All contracts between a property manager and a tenant are “rental agreements” according to Vermont’s Residential Rental Agreements Act (RRAA). 9 V.S.A. § 4451( 8 ). The rental arrangement does not need to be in writing. You and the property manager have all the rights and commitments in the law even though there is no written arrangement. 9 V.S.A. § 4453.

The RRAA needs that the tasks and rights of landlords and tenants in the law are implied (made a part of) all rental agreements. Which ones are indicated in all rental contracts? See this list of rights and responsibilities of renters and property managers. To find out more on these rights and responsibilities, visit our Rights and Duties Explained page.
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All of the agreements made by you and the proprietor or implied by the RRAA are called the “terms” of the tenancy. 9 V.S.A. § 4454.

The RRAA safeguards you and requires you to do (or not do) some things. It also secures property managers and requires them to do (or not do) some things. The law is the very same if you have actually a written or verbal rental agreement. 9 V.S.A. § 4453.

Any part of a rental agreement that attempts to get around 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 meaning in Vermont. Other statutes (12 V.S.A. § 4851( ejectment), 10 V.S.A. § 6201( 5 )( mobile home parks)), the courts, subsidized housing landlords and housing authorities do use the word “lease.”

Rental agreements can be for a duration of time that is defined in the rental contract. For instance, the arrangement might be 6 months or a year. During that time, all of the terms (consisting of the amount of rent) of the occupancy stay the very same. Or a rental contract can be “month-to-month.” This indicates the length of the occupancy or the amount of lease can be changed as long as you get the notice needed by the RRAA.

As far as rental agreements go, calling it a lease does not ensure that the terms can’t be altered for a year. If you desire the occupancy to be for a specific period of time, you have to get the property manager to agree.

All of the rights and commitments of the RRAA belong to the agreement even without being written down. 9 V.S.A. § 4453. Any additional terms may not be enforceable unless you and the landlord have actually discussed them and agreed - and then only as long as the RRAA does not prohibit the agreement. 9 V.S.A. § 4454.

If you have just a verbal arrangement, you might “concur” to something without realizing you have concurred. For instance, if you agree to no holes in the walls believing that does not keep you from hanging images, the property owner may charge you for repairing the holes from hanging your images.

When you are deciding to rent an apartment or condo, you need to pay close attention to what the property owner states.

Because the RRAA sets out many rights and responsibilities of occupants and proprietors, and due to the fact that written rental contracts can’t alter what remains in the RRAA, a written rental arrangement tends to have more advantages for proprietors than for tenants.

Advantages for a proprietor:

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

• The landlord could make the time length of advance notice you need to provide the landlord when you desire to vacate longer. 9 V.S.A. § 4456( d).
• A written rental arrangement might require you to pay your landlord’s lawyer’s charges if an attorney is utilized to impose any part of the contract or to evict you. (Note: If you harm the unit or disturb your neighbors and your landlord evicts you because of it, the RRAA makes you accountable for the property manager’s attorney’s fees. 9 V.S.A. § 4456( e).).
• A written rental arrangement can call individuals who can reside in the unit, and keep you from letting somebody move in. - Note: It would be discrimination for a property owner to evict you for having a child. 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 force out the individual who subleases your location in an “expedited hearing.” Expedited methods much faster than normal. 12 V.S.A. § 4853b.
  
  A composed rental arrangement may assist you as an occupant because:
  
  - It might ensure that the lease won’t alter up until a specific date.
• It can limit the quantity your rent can go up.
• It can say the length of time you can live there.
• If it isn’t composed in the arrangement, the property owner can’t say you accepted it. Verbal contracts outside the written arrangement might not be enforceable. For instance, a written contract can say who should pay for heating fuel or electrical power.
  
  Generally, a can not charge late fees.
  
  A late fee is legal just if:
  
  - The rental agreement says a late charge will be charged for late lease, and
  
  - The charge is only the affordable expense to the landlord due to the fact that of the late payment. See Highgate Associates, Ltd. v. Merryfield, 157 Vt. 313 (1991 ). Reasonable expenses to the property manager means the landlord’s real extra cost because of late lease, like additional expense in keeping the books, driving over to you, making phone calls, or writing you letters.
  
  A late fee is illegal when:
  
  - A flat charge of a particular amount of cash if rent is paid after the rent day is generally not the property manager’s sensible cost, and so is unlawful.
• Your proprietor can not provide you a rent “discount rate” for paying by a particular date. In one case, the Windham Superior Court held that incentives for early payments are the exact same as charges and therefore, they are not lawfully valid. 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 offer it on your request. Please use our website feedback form to do so.)
  
  A rental arrangement can consist of these terms:
  
  - Only the people named in the written rental agreement (and their minor kids, even if they show up later) can live in the rental.
• Subleasing is allowed or not allowed. 9 V.S.A. § 4456b( a)( 1 ).
• Smoking is not permitted.
• Pets are not permitted. But, if you require an animal due to the fact that of your impairment, see our Reasonable Accommodations page.
• A description of what areas (living area, other locations) are included.
• Rules about using typical locations.
• Who is accountable for paying utility expenses.
• The obligation to pay a set amount of lease, for a set time period, even if the renter chooses to vacate early. (The property manager has a responsibility to re-rent the location as quickly as possible, but the tenant might owe lease until another person rents it.)
  
  You can concur to a modification but you do not need to.
  
  If you or the property manager wishes 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 responsibilities in the RRAA, but other parts of rental agreements can be altered. If the rental agreement is in writing, changes ought to be in composing.
  
  Generally for things like animals, improvements (redecorating or updating appliances or components) if one person asks, and the other concurs, then that term of the rental contract is changed. But if the property owner desires something, and you don’t desire it, then you can disagree.
  
  The examples below presume that the system is in good repair, and not being damaged by the occupant:
  
  - Two months after you move in the property manager says, “I want to get the tub and put in a shower.” You state, “No, I like the tub.” The bath tub belongs to what you consented to rent, and you don’t agree to change it. Landlord can’t remodel the bathroom.
• Or, property owner states, “I am changing my mind. You can’t have a family pet.” You don’t need to consent to eliminate your animal.
• Or you state, “I don’t like the gas stove in the house. I want an electric stove.” Landlord does not have to accept a new range.
  
  Note: There is a distinction in between arrangements to alter something and repairs required by law. The RRAA does not permit you or your family pet to cause damage, 9 V.S.A. § 4456( a), ©, and the RRAA needs the landlord to keep the system 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 may want to end the occupancy if among you wants a change and the other doesn’t. If your rental agreement is not for a particular time period, either of you might give advance notification to end the occupancy. 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 agreement that says the rental arrangement was for a specific period of time, for instance January 1 - December 31? If that time has ended, you may wonder if there is still a composed rental agreement, or exists no written rental arrangement?
  
  It depends on what the written contract says. If it mentions the dates and does not further address what takes place when it expires, the written contract ends, however the tenancy does not. That is due to the fact that when you relocate with the agreement of a proprietor, the property manager must send a notification to end the occupancy, even if there is a written rental agreement which expires. Simply put, the expiration of the contract is not enough notice to end a tenancy.
  
  A written rental contract that expires on a particular date might include a clause that defines the length of the occupancy after that date has passed. It could state, for example, the tenancy continues from month to month. Or it might say if you do not vacate, the tenancy continues for another year.
  
  Whatever it says, if the landlord desires you out, they have to give you a termination notification required by the occupancy you have.
  
  Discover more on our Rent Increases page.
  
  A Vermont law that took effect on July 1, 2018, legalized belongings of approximately an ounce of cannabis and two mature and four immature plants. If you are an occupant, or if you have a rental subsidy from a housing authority, or if you have some other kind of federally helped rental aid, take care. Your lease and program rules might still make it a violation of the rules for you to have cannabis or marijuana plants in your rental. Your lease might likewise prohibit cigarette smoking, including smoking cigarettes cannabis.
  
  The brand-new Vermont law does not alter the regards to your lease. The brand-new law does not alter the program rules for tenants with federal rental help. If you are uncertain, inspect your lease or program guidelines or speak to your property manager or housing authority. You can also contact us for help. Your info will be sent out to Legal Services Vermont, which evaluates demands for assistance for both Vermont Legal Aid and Legal Services Vermont.
  
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