What A Long, Strange Trip It’s Been: Pandemic History of the 14-Day Notice

What A Long Strange Trip It’s Been: Pandemic History of the 14-Day Notice
By Tommy Herbert

There will be many bills that are introduced in this year’s divided General Assembly Regular Session that look quite familiar to housing providers who are watching closely. In many cases, the industry has been able to work constructively with policymakers to accomplish their desired intent without creating unforeseen consequences for the rental housing picture; like efforts to boost key accountability and resident safety or efforts to address egregious habitability issues. Some, like efforts to allow rent control, we must oppose wholesale and unequivocally.

One Pandemic-era temporary emergency effort which legislators will try to make permanent again in January; the 14-day notice. Advocates for this measure maintain that the extra time prior to the court filing can often give a tenant the time to receive one extra paycheck that may allow them to come current. This stands up to a quick common-sense test; evictions are costly, acrimonious affairs for both tenants and landlords that are better off avoided in most cases, and a tenant who can and wants to come current should get the opportunity to do so within the bounds of reason.

Industry experts are quick to point out, however, how another policy, also implemented during the pandemic actually makes the 14-day notice redundant. The unlimited “right of redemption,” goes so much farther to give residents leeway, and also in some ways protects housing provider rights and practices better than the 14-day notice could. In Virginia, from the day that a resident becomes late on rent, all the way through 48 hours until the Sheriff actually shows up to execute the Writ of Eviction, if they come completely current on their obligations under the lease, provided there are no other bases for the eviction, the whole process stops.

With this more reliable backstop to catch residents who are able to get back into compliance, a 14-day notice only further elongates the court process for housing providers, which is costly and can have impacts on safety of other residents, without materially helping the resident in question.

So how did we get here? This month, we are walking through the dizzying and complex history of the 14-day notice below:

March 27, 2020
CARES act passes. This stops the filing of Unlawful Detainers (the legal term for eviction filings) on all properties until CARES act expires (120 days after the enactment date). 5-day notice is still in effect.

June 29, 2020
Rent and Mortgage Relief Program launched. This program allowed the landlord to apply for assistance on behalf of the resident, but they had to agree not to evict if for any of the covered months, and still may have had to forgive rent. 5-day notice still in effect.

July 25, 2020
120 period expires however AG Herring issues opinion stating a landlord cannot file until August 27th as in his opinion a notice to terminate the lease and a notice to vacate were the same.  Since CARES required a 30-day notice to vacate the soonest a landlord could file would be August 27th, 2020. 5-day notice still in effect.

November 9, 2020
HB5064/SB5086 passes and is effectively immediately.  This bill places in code the 14-day notice requirement and the requirement for the landlord to offer the tenant a payment plan prior to filing a UD in court.  The bill also included a sunset for the 14day notice of July 1, 2021.

November 18, 2020
Budget Bill HB5005 passes and is effective immediately. This bill requires the 14-day notice and the payment plan but adds into its provisions a requirement for the landlord to apply for the Rent and Mortgage Relief Program on behalf of the tenant. This sets a 45-day time period or approval of applications and a 14-day time period for subsequent applications.

March 31, 2021
HB1889 is signed into law. This extends the sunset period for the 14-day notice until July 1, 2022

May 3, 2021
14-day notice changes again as the Federal Consumer Financial Protection Bureau 2021 Debt Collection COVID-19 Interim Final Rule requires landlords to add the following language to eviction notices.

Because of the global COVID-19 pandemic, you may be eligible for temporary protection from eviction under the laws of your State, territory, locality, or tribal area, or under Federal law.

July 1, 2021 (This Begins the Unlimited Right of Redemption)
14-day notice changes again as HB5005 expires and ends the requirement for the landlord to apply for the Rent and Relief Program on behalf of the tenant.  However, the passage of HB2014 earlier in 2021 requires the addition of right of redemption language into the notice.

August 10, 2021
The notice changes again as during a special session of the General Assembly they pass the budget bill HB7001. This reinstitutes the requirement for the landlord to apply for RRP on behalf of the tenant and notify the tenant of such.

May 15, 2022
The requirement for the landlord to apply for RRP ends as the state is no longer accepting applications however the notice is required to remain the same and still inform tenants about the RRP as the budget language requiring such is still in effect.

July 1, 2022
The 14-day notice changes again as it reverts back to a 5-day notice.  The landlord is no longer required to apply for RRP nor is the landlord required to offer a payment plan.