All agreements 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 need to be in writing. You and the landlord have all the rights and commitments in the law although there is no written agreement. 9 V.S.A. § 4453.
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The RRAA needs that the responsibilities and rights of property owners and renters in the law are indicated (made a part of) all rental contracts. Which ones are indicated in all rental arrangements? See this list of rights and tasks of renters and landlords. For additional information on these rights and tasks, visit our Rights and Duties Explained page.

All of the contracts made by you and the proprietor or indicated 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 likewise secures property managers and requires them to do (or not do) some things. The law is the exact same if you have actually a written or verbal rental agreement. 9 V.S.A. § 4453.

Any part of a rental arrangement that attempts to get around the RRAA isn't legal. 9 V.S.A. § 4454. See the list of rights and responsibilities in the RRAA for what need to remain in a rental arrangement.

The RRAA never uses the word "lease." Calling a property rental contract a "lease" does not have any unique 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 contracts can be for a period of time that is specified in the rental contract. For instance, the contract might be six months or a year. During that time, all of the terms (including the amount of lease) of the tenancy stay the same. Or a rental arrangement can be "month-to-month." This suggests the length of the tenancy or the quantity of lease can be changed as long as you get the notice required by the RRAA.

As far as rental arrangements go, calling it a lease does not guarantee that the terms can't be changed for a year. If you desire the occupancy to be for a particular amount of time, you have to get the landlord to concur.

All of the rights and responsibilities of the RRAA become part of the arrangement even without being made a note of. 9 V.S.A. § 4453. Any extra terms might not be enforceable unless you and the proprietor have spoken about them and agreed - and then just as long as the RRAA does not prohibit the agreement. 9 V.S.A. § 4454.

If you have only a verbal agreement, you may "agree" to something without realizing you have agreed. For instance, if you consent to no holes in the walls believing that does not keep you from hanging images, the proprietor might charge you for repairing the holes from hanging your pictures.

When you are choosing to rent a home, you require to pay attention to what the property owner says.

Because the RRAA sets out lots of rights and responsibilities of tenants and landlords, and because written rental contracts can't change what remains in the RRAA, a composed rental agreement tends to have more benefits for property owners than for renters.

Advantages for a proprietor:

- The landlord could shorten the time length of advance notice needed to end the tenancy. 9 V.S.A. § 4467( c), (e).

• The proprietor could make the time length of advance notification you require to provide the property owner when you desire to leave longer. 9 V.S.A. § 4456( d).
• A written rental contract might require you to pay your property owner's lawyer's charges if a lawyer is used to implement any part of the arrangement or to evict you. (Note: If you harm the unit or disrupt your neighbors and your property manager evicts you due to the fact that of it, the RRAA makes you accountable for the proprietor's lawyer's fees. 9 V.S.A. § 4456( e).).
• A written rental arrangement can name the individuals who can live in the system, and keep you from letting somebody relocation in. - Note: It would be discrimination for a property manager to evict you for having an infant. 9 V.S.A. § 4503( a).
• A property manager can keep you from subleasing the place you lease, 9 V.S.A. § 4456b( a)( 1 ), and can evict the individual who subleases your location in an "expedited hearing." Expedited means much faster than typical. 12 V.S.A. § 4853b.
  
  A composed rental agreement may assist you as an occupant because:
  
  - It may guarantee that the lease will not alter up until a certain 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 property manager can't state you agreed to it. Verbal arrangements outside the composed agreement may not be enforceable. For instance, a written can say who need to pay for heating fuel or electrical power.
  
  Generally, a property owner can not charge late charges.
  
  A late charge is legal only if:
  
  - The rental agreement states a late charge will be charged for late lease, and
  
  - The charge is just the sensible cost to the property manager since of the late payment. See Highgate Associates, Ltd. v. Merryfield, 157 Vt. 313 (1991 ). Reasonable costs to the landlord implies the property manager's real additional expense because of late rent, like additional cost in keeping the books, driving over to you, making telephone call, or composing you letters.
  
  A late charge is illegal when:
  
  - A flat charge of a particular amount of cash if rent is paid after the rent day is usually not the landlord's reasonable expense, and so is illegal.
• Your property manager can not provide you a lease "discount" for paying by a particular date. In one case, the Windham Superior Court held that incentives for early payments are the very same as charges and therefore, they are not legally 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 document, we will offer it on your demand. Please utilize our site feedback kind to do so.)
  
  A rental arrangement can consist of these terms:
  
  - Only the people named in the written rental contract (and their small children, even if they arrive later) can live in the rental unit.
• Subleasing is permitted or not allowed. 9 V.S.A. § 4456b( a)( 1 ).
• Smoking is not allowed.
• Pets are not permitted. But, if you require an animal since of your special needs, see our Reasonable Accommodations page.
• A description of what spaces (home, other areas) are included.
• Rules about utilizing common areas.
• Who is accountable for paying energy expenses.
• The duty to pay a set quantity of rent, for a set duration of time, even if the occupant decides to leave early. (The property manager has a responsibility to re-rent the place as quickly as possible, but the tenant may owe lease until another person rents it.)
  
  You can accept a modification but you do not need to.
  
  If you or the property manager wants to change a term or condition in your rental arrangement, you can ask each other to agree. You or the property owner can't alter the rights and obligations in the RRAA, but other parts of rental agreements can be altered. If the rental contract remains in writing, modifications must be in composing.
  
  Generally for things like animals, improvements (remodeling or upgrading home appliances or fixtures) if someone asks, and the other concurs, then that regard to the rental arrangement is altered. But if the property manager wants something, and you don't desire it, then you can disagree.
  
  The examples listed below presume that the system remains in great repair work, and not being damaged by the occupant:
  
  - Two months after you relocate the proprietor states, "I wish to take out the bath tub and put in a shower." You say, "No, I like the tub." The bath tub is part of what you agreed to lease, and you do not consent to change it. Landlord can't refurbish the bathroom.
• Or, landlord states, "I am changing my mind. You can't have a pet." You do not need to consent to eliminate your family pet.
• Or you say, "I don't like the gas stove in the apartment or condo. I want an electric stove." Landlord doesn't have to agree to a new range.
  
  Note: There is a distinction in between arrangements to change something and repairs required by law. The RRAA does not enable you or your family pet to trigger damage, 9 V.S.A. § 4456( a), (c), and the RRAA needs the property manager to keep the system safe and tidy, 9 V.S.A. § 4458. See our page about Repair Problems and Tenant's Right to Repair.
  
  You or the proprietor might want to end the tenancy if among you wants a modification and the other doesn't. If your rental contract is not for a particular time period, either of you might offer advance notification to end the occupancy. 9 V.S.A. § 4456( d), 9 V.S.A § 4467( c)( e).
  
  Staying longer than a written arrangement
  
  Do you have a composed rental arrangement that says the rental contract was for a certain amount of time, for instance January 1 - December 31? If that time has ended, you may wonder if there is still a composed rental arrangement, or is there no written rental arrangement?
  
  It depends on what the composed arrangement says. If it specifies the dates and does not additional address what takes place when it ends, the written agreement ends, but the occupancy does not. That is because when you relocate with the arrangement of a property manager, the landlord needs to send out a notification to end the tenancy, even if there is a composed rental contract which expires. To put it simply, the expiration of the contract is not adequate notification to end an occupancy.
  
  A written rental contract that expires on a particular date might consist of a provision that defines the length of the occupancy after that date has passed. It could say, for instance, 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 says, if the property owner wants you out, they need to offer you a termination notice required by the tenancy you have.
  
  Learn more on our Rent Increases page.
  
  A Vermont law that worked on July 1, 2018, legalized possession of approximately an ounce of marijuana and 2 fully grown and 4 immature plants. If you are a renter, or if you have a rental aid 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 also ban smoking, including cigarette smoking marijuana.
  
  The brand-new Vermont law does not alter the regards to your lease. The new law does not alter the program rules for occupants with federal rental support. If you are not sure, examine your lease or program rules or speak to your property owner or housing authority. You can also contact us for aid. Your info 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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