Virginia Residential Landlord and Tenant Act; landlord obligations; tenant safety. Requires a landlord who owns more than four rental dwelling units, or more than a 10 percent interest in more than four rental dwelling units, to require all employees and applicants for employment to submit to fingerprinting and provide personal descriptive information to be forwarded along with the employee’s or applicant’s fingerprints through the Central Criminal Records Exchange and the Federal Bureau of Investigation for the purpose of obtaining criminal history record information regarding such employee or applicant. The bill allows a landlord to disqualify from employment any person who has been convicted of or found guilty of, or entered a plea of guilty or nolo contendere to, regardless of adjudication, a violent crime committed in any jurisdiction. The bill also provides that a landlord must (i) establish written policies and procedure for the storage and management of, access to, and return of all keys for each rental dwelling unit; (ii) regulate the secure storage of and access to unissued keys; and (iii) maintain a written log for the issuance and return of all keys. Finally, pursuant to the bill, all relevant landlords must submit certain information on a quarterly basis to the Department of Housing and Community Development to prove compliance with the provisions outlined in the bill.
