Effective October 1, Virginia will recodify several laws related to conveyance of real estate and rental property, settlement and recordation of real estate, and common interest communities, including condominiums, HOAs, and other property owners associations (POAs). Virginia’s Title 55 had undergone no comprehensive revision since the law was adopted in 1950, but had been amended through the years by addition and deletion of several chapters, as well as numerous other legislative changes. The recodification aims to organize the laws more logically, remove obsolete and duplicative provisions, and improve clarity.

Most of the code revisions are technical rather than substantive, including updating antiquated language with modern terminology. All statutory section numbers will change under the newly recodified Title 55.1. Because condominium, HOA, and POA documents (including declarations, bylaws, and new home sales agreements) frequently reference specific Virginia statutes, these changes will have particular significance for developers, who will want to make sure that their documents and agreements are updated with the new statutory references going forward after October 1