Virginia Fair Housing Law and Regulations
Six state items — half again the salesperson's four. PSI prints no subtopics, so the material is Chapter 5.1 of Title 36 and the Fair Housing Regulations at 18VAC135-50. Virginia protects more classes than the federal Fair Housing Act does, and the extra ones are where the state questions live.
The Protected Classes
Section 36-96.3 lists race, color, religion, national origin, sex, elderliness, source of funds, familial status, sexual orientation, gender identity, military status and disability. Four of those go beyond the federal Act. Section 36-96.1:1 defines "elderliness" as an individual who has attained his fifty-fifth birthday; "source of funds" as any lawful source of funds to or on behalf of a renter or buyer, including any assistance, benefit or subsidy program whether administered by a governmental or nongovernmental entity; and "military status" as a member of the uniformed forces or a reserve component, a veteran, or a dependent. "Familial status" covers a child under 18 domiciled with a parent or custodian, a person who is pregnant, and a person in the process of securing legal custody. "Disability" is a physical or mental impairment substantially limiting a major life activity, a record of one, or being regarded as having one, and excludes current illegal drug use.
What Is Unlawful
Subsection A of Section 36-96.3 makes it unlawful to refuse to sell or rent or otherwise make a dwelling unavailable on a protected ground; to discriminate in terms, conditions or privileges or in services and facilities; to make, print or publish an advertisement indicating a preference, limitation or discrimination; to represent that a dwelling is unavailable when it is available; to deny access to a multiple listing service or brokers' organization; to include or honor a discriminatory restrictive covenant; and to block-bust. Subsection B adds the disability rules: refusal to permit reasonable modifications at the disabled person's expense, refusal to make reasonable accommodations in rules and policies, and failure to meet the design and construction standards for covered multi-family dwellings first occupied after 13 March 1991. Section 36-96.5 makes coercion, intimidation, threats and interference unlawful in their own right, and Sections 36-96.3:1 and 36-96.3:2 govern assistance animals and the interactive process for accommodation requests.
Advertising and Covenants
Subdivision A 3 of Section 36-96.3 goes further than the federal rule: "the use of words or symbols associated with a particular religion, national origin, sex, or race shall be prima facie evidence of an illegal preference under this chapter that shall not be overcome by a general disclaimer," but "reference alone to places of worship, including churches, synagogues, temples, or mosques" is not. Subsection A of Section 36-96.6 declares discriminatory restrictive covenants and related reversionary interests void and contrary to public policy whether recorded before or after the law; subsection B lets a person decline to accept a document containing one without breaching the purchase contract; subsection C bars soliciting or accepting compensation for removing one, on pain of three times the compensation or $500, whichever is greater, plus fees; and subsection D treats a family care, foster or group home as a single-family residential occupancy for covenant purposes.
Exemptions
Subsection A of Section 36-96.2 exempts a private individual owner of no more than three single-family houses, but only where no broker, agent or salesperson is used and no discriminatory advertisement is published, and the exemption "shall not apply to or inure to the benefit of any licensee of the Real Estate Board or regulant of the Fair Housing Board, regardless of whether the licensee is acting in his personal or professional capacity." Subsection B exempts an owner-occupied dwelling of no more than four independent units. Subsection C allows religious organizations and private clubs limited preferences. Subsection I creates a source-of-funds exemption for an owner of no more than four rental dwelling units in the Commonwealth, withdrawn where the owner holds more than a 10 percent interest in more than four. None of these exemptions reaches the advertising prohibition in subdivision A 3, and Section 36-96.7 removes familial status protection only for housing for older persons meeting the 62-and-over or 55-and-over criteria.
Enforcement, and What It Does to a License
Subsection A of Section 36-96.9 requires a complaint to be filed with the Board in writing within one year after the practice occurred or terminated, and subsection D 2 requires notice to the respondent within ten days. Sections 36-96.10 through 36-96.14 run investigation, reasonable cause determination, conciliation and the issuance of a charge. Subsection A of Section 36-96.18 lets an aggrieved person sue in state or federal court within two years, whether or not a complaint was filed, with compensatory and punitive damages, fees and injunctive relief available. For licensees the sting is Section 36-96.20: on a reasonable cause finding the Real Estate Board must attempt conference and conciliation and may then hold an administrative hearing on revoking, suspending or refusing to renew the license, and a court finding certified to the Board triggers consideration of suspension or revocation. Subdivision 8 of 18VAC135-20-260 makes a final fair housing finding a prohibited act in its own right.
State-specific details
State exam facts
- State regulator
- Virginia Real Estate Board (DPOR)
- Exam vendor
- PSI
- Prelicensing education
- Not less than 12 semester hours of real estate courses (Va. Code § 54.1-2105(B)(2)(b))
- Passing score
- 60 of 80 points national; 38 of 50 state
- Scored questions
- 125
- Time limit
- 160 minutes
Who regulates real estate brokers in Virginia?
The Virginia Real Estate Board, within the Department of Professional and Occupational Regulation (DPOR), licenses brokers and salespersons. Va. Code § 54.1-2104 gives the Board nine members — seven licensees of at least seven consecutive years and two citizen members — and § 54.1-2105 gives it the power to regulate. DPOR contracts with PSI to administer the licensing exams.
What experience do I need before the Virginia broker exam?
Under 18VAC135-20-35(C), a broker applicant must have been “actively engaged … as a real estate salesperson for a period of 36 of the 48 months immediately preceding application,” verified by the principal or supervising broker for whom the applicant worked. 18VAC135-20-10 defines “actively engaged” as active licensure performing licensed activity for an average of at least 40 hours per week. Va. Code § 54.1-2105(B)(2) adds a high school diploma or equivalent and not less than 12 semester hours of real estate instruction, which subsection D specifies must be in real estate brokerage, finance, appraisal, law and related Board-approved subjects.
How is the Virginia broker exam structured?
PSI candidate information bulletin 466 gives the broker exam a national portion of 75 items scored to 80 points in 105 minutes and a Virginia state portion of 50 items worth 50 points in 55 minutes — 125 items in 160 minutes together. Passing is published as points correct rather than a percentage: 60 of 80 on the national portion and 38 of 50 on the state portion, and you must pass both. If you are applying for a reciprocal license you need only pass the state portion.
Sources: https://www.dpor.virginia.gov/Boards/Real-Estate/Pre-License, https://test-takers.psiexams.com/api/content/bulletin/466, https://law.lis.virginia.gov/admincode/title18/agency135/chapter20/, https://law.lis.virginia.gov/vacode/title54.1/chapter21/
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