1 All About Rental Agreements

Steven Moses edited this page 2025-06-18 12:51:10 +08:00

All arrangements between a property owner and a tenant are "rental arrangements" according to Vermont's Residential Rental Agreements Act (RRAA). 9 V.S.A. § 4451( 8 ). The rental contract does not need to remain in writing. You and the proprietor have all the rights and responsibilities in the law even though there is no written contract. 9 V.S.A. § 4453.

The RRAA needs that the responsibilities and rights of property owners and tenants in the law are implied (made a part of) all rental agreements. Which ones are implied in all rental arrangements? See this list of rights and duties of tenants and property owners. To find out more on these rights and responsibilities, visit our Rights and Duties Explained page.
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All of the contracts made by you and the property owner or implied by the RRAA are called the "terms" of the occupancy. 9 V.S.A. § 4454.

The RRAA safeguards you and requires you to do (or not do) some things. It likewise protects 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 arrangement. 9 V.S.A. § 4453.

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

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

Rental arrangements can be for an amount of time that is defined in the rental arrangement. For instance, the arrangement could be 6 months or a year. During that time, all of the terms (consisting of the quantity of rent) of the occupancy stay the same. Or a rental arrangement can be "month-to-month." This means the length of the tenancy or the amount 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 doesn't ensure that the terms can't be altered for a year. If you desire the occupancy to be for a particular amount of time, you have to get the property owner to concur.

All of the rights and commitments of the RRAA belong to the arrangement even without being documented. 9 V.S.A. § 4453. Any extra terms might not be enforceable unless you and the landlord have spoken about them and concurred - and after that only as long as the RRAA does not prohibit the arrangement. 9 V.S.A. § 4454.

If you have only a verbal agreement, you might "agree" to something without recognizing you have concurred. For example, if you concur to no holes in the walls thinking that does not keep you from hanging pictures, the proprietor may charge you for repairing the holes from hanging your pictures.

When you are choosing to rent a home, you require to pay very close attention to what the landlord says.

Because the RRAA sets out numerous rights and tasks of renters and property managers, and due to the fact that written rental contracts can't change what is in the RRAA, a composed rental agreement tends to have more advantages for property managers than for renters.

Advantages for a landlord:

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

• The property owner might make the time length of advance notice you need to give the landlord when you wish to vacate longer. 9 V.S.A. § 4456( d).
• A composed rental contract could require you to pay your property owner's attorney's fees if an attorney is utilized to impose any part of the agreement or to evict you. (Note: If you damage the system or disrupt your neighbors and your proprietor evicts you because of it, the RRAA makes you responsible for the property manager's lawyer's fees. 9 V.S.A. § 4456( e).).
• A composed rental contract can call the individuals who can reside in the unit, and keep you from letting somebody move in. - Note: It would be discrimination for a proprietor to evict you for having an infant. 9 V.S.A. § 4503( a).
• A proprietor can keep you from subleasing the location you lease, 9 V.S.A. § 4456b( a)( 1 ), and can force out the individual who subleases your location in an "expedited hearing." Expedited ways much faster than typical. 12 V.S.A. § 4853b.
  
  A composed rental arrangement may help you as a tenant due to the fact that:
  
  - It might guarantee that the lease will not alter until a particular date.
• It can restrict the quantity your rent can go up.
• It can say the length of time you can live there.
• If it isn't written in the arrangement, the proprietor can't say you agreed to it. Verbal contracts outside the written contract may not be enforceable. For instance, a written agreement can state who need to spend for heating fuel or electrical power.
  
  Generally, a proprietor can not charge late charges.
  
  A late fee is legal only if:
  
  - The rental arrangement states a late fee will be for late lease, and
  
  - The charge is just the reasonable cost to the property owner because of the late payment. See Highgate Associates, Ltd. v. Merryfield, 157 Vt. 313 (1991 ). Reasonable costs to the property owner means the proprietor's real extra cost since of late lease, like extra cost 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 certain amount of cash if rent is paid after the lease day is typically not the property owner's reasonable expense, and so is unlawful.
• Your landlord can not use 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 same as penalties and hence, they are not legally valid. 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 offer it on your request. Please utilize our website feedback type to do so.)
  
  A rental agreement can include these terms:
  
  - Only the people called in the written rental contract (and their small kids, even if they get here later) can live in the rental system.
• Subleasing is allowed or not permitted. 9 V.S.A. § 4456b( a)( 1 ).
• Smoking is not permitted.
• 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 locations) are consisted of.
• Rules about using common locations.
• Who is responsible for paying utility costs.
• The obligation to pay a set amount of rent, for a set amount of time, even if the tenant decides to vacate early. (The property manager has a duty to re-rent the location as soon as possible, but the tenant might owe lease up until somebody else leases it.)
  
  You can concur to a modification but you don't have to.
  
  If you or the property manager wishes to change a term or condition in your rental agreement, you can ask each other to concur. You or the landlord can't change the rights and responsibilities in the RRAA, but other parts of rental contracts can be changed. If the rental agreement remains in writing, modifications should be in writing.
  
  Generally for things like pets, enhancements (refurnishing or upgrading appliances or components) if a single person asks, and the other concurs, then that term of the rental contract is changed. But if the property manager desires something, and you do not desire it, then you can disagree.
  
  The examples below presume that the system remains in good repair work, and not being harmed by the tenant:
  
  - Two months after you move in the property manager says, "I want to secure the tub and put in a shower." You state, "No, I like the bath tub." The bath tub is part of what you agreed to rent, and you don't consent to alter it. Landlord can't remodel the restroom.
• Or, landlord states, "I am altering my mind. You can't have a family pet." You do not need to accept get rid of your animal.
• Or you say, "I don't like the gas range in the home. I desire an electrical range." Landlord does not have to consent to a new stove.
  
  Note: There is a distinction in between agreements to change something and repair work required by law. The RRAA does not permit you or your animal to cause damage, 9 V.S.A. § 4456( a), (c), and the RRAA requires 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 proprietor might wish to end the tenancy if among you desires a modification and the other does not. If your rental arrangement is not for a specific time period, either of you might offer advance notification to end the tenancy. 9 V.S.A. § 4456( d), 9 V.S.A § 4467( c)( e).
  
  Staying longer than a composed agreement
  
  Do you have a written rental arrangement that states the rental arrangement was for a certain duration of time, for example 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 contract?
  
  It depends upon what the written contract says. If it states the dates and does not additional address what happens when it expires, the composed arrangement ends, however the tenancy does not. That is because when you move in with the arrangement of a property manager, the proprietor must send out a notice to end the occupancy, even if there is a written rental contract which expires. To put it simply, the expiration of the agreement is not sufficient notice to end an occupancy.
  
  A written rental arrangement that expires on a certain date might consist of a stipulation that defines the length of the occupancy after that date has passed. It might state, for instance, the occupancy continues from month to month. Or it might state if you do not vacate, the occupancy continues for another year.
  
  Whatever it states, if the landlord wants you out, they need to give you a termination notice required by the occupancy you have.
  
  Learn more on our Rent Increases page.
  
  A Vermont law that took effect on July 1, 2018, legalized ownership of up to an ounce of cannabis and two mature and 4 immature plants. If you are a tenant, or if you have a rental aid from a housing authority, or if you have some other kind of federally helped rental subsidy, beware. Your lease and program guidelines might still make it a violation of the guidelines for you to have marijuana or marijuana plants in your rental. Your lease may likewise ban cigarette smoking, including smoking marijuana.
  
  The brand-new Vermont law does not change the terms of your lease. The brand-new law does not alter the program guidelines for renters with federal rental assistance. If you are unsure, examine your lease or program rules or speak to your property owner or housing authority. You can likewise call us for help. Your details will be sent out to Legal Services Vermont, which evaluates requests for help for both Vermont Legal Aid and Legal Services Vermont.
  
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