All About Rental Agreements

All arrangements between a property owner and a renter are "rental arrangements" 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 owner have all the rights and obligations in the law despite the fact that there is no written arrangement. 9 V.S.A. § 4453.


The RRAA needs that the duties and rights of landlords and occupants in the law are implied (made a part of) all rental agreements. Which ones are suggested in all rental arrangements? See this list of rights and duties of occupants and property owners. For additional information on these rights and responsibilities, visit our Rights and Duties Explained page.


All of the arrangements made by you and the landlord or implied by the RRAA are called the "terms" of the tenancy. 9 V.S.A. § 4454.


The RRAA protects you and needs you to do (or not do) some things. It also secures proprietors and requires them to do (or not do) some things. The law is the very same if you have a written or verbal rental contract. 9 V.S.A. § 4453.


Any part of a rental agreement that attempts to navigate the RRAA isn't legal. 9 V.S.A. § 4454. See the list of rights and tasks in the RRAA for what should be in a rental arrangement.


The RRAA never ever utilizes the word "lease." Calling a property rental agreement a "lease" does not have any special legal meaning in Vermont. Other statutes (12 V.S.A. § 4851( ejectment), 10 V.S.A. § 6201( 5 )( mobile home parks)), the courts, subsidized housing proprietors and housing authorities do use the word "lease."


Rental arrangements can be for a time period that is specified in the rental arrangement. For instance, the agreement could be six months or a year. During that time, all of the terms (consisting of the quantity of rent) of the occupancy stay the very same. Or a rental arrangement can be "month-to-month." This means the length of the tenancy or the amount of lease can be altered as long as you get the notice required by the RRAA.


As far as rental contracts go, calling it a lease doesn't guarantee that the terms can't be altered for a year. If you want the occupancy to be for a specific amount of time, you need to get the proprietor to concur.


All of the rights and obligations of the RRAA become part of the contract even without being documented. 9 V.S.A. § 4453. Any extra terms may not be enforceable unless you and the proprietor have actually discussed them and agreed - and then just as long as the RRAA does not restrict the agreement. 9 V.S.A. § 4454.


If you have only a verbal agreement, you might "concur" to something without recognizing you have actually concurred. For example, if you agree to no holes in the walls believing that does not keep you from hanging photos, the property manager might charge you for repairing the holes from hanging your images.


When you are deciding to rent an apartment or condo, you require to pay very close attention to what the proprietor says.


Because the RRAA sets out many rights and responsibilities of occupants and property managers, and since composed rental agreements can't alter what remains in the RRAA, a written rental agreement tends to have more advantages for landlords than for tenants.


Advantages for a proprietor:


- The property manager might reduce the time length of advance notice needed to end the occupancy. 9 V.S.A. § 4467( c), (e).
- The landlord might make the time length of advance notification you require to provide the property manager when you wish to leave longer. 9 V.S.A. § 4456( d).
- A written rental agreement could need you to pay your landlord's lawyer's charges if an attorney is utilized to impose any part of the agreement or to evict you. (Note: If you harm the unit or interrupt your next-door neighbors and your proprietor evicts you due to the fact that of it, the RRAA makes you responsible for the landlord's attorney's costs. 9 V.S.A. § 4456( e).).
- A composed rental agreement can name individuals who can live in the system, and keep you from letting someone move in. - Note: It would be discrimination for a proprietor to evict you for having an infant. 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 kick out the individual who subleases your place in an "expedited hearing." Expedited methods faster than usual. 12 V.S.A. § 4853b.


A written rental agreement may assist you as a renter because:


- It might guarantee that the lease won't change up until a particular date.
- It can restrict the amount your lease can increase.
- It can say the length of time you can live there.
- If it isn't composed in the contract, the landlord can't state you accepted it. Verbal agreements outside the composed arrangement might not be enforceable. For instance, a written contract can say who must pay for heating fuel or electrical power.


Generally, a proprietor can not charge late costs.


A late charge is legal only if:


- The rental agreement states a late fee will be charged for late lease, and


- The charge is just the affordable expense to the property manager because of the late payment. See Highgate Associates, Ltd. v. Merryfield, 157 Vt. 313 (1991 ). Reasonable costs to the proprietor means the proprietor's actual extra cost due to the fact that of late lease, like additional cost in keeping the books, driving over to you, making telephone call, or writing you letters.


A late fee is illegal when:


- A flat charge of a certain amount of cash if lease is paid after the lease day is usually not the landlord's sensible cost, and so is prohibited.
- Your property manager can not provide you a lease "discount rate" for paying by a specific date. In one case, the Windham Superior Court held that rewards for early payments are the 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 require an available variation of this PDF file, we will supply it on your request. Please utilize our website feedback form to do so.)


A rental contract can include these terms:


- Only the individuals named in the composed rental contract (and their minor children, even if they arrive later) can reside in the rental.
- Subleasing is enabled or not enabled. 9 V.S.A. § 4456b( a)( 1 ).
- Smoking is not allowed.
- Pets are not allowed. But, if you need an animal since of your disability, see our Reasonable Accommodations page.
- A description of what spaces (home, other areas) are consisted of.
- Rules about utilizing areas.
- Who is responsible for paying energy costs.
- The obligation to pay a set quantity of rent, for a set period of time, even if the renter decides to leave early. (The landlord has a task to re-rent the location as soon as possible, but the renter might owe lease up until someone else leases it.)


You can concur to a modification but you do not have to.


If you or the property manager wishes to change a term or condition in your rental arrangement, you can ask each other to concur. You or the proprietor can't alter the rights and responsibilities in the RRAA, but other parts of rental arrangements can be altered. If the rental contract remains in writing, changes ought to be in writing.


Generally for things like pets, improvements (redecorating or updating appliances or fixtures) if one individual asks, and the other concurs, then that regard to the rental contract is changed. But if the proprietor desires something, and you don't desire it, then you can disagree.


The examples listed below assume that the unit remains in great repair, and not being damaged by the renter:


- Two months after you move in the proprietor says, "I desire to get the bathtub and put in a shower." You state, "No, I like the tub." The bath tub becomes part of what you accepted rent, and you don't accept change it. Landlord can't renovate the bathroom.
- Or, landlord says, "I am changing my mind. You can't have an animal." You don't have to agree to eliminate your animal.
- Or you say, "I do not like the gas range in the apartment. I desire an electrical range." Landlord doesn't have to consent to a new range.


Note: There is a distinction between agreements to alter something and repairs required by law. The RRAA does not allow you or your pet to cause damage, 9 V.S.A. § 4456( a), (c), and the RRAA needs the property manager to keep the unit safe and clean, 9 V.S.A. § 4458. See our page about Repair Problems and Tenant's Right to Repair.


You or the property owner might want to end the tenancy if among you wants a modification and the other doesn't. If your rental arrangement is not for a specific amount of time, either of you might give 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 composed rental contract that states the rental agreement was for a certain period of time, for example January 1 - December 31? If that time has expired, you may wonder if there is still a composed rental arrangement, or is there no composed rental agreement?


It depends upon what the composed agreement states. If it mentions the dates and does not additional address what occurs when it ends, the written arrangement ends, however the tenancy does not. That is because when you move in with the contract of a landlord, the property manager needs to send a notice to end the tenancy, even if there is a written rental agreement which expires. In other words, the expiration of the agreement is not enough notification to end a tenancy.


A written rental arrangement that ends on a certain date could consist of a clause that specifies the length of the occupancy after that date has actually passed. It might state, for instance, the tenancy continues from month to month. Or it could say if you do not move out, the occupancy continues for another year.


Whatever it states, if the property owner wants you out, they need to offer you a termination notice required by the occupancy you have.


Discover more on our Rent Increases page.


A Vermont law that worked on July 1, 2018, legalized possession of approximately an ounce of marijuana and two mature and four immature plants. If you are an occupant, or if you have a rental aid from a housing authority, or if you have some other kind of federally assisted rental subsidy, take care. Your lease and program rules might still make it an infraction of the rules for you to have cannabis or cannabis plants in your rental system. Your lease might likewise prohibit cigarette smoking, consisting of cigarette smoking marijuana.


The new Vermont law does not alter the terms of your lease. The brand-new law does not change the program rules for renters with federal rental help. If you are uncertain, examine your lease or program rules or speak to your landlord or housing authority. You can likewise call us for assistance. Your information will be sent out to Legal Services Vermont, which screens demands for help for both Vermont Legal Aid and Legal Services Vermont.


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Renter Rights After a Disaster



Vermont Law on Renting: The RRAA



What to Know Before You Rent



All About Rental Agreements



Rights and Duties Explained



Rent Increases



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Can the Landlord Enter My Unit?



Lockouts, Utility Shutoffs & Your Belongings



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When a Park is Sold or Closes


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