Rental home marketplace guarantees; transactions involving advertisement, sale, etc., penalty.

Rental home marketplace guarantees; penalty. Provides for the regulation of rental home marketplace guarantees, defined in the bill, by the Commissioner of Agriculture and Consumer Services. The bill establishes requirements for the registration of rental home marketplace guarantee providers, authorizes the Board of Agriculture and Consumer Services to prescribe regulations, and authorizes the Commissioner to investigate violations. The bill includes requirements for the production of records, insurance, and consumer disclosures. The bill provides that rental home marketplace guarantees are not insurance. The bill adds transactions involving the advertisement, sale, lease, or license of rental home marketplace guarantees to the definition of a consumer transaction for the purpose of the Virginia Consumer Protection Act. A seller who knowingly and willfully violates the requirements of the bill is in violation of such Act and is guilty of a Class 3 misdemeanor. The bill's registration requirements have a delayed effective date of January 1, 2027. The Board is required to promulgate its initial implementing regulations by January 1, 2027. The bill provides that any rental home marketplace guarantees issued prior to January 1, 2027, are subject to oversight of the Commissioner.