Virginia’s Tenants’ Rights Law: Marxist Mission Creep

Why is it that leftists hate landlords?

Is it the second syllable - “lords” - in the name? The fact that they are landowners? Or is it that landlords make fat, juicy targets when the left tries to gin up divisions between the so-called haves and have nots?

Why do I ask?

Well, in New York City, Zohran Mamdani’s vilification of landlords was the cornerstone of his mayoral campaign. One of his first actions in office was to pressure the city’s Rent Guideline Board to freeze the rent on about 1 million properties beginning October 1.

Did they also freeze the utility bills on these frozen rentals? The city taxes? Insurance?

Of course not.

The evil landlord is expected to eat those skyrocketing costs because as everyone knows, all landlords are heartless fat cats who sit around at night, counting their money.

What Mamdani doesn’t seem to know is that the best way to ensure that there is a shortage of rental units is to create an environment where there is no return on investments for the owners.

NYC-style landlord targeting is beginning in Virginia where Democrats are crowing about the tenants’ rights measures they passed in the last session.

As of July 1, tenants in Virginia now have 14 days - up from the current 5 - to squat in a rental unit before a landlord can begin eviction measures for non-payment.

I checked and can’t find that the law also gives landlords 14 days to replace a refrigerator if a non-paying tenant’s breaks down. Or 14 days to unclog a deadbeat’s toilet.

I also couldn’t find any provisions for property taxes to be prorated when a landlord is not collecting rent. Remember, eviction is a time-consuming process. The fortnight that Virginia just handed tenants delays the START of that legal action. It takes about four months before a non-paying tenant is out of the property.

In the meantime, the landlord is the big loser.

Look, there are bad landlords. Lord knows, there are terrible tenants. Why is Virginia putting its thumb on the scales to help tenants squat in properties when they aren’t paying rent while landlords are just expected to suck their thumbs before evicting non-paying tenants?

There’s more: Beginning July 1, 2027, many Virginia landlords will be forced to give tenants 90-days notice if they are raising rents.

Why is the state sticking its big nose into contractual affairs between tenants and landlords, always with the advantage gong to the renter?

The answer is simple. The radicals in Richmond are Marxists. These are just baby steps. Watch, as over the next few years they continue to expand tenants’ “rights” while subjecting landlords to more and more government meddling.

It’s worth noting that this mindset was fortified by Karl Marx. He viewed landlords as a parasitical class that exploited the working class. Marx believe landlords did not perform labor, instead profiting off of the necessities of others.

What we’re seeing in Virginia is Marxist mission creep.

You’ve been warned.