Vermont landlord-tenant law

You may not charge anyone a fee to apply to rent a home in Vermont. To run a background or credit check, you must accept any unexpired government-issued identification (the original or a copy), an Individual Taxpayer Identification Number or a Social Security number, and you may not require a Social Security number or refuse an application because it lacks one.

9 V.S.A. § 4456a

Vermont law bars refusing to rent, setting different terms, harassing, advertising a preference or falsely saying a unit is unavailable because of race, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, marital status, religious creed, color, national origin, citizenship, immigration status or disability, because a person intends to live with minor children, because a person receives public assistance, or because a person is a victim of abuse, sexual assault or stalking.

9 V.S.A. § 4503(a)(1) to (4)

Before signing, tell the tenant in a separate written document whether any part of the premises is in a FEMA-mapped special flood hazard area. For rental housing built before 1978, give approved tenants the Department of Health's approved written materials on lead hazards and a copy of your most recent RRPM (renovation, repair, painting and maintenance) compliance statement before entering the lease. The federal lead-based paint disclosure rules also apply to older housing and were not read for this page.

9 V.S.A. § 4466(a) 18 V.S.A. § 1759(d)(1)

Before entering a rental agreement, disclose whether any portion of the premises offered for rent is in a special flood hazard area mapped by the Federal Emergency Management Agency. Give the notice to the tenant at or before signing, in a separate written document substantially in the form the Department of Housing and Community Development prescribes.

9 V.S.A. § 4466(a), (b)

Chapter 137 has no general rule requiring you to give the tenant your name and address or a manager's contact details. When your interest in the unit ends, the new landlord must give the tenant actual notice of the new landlord's name and address with a statement that the deposit has been transferred.

9 V.S.A. § 4461(f) 9 V.S.A. ch. 137

Chapter 137 sets no statewide maximum security deposit; local rules can add limits. Any advance, deposit or prepaid rent that is refundable when the tenancy ends counts as a security deposit, whatever it is called, and its purpose is to secure the tenant's duties to pay rent and keep up the unit.

9 V.S.A. § 4461(a) 9 V.S.A. ch. 137

Return the deposit, with a written statement itemizing any deductions, within 14 days from the date you discover that the tenant vacated or abandoned the unit, or from the date the tenant vacated if the tenant gave you notice of that date. For a seasonal rental that is not meant as a primary residence, the deadline is 60 days.

9 V.S.A. § 4461(c)

Chapter 137 does not say where a security deposit must be kept and does not require interest on it. A town or city ordinance may authorize interest, but such an ordinance may not limit how a deposit is held. Burlington's deposit section is reviewed below; other local deposit rules remain unverified, so check the town where the home is.

9 V.S.A. § 4461(g) 9 V.S.A. ch. 137

Chapter 137 does not require a move-in checklist or condition report. Deposit deductions cannot cover normal wear and tear, which the statute defines as deterioration from reasonable use without negligence, carelessness, accident or abuse by the tenant, household members or guests, so a dated record of the unit's condition at move-in helps show what changed.

9 V.S.A. § 4451(5) 9 V.S.A. § 4461(b)(2) 9 V.S.A. ch. 137

Rent is payable without demand or notice at the time and place you and the tenant agree. Chapter 137 sets no late fee amount, cap or grace period, so any late fee rests on the lease.

9 V.S.A. § 4455(a) 9 V.S.A. ch. 137

When a check is returned for lack of funds or because the writer has no account, or payment is stopped without cause, the holder may sue for the check amount, bank fees, interest and court and service costs. If the writer does not pay the check amount plus bank fees and mailing costs within 30 days after a written notice, the holder may also recover attorney's fees and $50 in damages. Chapter 137 has no returned payment rule, and other Vermont law on returned electronic payments was not read for this page.

9 V.S.A. § 2311(a)

Rent increases

Partly read

A rent increase takes effect only on the first day of the rental period that follows at least 60 days' actual notice to the tenant. Actual notice means 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. § 4455(b) 9 V.S.A. § 4451(1)

You may enter with the tenant's consent, which the tenant may not unreasonably withhold. Otherwise you may enter between 9 a.m. and 9 p.m. on at least 48 hours' notice, and only to inspect when necessary, to make necessary or agreed repairs, alterations or improvements, to supply agreed services, or to show the unit to prospective or actual buyers, lenders, tenants, workers or contractors.

9 V.S.A. § 4460(a), (b)

Every Vermont rental agreement carries your warranty to deliver and keep the premises safe, clean and fit for human habitation, and in line with building, housing and health regulations, for the whole tenancy. A lease term waiving this warranty is void.

9 V.S.A. § 4457(a), (b)

If you fail to make repairs within a reasonable time after actual notice of a habitability problem from the tenant, a government agency or a qualified independent inspector, and the problem materially affects health and safety, the tenant may withhold rent for the period of the problem, get a court order, recover damages, costs and reasonable attorney's fees, and end the rental agreement on reasonable notice.

9 V.S.A. § 4458(a)

Chapter 137 has no general rule on locks or on rekeying between tenants. A protected tenant (a victim of abuse, sexual assault or stalking, or a parent, guardian or caretaker of one) may ask you to change the locks within 48 hours, based on a fear of imminent harm or a sexual assault on the premises within the previous six months. If the person to be kept out is also a tenant, the request must include a court order requiring that person to leave.

9 V.S.A. § 4473(1), (2) 9 V.S.A. ch. 137

Vermont's alarm statute covers single-family dwellings. Whoever builds one must install photoelectric or UL 217 compliant smoke alarms near the bedrooms and on each level and one or more carbon monoxide alarms near the bedrooms, and a single-family dwelling sold or exchanged must contain them. The statute does not require an owner or occupant to maintain or use an alarm after installation. Fire safety codes for rental and multi-unit buildings were not read for this page.

9 V.S.A. § 2881 9 V.S.A. § 2882

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)

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

Where there is no written rental agreement and rent is paid monthly, you may end the tenancy without cause by actual notice of at least 60 days, or at least 90 days once the tenant has lived there continuously for more than two years. With weekly rent the notice is at least 21 days. Under a written agreement, a no-cause notice must come at least 30 days before the end of the stated term, or 60 days once the tenancy has lasted more than two years, and at least 7 days under a written week-to-week agreement.

9 V.S.A. § 4467(c), (e)

A tenant who abandons the unit stays liable for rent until the rental agreement expires, but if you rent the unit to someone else first, the agreement ends on the date the new tenancy begins. The specific rights below let a tenant leave early without that liability.

9 V.S.A. § 4462(b)

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)

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)

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

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)

Small claims court handles civil money claims of up to $10,000, other than claims for slander or libel. It awards only money damages, so it cannot return possession of a home, and you may not split a larger claim into several small ones.

12 V.S.A. § 5531(a), (b)

Unauthorized occupancy and adverse possession

Partly read

An adverse-possession claim concerns ownership, rather than simply when an occupant must move. In re Estates of Allen describes a fifteen-year requirement involving possession that is open, apparent to the owner, hostile and continuous. The passage of time alone does not establish every element. Whether particular use meets the test is a factual and legal question; this overview does not cover every exception or ownership dispute.

Vermont Supreme Court: In re Estates of Allen, state library copy

Chapter 137 contains no rent control and no limit on the size of a rent increase. It lets a town or city adopt a security deposit ordinance that adds to state law, including one requiring interest, but not one that limits how a deposit is held. Burlington's deposit section and limited Barre references are reviewed below; municipal charter powers and other local deposit rules remain unreviewed.

9 V.S.A. § 4461(g) 9 V.S.A. ch. 137