The Director's Office ensures the department is continually striving to achieve our mission of expanding housing opportunities and promoting vibrant, well-maintained neighborhoods. 

Ruth D. Hill, Director

(757) 385-5752  |  rdhill@vbgov.com

Ruth previously served as the department's Homeless Services administrator and has 21 years of executive management experience in the homelessness field. She joined the City in 2017 to spearhead the programming of the Housing Resource Center. As administrator, Hill was responsible for guiding the implementation of the City's strategic plan to make homelessness rare, brief and nonrecurring. A major focus of her work has been in fostering collaborative partnerships, developing strategies, and incorporating best practices in homeless service delivery in Virginia Beach.

Hill has a bachelor's degree in social work from James Madison University and a certificate of nonprofit management from Tidewater Community College. In 2008, she was named one of Inside Business' Women in Business honorees. Prior to joining the City, she was executive director of The Healing Place of Hampton Roads, Stop Child Trafficking Now, Samaritan House, and Our House Families. Hill serves on the South Hampton Roads Regional Task Force to End Homelessness and is a founding member of the BEACH Community Partnership.

Housing & Neighborhood Preservation's Code Enforcement Division maintains the safety and appearance of the city's existing structures and properties through routine inspections throughout the city. The division addresses code violations through enforcement of the Virginia Maintenance Code and the city's property maintenance codes.​​ The division's activities include inspections of properties for housing violations, junk, overgrown grass, waste management violations, and inoperable vehicles. The division takes action to eliminate violations, such as graffiti, and also operates the Certificate of Compliance rental inspection program. ​Code inspectors respond to complaints about housing and property maintenance code violations. Inspectors patrol their assigned areas for violations, conduct systematic exterior inspections of neighborhoods on an as-needed basis, notify property owners of violations and take appropriate legal action to obtain compliance. 

To report possible code violations or for information about property maintenance codes, please contact Code Enforcement​ at (757) 385-4421.​

Wells Freed, Housing Code Administrator 

(757) 385-5722  |  wfreed@vbgov.com

​The Homeless Services Division works to make homelessness rare, brief and nonrecurring for families and individuals in Virginia Beach. The division coordinates the Continuum of Care grant for Virginia Beach. Each year, more than $1.4 million is granted ​through the Continuum of Care to Virginia Beach agencies that provide housing and supportive services to the homeless. The division also coordinates the work of the BEACH Community Partnership and oversees the Housing Resource Center.

(757) 385-5761  |  pshine@vbgov.com

​The Housing Development Division develops or facilitates the preservation and/or development of decent, safe and affordable housing opportunities.​ Additionally, Housing Development is responsible for receiving and reviewing requests for the funding or approval of projects to maintain or expand affordable housing opportunities.​

The mission of the Housing & Neighborhood Preservation's Rental Housing Division is to provide access to a wider range of neighborhoods and housing to low-income families; help finance quality, affordable rental housing provided by the private sector; and serve families with low-income, including eligible seniors and disabled persons. The division operates the Housing Choice Voucher Program, provides housing counseling services and coordinates other programs and services through local nonprofit organizations that address a variety of housing needs. The division helps more than 2,200 Virginia Beach households to maintain or obtain decent, safe and sanitary housing through various rental housing assistance programs and provides more than $18 million in rental housing assistance.