2026 State Legislative Trends in the South: Heating and Cooling Laws, Strengthening Habitability, and Eviction Record Sealing Protections

By Nada Hussein, NLIHC State & Local Research Analyst 

NLIHC’s Research team follows developments in rental housing policies and programs at the state and local levels, including the introduction and passage of bills related to tenant protections in the legislatures of all 50 states and the District of Columbia. Between October and November, through Memo to Members & Partners, NLIHC will highlight 2026 legislative trends across the Northeastern, Southern, Midwestern, and Western regions of the U.S. 

This article focuses on the Southern region, encompassing Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, the District of Columbia, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia. While it uplifts a few key trends, the bills discussed here represent a small fraction of the scores of housing-related bills pursued this year across the region. 

Legislators Introduce Laws to Protect Renters from the Dangers of a Changing Climate 

Amid a changing climate landscape across the U.S., an uptick in severe weather events has put renter households at an increased risk of housing instability or loss of life. NLIHC’s 2023 Natural Hazards and Federally Assisted Housing report found that heat waves were the most prevalent natural hazard threatening federally subsidized renters. During the summer months of 2026, more than half of the states in the South saw record-breaking heat. This year, legislators across the region took action to protect renters from the safety risks of a changing climate. 

Virginia House Bill 519, signed in April 2026 by Governor Abigail Spanberger and effective July 1, 2026, amends the definition of “essential service” in the state’s “Residential Landlord and Tenant Act” to include central air conditioning. “Essential services” is a term used in several states to describe features a rental unit must have to be considered fit for habitation, such as running water, electricity, or operable door locks. A landlord’s failure to provide essential services might entitle affected renters to pursue legal action against them. However, under Virginia’s new law, the definition only applies when the air conditioning is supplied by the landlord as per the lease agreement; it if a unit is rented without air conditioning, the landlord is not required to provide this service. 

Legislators in Florida proposed a similar bill this year, Senate Bill 0322, to make air conditioning an essential service. Though the bill did not make it out of committee, it would have required landlords to maintain temperatures at or below 82ºF in rental units when outside temperatures exceed 90ºF and provided landlords three days to rectify defective cooling units after receiving written notice from a tenant. 

In the District of Columbia, councilmembers passed Council Bill 26-0285 to modify existing temperature regulations for rental units to better suit a changing climate. The law now requires landlords to provide heat in rental units between October 15 and April 15 of each year so that indoor temperatures remain at or above 68ºF. In the summer (May 1 to October 1), landlords must provide air conditioning in rental units so that indoor temperatures remain at or below 78ºF or at least 15ºF less than the outside temperature, whichever is greater. The law takes effect April 1, 2027. 

In North Carolina, legislators took a different approach to keeping renters safe from extreme temperatures. Senate Bill 1027, which was referred to committee at the end of the 2026 legislative session, would prohibit utility providers from disconnecting renters’ utilities during periods of extreme heat or cold, or poor air quality. The ban on utility shutoffs includes a buffer that would begin 24 hours prior to an official weather or air quality alert going into effect and end 48 hours after the expiration of an alert. The bill would also give renters the right to install their own portable cooling or air filtration devices, with some exceptions related to safety codes and property damage.  

Legislators Pursued Bills to Empower Tenants to Address Habitability Concerns in Their Homes 

Residing in properties where health and safety risks are present can have negative consequences on renters’ physical and mental health. While almost all states across the country require that rental properties have a warranty of habitability—a legal requirement that landlords must keep rental units in reasonably safe condition—the implementation and enforcement of these laws are often complicated. This year, legislation was introduced in Georgia, Mississippi, and Virginia to empower renter households to take action to rectify habitability concerns within their homes. While these bills did not pass in 2026, these efforts by state legislators reflect a growing awareness of the need to improve housing conditions for renters in the South. 

“Repair-and-deduct” laws are one approach to enforcing habitability. They allow renters to step in when landlords are unable or unwilling to make needed repairs, outlining a process through which households can make necessary repairs within their homes and then deduct the cost of the repair from their rent. Legislators in both Georgia and Mississippi proposed repair-and-deduct legislation this year that attempted to give tenants the right to repair when their landlord does not fulfill their habitability obligations. Georgia’s House Bill 1007 would have allowed tenants to hire a licensed professional to make repairs if their landlords did not take action within 14 days of receiving written notice of a necessary repair, and to deduct the costs from future rent payments after submitting receipts to the landlord. The bill also would have allowed tenants to break their lease if repairs were not completed within 60 days of notifying the landlord. Similarly, Mississippi’s House Bill 442 would have allowed tenants to repair-and-deduct if landlords did not make needed repairs within 30 days of receiving written notice from the tenant, as long as receipts were provided. 

In Virginia, legislators carried forward House Bill 79 from the 2025 legislative session, which would allow a tenant to file a personal injury or wrongful death lawsuit against their landlord if the landlord’s negligence in addressing mold in a rental unit resulted in serious harms to the tenant. The bill would allow tenants to seek compensatory damages like medical bills, lost wages, and injury to personal property, as well as punitive damages and attorney fees. Furthermore, when mold issues arise in a unit and are confirmed by a medical professional to “materially affect the health or safety of any tenant,” the proposed law would have required landlords to relocate tenants to a comparable dwelling or hotel at no additional cost beyond rent and perform mold remediation within 30 days. House Bill 79 made it to committee in February 2026 and will be carried forward to the 2027 legislative session.   

Legislators Introduce Tenant Protections to Reform Eviction Record Sealing Laws 

Eviction records, referred to as the Scarlet “E,” are often treated as an automatic cause to deny a rental housing applicant and have long-lasting impacts on renters’ housing stability. In reviewing rental applications, many landlords rely on third-party screening companies that use software to collect large amounts of court data and red flag any eviction filing against a tenant, regardless of what happened in the case. Over the past decade, several states have implemented laws that safeguard this data through record sealing, which hides eviction records from public view, or expungement, which removes eviction records from the legal record as if they never happened. These laws can be triggered automatically in certain circumstances, such as when a case is dismissed, through a petition by or agreement between the landlord and tenant or based on a judge’s discretion.  

In Georgia this year, legislators passed Senate Bill 406 that included a provision to permit courts to seal eviction case records when a tenant files a motion to seal. The law only applies to eviction cases in which the court ruled in favor of the tenant, the tenant has satisfied the judgment of the case in full (i.e., paying back rent and other legal costs), or the court dismissed the case and seven years have elapsed since. Dr. Bambie Hayes Brown, president and CEO of NLIHC state partner Georgia Advancing Communities Together, Inc., noted “the passage of Georgia Senate Bill 406 marks a significant step forward in housing justice. Beginning January 1, 2027, the law will provide eligible individuals with an opportunity to request that their eviction records be sealed, helping reduce barriers to securing housing and creating pathways toward greater stability and economic opportunity.” 

In contrast to Georgia’s new law that requires tenants to file a motion to seal their eviction case, South Carolina’s House Bill 4270 would automatically remove certain eviction cases from public record seven years after the final disposition of the case. The law includes eviction cases in which the court ordered an eviction against the tenant, that were resolved by settlement, or that were resolved by the payment of back-rent and other costs. The new law will take effect January 1, 2027.  

This session, Florida legislators also attempted to advance eviction record protections through Senate Bill 1530. Though the bill did not make it through committee, it would have allowed tenants named in an eviction case for nonpayment of rent to file a motion to have the case records sealed and their names replaced with “tenant” on the public court docket, as long as their situation meets certain conditions. Notably, these protections would not have applied to individuals who have been evicted more than once.  

 Join NLIHC’s State and Local Tenant Protections Network Bimonthly Calls  

Are you pursuing tenant protection legislation in your own jurisdiction? NLIHC's Research team hosts a bimonthly State and Local Tenant Protections Network call that serves as an informal meeting space for housing advocates, tenant organizers and leaders, legal service providers, and academics to discuss efforts and challenges to advance tenant protections at the state and local levels. Register for the next State and Local Tenant Protections Network call on December 10 from 3:00 pm to 4:00 pm ET.   

Have questions about state and local housing research, or want to share updates from your community? Email [email protected]