* Affordability should be understood as connected: housing, utilities, healthcare, childcare, wages, and transportation.
* Del. Cole can also point to utility affordability through HB242. ([https://www.governor.virginia.gov/newsroom/news-releases/2026/april-releases/name-1115949-en.html Governor’s Office, April 8, 2026])

==== What gives you optimism about Virginia’s future despite today’s affordability challenges? ====

* '''Virginia is treating affordability as a central issue.'''
* The 2026 session made progress on housing, healthcare, utilities, wages, childcare, workforce training, and paid leave.
* The work is not finished.
* Virginia still needs more deeply affordable housing, more childcare capacity, stronger healthcare affordability tools, and continued wage growth.
* The reason for optimism is that the Commonwealth now has more tools and momentum to act.

<Hr>

== Virginia Housing Affordability Talking Points, May 2026 ==

* '''Virginia’s housing affordability crisis is a household-budget crisis, not just a housing-sector issue.'''
<blockquote>
* Virginians are facing high rents, high home prices, higher borrowing costs, rising utility costs, and wages that have not kept pace with basic living costs.
* In April 2026, the statewide median sold price for a home in Virginia was $439,945, up 3.5% from April 2025. ([https://virginiarealtors.org/2026/05/21/key-takeaways-april-2026-virginia-home-sales-report/ Virginia REALTORS, April 2026 Home Sales Report])
* Extremely low-income renters face the deepest shortage: Virginia has only 35 affordable and available rental homes for every 100 extremely low-income renter households. ([https://nlihc.org/sites/default/files/SHP_VA.pdf National Low Income Housing Coalition, 2026 Virginia Housing Profile])
* NLIHC estimates Virginia needs roughly 160,000 more homes affordable to extremely low-income households. ([https://nlihc.org/sites/default/files/SHP_VA.pdf National Low Income Housing Coalition, 2026 Virginia Housing Profile])
* A full-time worker in Virginia needs to earn about $33.64 per hour, or nearly $70,000 per year, to afford a modest two-bedroom rental home without being cost-burdened. ([https://nlihc.org/sites/default/files/SHP_VA.pdf National Low Income Housing Coalition, 2026 Virginia Housing Profile])
</blockquote>

* '''House and Senate Democrats made housing affordability a major 2026 priority and passed a real package of housing reforms.'''
<blockquote>
* The 2026 General Assembly passed more than a dozen housing-related bills addressing zoning reform, tenant protections, housing preservation, and affordable housing production. ([https://vahousingalliance.org/fwd-ga-signed-bills-2026/ Virginia Housing Alliance, April 16, 2026 update])
* Governor Spanberger signed multiple bills intended to increase housing supply and lower housing costs. ([https://www.governor.virginia.gov/newsroom/news-releases/2026/april-releases/name-1115949-en.html Governor’s Office, April 8, 2026 release])
* The core message: Democrats did not pass one silver-bullet bill; they passed a package aimed at supply, preservation, renter stability, and affordability.
</blockquote>

* '''We acted on supply because Virginia cannot solve affordability while making it too hard to build homes.'''
<blockquote>
* Accessory dwelling units, small-lot homes, townhomes, duplexes, and affordable housing on nonprofit or faith-owned land are practical ways to add housing without relying only on large apartment towers.
* SB531 requires localities to allow accessory dwelling units in single-family residential zones, subject to local permitting. ([https://lis.virginia.gov/bill-details/20261/SB531 Virginia LIS, SB531])
* This matters for seniors, caregivers, young adults, extended families, homeowners with extra space, and people who need smaller or lower-cost housing options.
* HB1212 requires certain localities to adopt and maintain small-lot residential zoning districts. ([https://lis.virginia.gov/bill-details/20261/HB1212 Virginia LIS, HB1212])
* This matters because overly large lot requirements can block starter homes, townhomes, duplexes, and smaller homes that working families are more likely to afford.
* SB388/HB1279, the “Faith in Housing” legislation, makes it easier for qualifying faith communities and nonprofits to build affordable housing on land they already own. ([https://lis.virginia.gov/bill-details/20261/SB388 Virginia LIS, SB388]; [https://legiscan.com/VA/bill/SB388/2026 LegiScan summary])
</blockquote>

* '''We reduced unnecessary local barriers that quietly raise the cost of housing.'''
<blockquote>
* Parking mandates can force projects to build more parking than residents need, increasing costs and reducing the number of homes that fit on a site.
* HB888 limits certain local minimum off-street parking requirements for residential, multifamily, and mixed-use development, and requires localities to provide administrative parking-reduction processes in certain cases. ([https://lis.virginia.gov/bill-details/20261/HB888 Virginia LIS, HB888])
* The talking point is simple: every unnecessary mandate that adds cost to a home makes that home less affordable.
</blockquote>

* '''We acted on preservation because the cheapest affordable home is often the one we do not lose.'''
<blockquote>
* Virginia cannot build its way out of the housing crisis if existing affordable homes are being lost at the same time.
* HB4 creates a framework for localities to preserve publicly supported affordable housing through a right of first refusal. ([https://lis.virginia.gov/bill-details/20261/HB4 Virginia LIS, HB4])
* HB4 is especially important because affordability restrictions on publicly supported housing can expire, allowing rents to rise or properties to be sold without preserving affordability.
* Advocates warned that Virginia cannot afford to lose existing affordable units, including units with expiring affordability restrictions. ([https://www.wvtf.org/news/2026-02-02/two-spanberger-backed-housing-bills-get-out-of-virginia-house-of-delegates WVTF, February 2, 2026])
</blockquote>

* '''We strengthened renter stability because eviction prevention is housing policy.'''
<blockquote>
* A family should not lose their home because they were a few days late after a medical bill, car repair, delayed paycheck, or temporary emergency.
* HB15 extends the nonpayment notice period from 5 days to 14 days before a landlord may terminate the rental agreement for nonpayment. ([https://legiscan.com/VA/text/HB15/id/3416210 LegiScan bill text]; [https://virginiarealtors.org/2026/05/19/new-law-notice-of-unpaid-rent-will-soon-be-14-days/ Virginia REALTORS explanation])
* SB373 allows evidence of uninhabitable living conditions as a defense in eviction cases. ([https://vahousingalliance.org/fwd-ga-signed-bills-2026/ Virginia Housing Alliance, April 16, 2026 update])
* HB837/SB273 improves access to the Eviction Diversion Program by expanding eligibility and reducing burdensome requirements. ([https://lis.virginia.gov/bill-details/20261/SB273 Virginia LIS, SB273]; [https://vahousingalliance.org/fwd-ga-signed-bills-2026/ Virginia Housing Alliance, April 16, 2026 update])
* The message: keeping people housed is cheaper, more humane, and more stable than allowing avoidable evictions to push families into crisis.
</blockquote>

* '''We also addressed affordability from the income side.'''
<blockquote>
* Housing affordability is not only about housing prices; it is also about whether working people earn enough to pay rent, utilities, transportation, groceries, and childcare.
* HB1/SB1 raises Virginia’s minimum wage to $13.75 per hour on January 1, 2027, and $15.00 per hour on January 1, 2028, with future indexing beginning in 2029. ([https://www.governor.virginia.gov/newsroom/news-releases/2026/april-releases/name-1116004-en.html Governor’s Office, April 9, 2026 release]; [https://lis.virginia.gov/bill-details/20261/HB1 Virginia LIS, HB1])
* This does not solve housing affordability by itself, but it recognizes that Virginians cannot afford housing if wages remain too low.
</blockquote>

* '''This work built on years of Democratic efforts that were blocked, delayed, or vetoed before 2026.'''
<blockquote>
* Democrats had advanced some housing affordability ideas before 2026, including preservation tools, but several measures faced vetoes or opposition under the prior administration.
* The right-of-first-refusal preservation concept passed in 2025 but was vetoed by Governor Youngkin; it returned in 2026 as HB4 and became law. ([https://www.wvtf.org/news/2026-02-02/two-spanberger-backed-housing-bills-get-out-of-virginia-house-of-delegates WVTF, February 2, 2026])
* Democrats can fairly say: “We have been pushing these housing affordability tools for years. In 2026, with Democratic majorities and a governor willing to sign them, we finally got many of them across the finish line.”
</blockquote>

* '''We still need to scale up deeply affordable housing.'''
<blockquote>
* Zoning reform and market-rate supply are necessary, but they will not, by themselves, house the lowest-income Virginians.
* Virginia has only 35 affordable and available rental homes for every 100 extremely low-income renter households. ([https://nlihc.org/sites/default/files/SHP_VA.pdf National Low Income Housing Coalition, 2026 Virginia Housing Profile])
* The state still needs stronger, recurring investments in the Virginia Housing Trust Fund, rental assistance, permanent supportive housing, rapid rehousing, and nonprofit affordable housing development.
* The talking point: “The private market alone will not house people with the lowest incomes. That requires public investment.”
</blockquote>

* '''We still need to make sure local implementation matches the intent of the 2026 laws.'''
<blockquote>
* State law can create rights and tools, but local governments still control permitting speed, staff review, local rules, infrastructure coordination, and how welcoming they are to actual housing production.
* ADUs, small-lot zoning, parking reform, and faith-based affordable housing will matter only if localities implement them in good faith.
* Democrats should be prepared to say: “We passed the tools. Now we have to make sure they produce homes.”
</blockquote>

* '''We still need stronger preservation capacity.'''
<blockquote>
* HB4 creates an important tool, but a right of first refusal only works if localities, nonprofits, and mission-driven housing partners have financing and technical capacity to act quickly.
* Virginia should continue building acquisition funds, preservation funds, nonprofit capacity, and early-warning systems for expiring affordability restrictions.
* The talking point: “Preservation is not passive. We need the money and partners to move when affordable properties are at risk.”
</blockquote>

* '''We still need stronger tenant protections and eviction prevention.'''
<blockquote>
* The 14-day notice period, eviction diversion reforms, and habitability defenses are meaningful steps, but many tenants still lack legal representation or the ability to navigate court processes.
* Virginia should keep working on civil legal aid, fair notice requirements, habitability enforcement, junk-fee prevention, and reducing serial eviction filings.
* The talking point: “Eviction prevention is not just compassion. It is cheaper than homelessness, shelter stays, school disruption, and family instability.”
</blockquote>

* '''We still need to address infrastructure costs that block housing.'''
<blockquote>
* Housing cannot be built without water, sewer, roads, schools, utilities, and local public services.
* When local infrastructure costs are pushed entirely onto new homes, the result is often higher prices or fewer homes.
* Virginia should help localities finance infrastructure in ways that support housing growth without making each new unit unaffordable.
* Source note: This is a policy recommendation based on the general infrastructure-cost barrier to housing production; do not present it as a claim about a specific 2026 bill unless paired with a specific bill source.
</blockquote>

* '''We still need a rural housing strategy, not just an urban and suburban strategy.'''
<blockquote>
* Rural Virginia often faces different affordability issues: aging housing stock, low incomes, manufactured housing needs, limited rental supply, infrastructure gaps, and fewer nonprofit or private developers.
* Rural areas may need rehabilitation funding, manufactured housing protections, water and sewer support, targeted tax credits, and capacity-building for local housing partners.
* Source note: This is a policy recommendation; use local data or DHCD regional data if tailoring to a specific rural district.
</blockquote>

* '''We still need to connect housing affordability to transportation, jobs, and schools.'''
<blockquote>
* Housing costs are not isolated from transportation costs. If people can only afford homes far from work, they pay in longer commutes, gas, car maintenance, lost family time, and traffic.
* Housing near jobs, schools, transit, and services is part of economic development.
* The talking point: “Housing affordability is workforce policy. It is transportation policy. It is education policy. It is economic development.”
</blockquote>

* '''Core message for public remarks:'''
<blockquote>
* “Virginia families are doing everything right and still getting squeezed by rent, mortgages, utilities, and the cost of living.”
* “In 2026, House and Senate Democrats passed a serious housing package: more housing supply, more preservation, fewer unnecessary barriers, and stronger renter stability.”
* “We made real progress, but we should not pretend the crisis is solved.”
* “The next step is making sure these new laws produce real homes, protecting existing affordable housing before it disappears, and investing in housing that the lowest-income Virginians can actually afford.”
</blockquote>

<hr>

[[Category:2026 Miscellaneous Pages]]