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HB735 • 2026

Agritourism purposes; Bd. of HCD to review regulations for temporary tents.

An Act to direct the Board of Housing and Community Development to review and consider amending regulations for temporary tents used for agritourism purposes.

Education Housing
Enacted

This bill passed the Legislature and reached final enactment based on the latest official action.

Sponsor
Leftwich
Last action
2026-04-08
Official status
Acts of Assembly Chapter
Effective date
Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

The exact nature of the amendments is left unspecified and will be determined by the Board's review.

Reviewing Tent Regulations for Agritourism

This act directs the Board of Housing and Community Development to review regulations about temporary tents used for agritourism purposes, considering changes that would allow these tents to remain in place for up to one year.

What This Bill Does

  • Directs the Board of Housing and Community Development to review relevant regulations of the Virginia Statewide Fire Prevention Code regarding temporary tents used for agritourism.
  • Considers amending such regulations to allow temporary tents used for agritourism purposes to remain in place for up to 12 months on a single site.

Who It Names or Affects

  • People who use temporary tents for agritourism activities
  • The Board of Housing and Community Development

Terms To Know

Agritourism
Activities that bring people to farms or ranches for fun, education, or recreation.
Board of Housing and Community Development
An agency in Virginia that makes rules about housing and community safety.

Limits and Unknowns

  • The bill does not specify the exact changes to be made to the regulations.
  • It is unclear what specific amendments might be proposed or adopted by the Board of Housing and Community Development.

Bill History

  1. 2026-04-08 Governor

    Approved by Governor-Chapter 416 (effective 7/1/2026)

  2. 2026-04-08 Governor

    Acts of Assembly Chapter text (CHAP0416)

  3. 2026-03-10 House

    Enrolled Bill communicated to Governor on March 10, 2026

  4. 2026-03-10 Governor

    Governor's Action Deadline 11:59 p.m., April 13, 2026

  5. 2026-03-06 House

    Signed by Speaker

  6. 2026-03-06 Senate

    Signed by President

  7. 2026-03-06 House

    Enrolled

  8. 2026-03-06 House

    Bill text as passed House and Senate (HB735ER)

  9. 2026-03-06 House

    Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (HB735)

  10. 2026-03-02 Senate

    Read third time

  11. 2026-03-02 Senate

    Passed Senate Block Vote (40-Y 0-N 0-A)

  12. 2026-02-27 Senate

    Rules suspended

  13. 2026-02-27 Senate

    Passed by for the day

  14. 2026-02-27 Senate

    Constitutional reading dispensed Block Vote (on 2nd reading) (37-Y 0-N 0-A)

  15. 2026-02-27 Senate

    Passed by for the day Block Vote (Voice Vote)

  16. 2026-02-25 General Laws and Technology

    Reported from General Laws and Technology Block Vote (14-Y 0-N)

  17. 2026-02-23 General Laws

    Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (HB735)

  18. 2026-02-18 Senate

    Constitutional reading dispensed (on 1st reading)

  19. 2026-02-18 General Laws and Technology

    Referred to Committee on General Laws and Technology

  20. 2026-02-17 House

    Read third time and passed House (87-Y 8-N 0-A)

  21. 2026-02-16 House

    Read second time

  22. 2026-02-16 House

    committee substitute agreed to

  23. 2026-02-16 House

    Engrossed by House - committee substitute

  24. 2026-02-15 House

    Read first time

  25. 2026-02-12 General Laws

    Reported from General Laws with substitute (20-Y 1-N)

  26. 2026-02-12 Housing/Consumer Protection

    Subcommittee recommends reporting with substitute (9-Y 0-N)

  27. 2026-02-12 Housing/Consumer Protection

    House subcommittee offered

  28. 2026-02-12 General Laws

    Committee substitute printed 26107771D-H1

  29. 2026-01-26 Housing/Consumer Protection

    Assigned HGL sub: Housing/Consumer Protection

  30. 2026-01-26 House

    Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (HB735)

  31. 2026-01-13 House

    Prefiled and ordered printed; Offered 01-14-2026 26105197D

  32. 2026-01-13 General Laws

    Referred to Committee on General Laws

Official Summary Text

Board of Housing and Community Development; Virginia Statewide Fire Prevention Code; temporary tents used for agritourism purposes.
Directs the Board of Housing and Community Development to review the relevant regulations of the Virginia Statewide Fire Prevention Code and consider amending such regulations to allow temporary tents used for agritourism purposes to remain in place for up to 12 months on a single site. This bill is identical to SB 132.

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text 
An Act to direct the Board of Housing and Community Development to review and consider amending regulations for temporary tents used for agritourism purposes.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia:
1.
§ 1. That the Board of Housing and Community Development shall review 13VAC5-
52-360
of the Virginia Administrative Code and any other relevant provisions of the Virginia Statewide Fire Prevention Code, 13VAC5-52 of the Virginia Administrative Code, to consider amending such regulations to allow temporary tents used for agritourism purposes to remain in place for up to 12 months on a single site.