Vermont eviction law

To end a tenancy for unpaid rent, give the tenant actual notice of a termination date at least 14 days after the notice. The tenancy does not end if the tenant pays or tenders the rent due through the end of the rental period in which the payment is made. Accepting a partial payment does not waive your remedies for the unpaid rent.

9 V.S.A. § 4467(a)

• Actual notice is written notice hand-delivered or mailed to the last known address. Proof of first-class or certified mailing creates a presumption that it was received three days after mailing. 9 V.S.A. § 4451(1)
• State the termination date in the notice, and start the eviction case within 60 days after that date, or the notice cannot support a judgment. 9 V.S.A. § 4467(f), (k)
• In the eviction case, the case ends if the tenant pays into court all rent due through the end of the current rental period, with interest and costs, before the writ of possession is executed. A tenant can do this only once in any 12 months. 12 V.S.A. § 4773

When a tenant fails to comply with a material term of the rental agreement or a duty under chapter 137, you may end the tenancy by actual notice given at least 30 days before the termination date stated in the notice. The statute sets a notice to end the tenancy, not a period to fix the problem.

9 V.S.A. § 4467(b)(1)

• When the ground is criminal activity, illegal drug activity or acts of violence that threaten the health or safety of other residents, the notice need only be at least 14 days. 9 V.S.A. § 4467(b)(2)
• Accepting full or partial rent after the termination date, or during the eviction case, does not waive an eviction based on a breach or a no-cause notice. 9 V.S.A. § 4467(j)
• You may serve more than one valid notice on different grounds and rely on all of them in the eviction case. 9 V.S.A. § 4467(i)

Only a court can remove a tenant. When a tenant stays after the tenancy ends without your express consent, you bring an ejectment action in the Superior Court. Attach the rental agreement, if any, and your termination notice to the complaint, and serve it as in other civil cases. Either side may ask for a jury trial.

9 V.S.A. § 4468 12 V.S.A. § 4851 12 V.S.A. § 4852 12 V.S.A. § 4853

• Start the case within 60 days after the termination date in your notice, or the notice cannot support a judgment of eviction. 9 V.S.A. § 4467(k)
• You may ask the court to order the tenant to pay rent into court while the case is pending. The hearing may be held any time after 14 days' notice, and a tenant who fails to pay as ordered faces judgment for immediate possession. 12 V.S.A. § 4853a(a), (b), (h)
• If you win, the judgment covers possession, rent due, damages and costs, and the court may add reasonable attorney's fees when the written rental agreement provides for them. The writ of possession issues the same day unless the court stays it, and the sheriff may put you in possession no earlier than 14 days after serving it. 12 V.S.A. § 4854
• Where a written lease prohibits subleasing, you or the tenant may ask for an expedited hearing to remove a person occupying the unit without right or permission. 9 V.S.A. § 4456b(a)(2) 12 V.S.A. § 4853b

You may not willfully cause any utility service to the tenant to be interrupted or ended, except temporarily for emergency repairs. You may not deny the tenant access to the home or to the tenant's belongings except through proper judicial process.

9 V.S.A. § 4463

• A tenant harmed by an illegal eviction can sue for an injunction, damages, costs and reasonable attorney's fees. The court may award you attorney's fees if it finds the suit was not brought in good faith and was frivolous or meant only to harass. 9 V.S.A. § 4464

A tenant has abandoned the unit when circumstances would lead a reasonable person to believe it is no longer occupied as a full-time residence, the rent is not current, and you have made reasonable efforts to learn the tenant's intentions. Keep property the tenant left, other than trash, in a safe, dry, secured place and mail the tenant written notice that you will dispose of it after 60 days unless the tenant claims it and pays reasonable storage and related costs.

9 V.S.A. § 4462(a), (c)

• To claim the property, the tenant must give you a reasonable written description of it and pay the storage and related costs within 60 days after the notice. Property not claimed in time becomes yours; claimed property must be made available right away at a reasonable place. 9 V.S.A. § 4462(c)
• If the tenant gave you actual notice of moving out, or moved out at the end of the rental agreement, you may dispose of what remains without notice or liability. 9 V.S.A. § 4462(d)
• After an eviction, you may dispose of property left behind without notice 15 days after the writ of possession is served or you are restored to possession, whichever is later; if the court stayed the writ, one day after you are restored to possession. 12 V.S.A. § 4854a
• The cost of removing articles the tenant abandoned may be deducted from the deposit. 9 V.S.A. § 4461(b)(4) See Returning the deposit on the Vermont page

You may not retaliate by setting or changing lease terms, or by bringing or threatening a legal action, against a tenant who complained to a government agency about a building, housing or health code violation materially affecting health and safety, complained to you about a violation of chapter 137, or organized or joined a tenants' union or similar group.

9 V.S.A. § 4465(a)

• A tenant who faces retaliation may recover damages and reasonable attorney's fees and has a defense in any retaliatory eviction case. 9 V.S.A. § 4465(b)
• If you serve a termination notice on any ground other than unpaid rent within 90 days after a town or State agency notifies you that the premises do not meet health or safety regulations, the termination is presumed to be retaliation. You can rebut the presumption. 9 V.S.A. § 4465(c)
• Fair housing law separately bars threatening or interfering with anyone who opposes discrimination or takes part in a Human Rights Commission complaint. 9 V.S.A. § 4506(e)