All contracts between a landlord and an occupant are "rental contracts" according to Vermont's Residential Rental Agreements Act (RRAA). 9 V.S.A. § 4451( 8 ). The rental agreement does not have to remain in composing. You and the property manager have all the rights and obligations in the law although there is no written agreement. 9 V.S.A. § 4453.
The RRAA requires that the duties and rights of property managers and tenants in the law are suggested (made a part of) all rental contracts. Which ones are indicated in all rental arrangements? See this list of rights and duties of occupants and proprietors. For more information on these rights and tasks, visit our Rights and Duties Explained page.
apartments.com
All of the arrangements made by you and the landlord or suggested by the RRAA are called the "terms" of the occupancy. 9 V.S.A. § 4454.
The RRAA secures you and requires you to do (or not do) some things. It also protects proprietors and needs them to do (or not do) some things. The law is the very same if you have a composed or verbal rental arrangement. 9 V.S.A. § 4453.
Any part of a rental arrangement that tries to navigate the RRAA isn't legal. 9 V.S.A. § 4454. See the list of rights and duties in the RRAA for what must remain in a rental agreement.
The RRAA never ever uses the word "lease." Calling a residential rental agreement a "lease" does not have any special legal significance in Vermont. Other statutes (12 V.S.A. § 4851( ejectment), 10 V.S.A. § 6201( 5 )( mobile home parks)), the courts, subsidized housing property managers and housing authorities do use the word "lease."
Rental contracts can be for an amount of time that is specified in the rental contract. For instance, the arrangement could be 6 months or a year. During that time, all of the terms (consisting of the quantity of lease) of the occupancy remain the exact same. Or a rental contract can be "month-to-month." This implies the length of the occupancy or the amount of rent can be altered as long as you get the notice needed by the RRAA.
As far as rental arrangements go, calling it a lease does not guarantee that the terms can't be altered for a year. If you desire the occupancy to be for a particular amount of time, you need to get the property owner to concur.
All of the rights and obligations of the RRAA become part of the agreement even without being documented. 9 V.S.A. § 4453. Any extra terms may not be enforceable unless you and the landlord have actually spoken about them and concurred - and after that just as long as the RRAA does not prohibit the agreement. 9 V.S.A. § 4454.
If you have only a verbal contract, you might "concur" to something without realizing you have actually concurred. For instance, if you agree to no holes in the walls thinking that does not keep you from hanging photos, the property owner may charge you for fixing the holes from hanging your photos.
condos.ca
When you are deciding to rent an apartment or condo, you require to pay close attention to what the proprietor says.
Because the RRAA sets out lots of rights and tasks of renters and property managers, and because composed rental arrangements can't change what remains in the RRAA, a composed rental contract tends to have more benefits for property owners than for renters.
Advantages for a property manager:
- The property owner could reduce the time length of advance notice needed to end the occupancy. 9 V.S.A. § 4467( c), (e).
- The property manager could make the time length of advance notice you need to provide the property manager when you desire to move out longer. 9 V.S.A. § 4456( d).
- A written rental agreement might need you to pay your landlord's lawyer's costs if a lawyer is utilized to impose any part of the contract or to evict you. (Note: If you damage the unit or disrupt your next-door neighbors and your property owner evicts you because of it, the RRAA makes you accountable for the landlord's lawyer's costs. 9 V.S.A. § 4456( e).).
- A written rental contract can name the individuals who can reside in the unit, and keep you from letting someone move in. - Note: It would be discrimination for a landlord to evict you for having a baby. 9 V.S.A. § 4503( a).
- A property manager can keep you from subleasing the location you rent, 9 V.S.A. § 4456b( a)( 1 ), and can force out the person who subleases your place in an "expedited hearing." Expedited methods quicker than usual. 12 V.S.A. § 4853b.
A written rental agreement may assist you as an occupant since:
- It may ensure that the lease won't alter till a particular date. - It can restrict the quantity your lease can increase.
- It can say the length of time you can live there.
- If it isn't written in the agreement, the landlord can't say you accepted it. Verbal agreements outside the composed contract may not be enforceable. For instance, a written agreement can state who should spend for heating fuel or electrical power.
Generally, a proprietor can not charge late costs.
A late cost is legal only if:
- The rental arrangement says a late fee will be charged for late rent, and
- The charge is just the reasonable expense to the property manager due to the fact that of the late payment. See Highgate Associates, Ltd. v. Merryfield, 157 Vt. 313 (1991 ). Reasonable costs to the property manager implies the property manager's real extra expense since of late lease, like extra expense in keeping the books, driving over to you, making telephone call, or writing you letters.
A late charge is not legal when:
- A flat charge of a particular amount of money if lease is paid after the rent day is normally not the property owner's sensible expense, and so is unlawful. - Your property owner can not offer you a rent "discount" for paying by a particular date. In one case, the Windham Superior Court held that incentives for early payments are the exact same as penalties and thus, they are not lawfully legitimate. See Shapiro v. Cormier, Docket No. 220-5-12 Wmcv (Windham Super. Ct., Aug. 22, 2012). (If you need an available variation of this PDF document, we will provide it on your demand. Please utilize our website feedback form to do so.)
A rental contract can consist of these terms:
- Only the people called in the written rental arrangement (and their small kids, even if they show up later) can live in the rental. - Subleasing is enabled or not enabled. 9 V.S.A. § 4456b( a)( 1 ).
- Smoking is not enabled.
- Pets are not enabled. But, if you require an animal because of your disability, see our Reasonable Accommodations page.
- A description of what areas (living space, other locations) are included. - Rules about using typical locations.
- Who is accountable for paying energy costs.
- The responsibility to pay a set quantity of rent, for a set amount of time, even if the renter chooses to vacate early. (The property owner has a task to re-rent the place as quickly as possible, however the occupant might owe rent up until someone else leases it.)
You can consent to a change however you do not have to.
If you or the property manager wishes to alter a term or condition in your rental contract, you can ask each other to agree. You or the property manager can't change the rights and obligations in the RRAA, but other parts of rental agreements can be altered. If the rental contract remains in writing, changes must remain in composing.
Generally for things like family pets, enhancements (remodeling or upgrading appliances or fixtures) if someone asks, and the other concurs, then that term of the rental arrangement is altered. But if the property owner wants something, and you don't desire it, then you can disagree.
The examples below assume that the system is in good repair work, and not being damaged by the occupant:
- Two months after you relocate the property manager says, "I desire to get the bath tub and put in a shower." You state, "No, I like the tub." The tub belongs to what you concurred to rent, and you don't consent to change it. Landlord can't remodel the restroom. - Or, property owner says, "I am altering my mind. You can't have an animal." You do not need to accept get rid of your pet.
- Or you say, "I do not like the gas range in the apartment. I want an electrical stove." Landlord does not need to concur to a new range.
Note: There is a distinction in between agreements to alter something and repair work required by law. The RRAA does not enable you or your animal to trigger damage, 9 V.S.A. § 4456( a), (c), and the RRAA needs the landlord to keep the unit safe and tidy, 9 V.S.A. § 4458. See our page about Repair Problems and Tenant's Right to Repair.
You or the landlord might wish to end the tenancy if among you desires a modification and the other does not. If your rental agreement is not for a specific time period, either of you might provide advance notice to end the tenancy. 9 V.S.A. § 4456( d), 9 V.S.A § 4467( c)( e).
Staying longer than a written contract
Do you have a written rental arrangement that states the rental agreement was for a specific time period, for instance January 1 - December 31? If that time has expired, you may wonder if there is still a written rental agreement, or exists no composed rental arrangement?
It depends on what the written arrangement states. If it specifies the dates and does not further address what happens when it expires, the composed contract ends, but the occupancy does not. That is due to the fact that when you relocate with the arrangement of a property manager, the property manager must send out a notice to end the tenancy, even if there is a composed rental agreement which ends. To put it simply, the expiration of the contract is not sufficient notice to end a tenancy.
A written rental contract that expires on a certain date could consist of a clause that defines the length of the occupancy after that date has actually passed. It could state, for example, the tenancy continues from month to month. Or it could say if you don't move out, the tenancy continues for another year.
Whatever it states, if the property owner desires you out, they need to give you a termination notification required by the tenancy you have.
Find out more on our Rent Increases page.
A Vermont law that took impact on July 1, 2018, legalized belongings of up to an ounce of and two mature and four immature plants. If you are a renter, or if you have a rental subsidy from a housing authority, or if you have some other type of federally helped rental subsidy, take care. Your lease and program guidelines may still make it a violation of the rules for you to have marijuana or cannabis plants in your rental unit. Your lease might likewise prohibit smoking, including cigarette smoking marijuana.
The new Vermont law does not alter the terms of your lease. The new law does not change the program rules for occupants with federal rental support. If you are unsure, examine your lease or program rules or speak with your property owner or housing authority. You can likewise contact us for help. Your details will be sent to Legal Services Vermont, which screens demands for help for both Vermont Legal Aid and Legal Services Vermont.
Print.
Housing. Discrimination/ Fair Housing. Housing Discrimination Does Happen in Vermont
Have You Been Discriminated Against? Disability Discrimination. Who is Protected?
Reasonable Accommodations and Modifications
Assistance Animals
Mortgages and Residential Or Commercial Property Taxes After a Disaster
COVID-19 Crisis, Mortgages and Foreclosures
Foreclosure Process
Foreclosure Mediation
Special Loans and Situations
Mortgage and Foreclosure Form Letters
More Help
Renter Rights After a Disaster
Vermont Law on Renting: The RRAA
What to Know Before You Rent
Everything About Rental Agreements
Rights and Duties Explained
Rent Increases
Bedbugs
Repair Problems
Guests, Roommates & Trespassers
Can the Landlord Enter My Unit?
Lockouts, Utility Shutoffs & Your Belongings
Housing Protections for Victims
Vacating
Down payment
Evictions
Notice to Terminate Tenancy
Court Process: General
Court Process: Eviction
Court Process: Suing Landlord
Court Process: Small Claims
Abandoned Rental Unit or Residential Or Commercial Property
Rights of Tenants When a Property Manager is in Foreclosure
Renter Credit/ Rebate
Subsidized Housing/ Subsidies
Health and Safety
Mobile Home Park Leases
Lot Rent Increases
Mobile Home Park Evictions
Selling Your Mobile Home
Abandoned Mobile Homes
When a Park is Sold or Closes
Links to Vermont law
V.S.A. implies Vermont Statutes Annotated. The number before V.S.A. is the title number. The number after § is the area number. You can use these links to look up Vermont laws mentioned on this page:
9 V.S.A.
. More Help
How We Can Help - Contact Us
Forms You Can Use
Help From Other Vermont Lawyers:
Ask legal questions through Vermont's Free Legal Answers program. Vermont Bar Association lawyer recommendation. VT Association for Justice lawyer referral. Criminal Public Defenders
Legal Help for Active Military, Veterans & Their Families
Legal Problem in Another State
Quick Links
- Home. - How We Can Help - Contact Us.
- Locations.
- Legal Help Tool.
- Legal Roadmaps.
- VTCourtForms.
- Other Forms You Can Use.
- COVID Legal + Benefits Info.
- Website + SMS Privacy.
- Accessibility.
- PDFs and Adobe Reader
Language Help
- American Sign Language. - العربية/ Arabic.
- Bosanski/ Bosnian.
- မ န မ စ/ Burmese.
- دری/ Dari.
- Español/ Spanish.
- Français/ French.
- Ikirundi/ Kirundi.
- Kiswahili/ Swahili.
- Mai-Mai/ Maay Maay.
- 官話/ 官话/ Mandarin.
- नेपाली/ Nepali.
- پښتو/ Pashto.
- Soomaali/ Somali.
- українська мова/ Ukrainian.
- Tiếng Việt/ Vietnamese.
- Google Translate
About This Website
VTLawHelp.org is a joint task of Vermont Legal Aid and Legal Services Vermont - Collaborating for Justice.
Funding from the Legal Services Corporation.
© 2025 Legal Services Vermont and Vermont Legal Aid. All Rights Reserved.