chennaidreamhomes.com
All agreements between a property owner and an occupant 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 property owner have all the rights and responsibilities in the law despite the fact that there is no written arrangement. 9 V.S.A. § 4453.

The RRAA needs that the tasks and rights of property managers and renters in the law are indicated (made a part of) all rental contracts. Which ones are suggested in all rental contracts? See this list of rights and tasks of renters and landlords. For more details on these rights and duties, visit our Rights and Duties Explained page.
theglobalinformation.com
All of the arrangements made by you and the landlord or indicated by the RRAA are called the "terms" of the occupancy. 9 V.S.A. § 4454.

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

Any part of a rental agreement that tries 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 should be in a rental contract.

The RRAA never uses the word "lease." Calling a residential rental contract 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 property managers and housing authorities do use the word "lease."

Rental agreements can be for a duration of time 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 lease) of the occupancy stay the exact same. Or a rental arrangement can be "month-to-month." This implies the length of the occupancy or the quantity of lease can be changed as long as you get the notice required by the RRAA.

As far as rental contracts go, calling it a lease doesn't ensure that the terms can't be changed 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 become part of the arrangement even without being jotted down. 9 V.S.A. § 4453. Any extra terms may not be enforceable unless you and the property owner have talked about them and agreed - and then only as long as the RRAA does not restrict the arrangement. 9 V.S.A. § 4454.

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

When you are choosing to lease an apartment or condo, you require to pay close attention to what the landlord states.

Because the RRAA sets out many rights and duties of renters and proprietors, and due to the fact that composed rental agreements can't change what remains in the RRAA, a written rental contract tends to have more advantages for property managers than for occupants.

Advantages for a landlord:

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

• The proprietor might make the time length of advance notification you require to give the landlord when you wish to move out longer. 9 V.S.A. § 4456( d).
• A composed rental contract might need you to pay your property owner's lawyer's costs if an attorney is used to implement any part of the arrangement or to evict you. (Note: If you damage the system or disrupt your next-door neighbors and your landlord evicts you due to the fact that of it, the RRAA makes you accountable for the property owner's lawyer's fees. 9 V.S.A. § 4456( e).).
• A written rental agreement can call the individuals who can reside in the system, and keep you from letting somebody relocation in. - Note: It would be discrimination for a landlord to evict you for having a baby. 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 kick out the person who subleases your place in an "expedited hearing." Expedited methods much faster than typical. 12 V.S.A. § 4853b.
  
  A written rental contract may help you as a tenant since:
  
  - It might ensure that the lease won't change till a particular date.
• It can restrict the quantity your rent can go up.
• It can state the length of time you can live there.
• If it isn't written in the contract, the landlord can't say you accepted it. Verbal arrangements outside the written arrangement may not be enforceable. For example, a written arrangement can say who must spend for heating fuel or electricity.
  
  Generally, a property manager can not charge late charges.
  
  A late charge is legal only if:
  
  - The rental agreement says a late charge will be charged for late rent, and
  
  - The charge is only the reasonable cost to the property owner since of the late payment. See Highgate Associates, Ltd. v. Merryfield, 157 Vt. 313 (1991 ). Reasonable costs to the property manager suggests the property owner's actual extra cost because of late rent, like extra cost in keeping the books, driving over to you, making phone calls, or composing you letters.
  
  A late cost is not legal when:
  
  - A flat charge of a particular quantity of cash if rent is paid after the rent day is typically not the property owner's affordable expense, and so is unlawful.
• Your proprietor can not offer you a rent "discount" for paying by a particular 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 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 provide it on your demand. Please utilize our website feedback type to do so.)
  
  A rental contract can consist of these terms:
  
  - Only the people called in the written rental contract (and their small kids, even if they show up later) can reside in the rental.
• Subleasing is permitted or not permitted. 9 V.S.A. § 4456b( a)( 1 ).
• Smoking is not allowed.
• Pets are not allowed. But, if you need an animal due to the fact that of your disability, see our Reasonable Accommodations page.
• A description of what areas (living space, other locations) are consisted of.
• Rules about using typical areas.
• Who is accountable for paying energy bills.
• The duty to pay a set quantity of rent, for a set time period, even if the renter chooses to vacate early. (The property owner has a task to re-rent the place as quickly as possible, but the tenant might owe lease until another person rents it.)
  
  You can agree to a change however you don't have to.
  
  If you or the property manager wishes to alter a term or condition in your rental arrangement, you can ask each other to agree. You or the property manager can't change the rights and responsibilities in the RRAA, however other parts of rental agreements can be changed. If the rental contract is in composing, changes ought to be in composing.
  
  Generally for things like family pets, improvements (remodeling or upgrading home appliances or components) if one individual asks, and the other concurs, then that term of the rental arrangement is changed. But if the proprietor desires something, and you don't want it, then you can disagree.
  
  The examples below assume that the unit remains in good repair work, and not being harmed by the renter:
  
  - Two months after you relocate the property manager says, "I desire to get the bathtub and put in a shower." You state, "No, I like the bathtub." The bath tub is part of what you consented to lease, and you don't accept alter it. Landlord can't remodel the bathroom.
• Or, property owner says, "I am altering my mind. You can't have a pet." You do not need to consent to eliminate your pet.
• Or you state, "I don't like the gas range in the apartment. I want an electric range." Landlord does not have to consent to a new range.
  
  Note: There is a difference in between agreements to change 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), (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 manager may want to end the occupancy if one of you wants a modification and the other doesn't. If your rental contract is not for a specific amount of time, either of you might give advance notification 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 written rental contract that says the rental arrangement was for a specific time period, for example January 1 - December 31? If that time has ended, you may question if there is still a written rental arrangement, or is there no composed rental arrangement?
  
  It depends upon what the composed contract states. If it specifies the dates and does not more address what happens when it ends, the composed arrangement ends, but the tenancy does not. That is because when you relocate with the arrangement of a landlord, the property owner should send out a notice to end the occupancy, even if there is a written rental agreement which ends. In other words, the expiration of the contract is not sufficient notice to end an occupancy.
  
  A composed rental contract 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 say, 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 manager wants you out, they have to give you a termination notification needed by the occupancy you have.
  
  Discover more on our Rent Increases page.
  
  A Vermont law that took impact on July 1, 2018, legalized belongings of up to an ounce of marijuana 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 type of federally helped rental aid, beware. Your lease and program rules may still make it an infraction of the guidelines for you to have marijuana or cannabis plants in your rental. Your lease may also ban smoking, including smoking cigarettes marijuana.
  
  The brand-new Vermont law does not change the terms of your lease. The new law does not alter the program guidelines for occupants with federal rental help. If you are not sure, examine your lease or or talk to your landlord or housing authority. You can likewise contact us for aid. Your details will be sent to Legal Services Vermont, which screens demands for assistance for both Vermont Legal Aid and Legal Services Vermont.
  
  Print.
  Housing. Discrimination/ Fair Housing. Housing Discrimination Does Happen in Vermont
  
  
  Have You Been Discriminated Against? Disability Discrimination. Who is Protected?
  
  
  Reasonable Accommodations and Modifications
  
  
  Assistance Animals
  
  Mortgages and Residential Or Commercial Property Taxes After a Disaster
  
  
  COVID-19 Crisis, Mortgages and Foreclosures
  
  
  Foreclosure Process
  
  
  Foreclosure Mediation
  
  
  Special Loans and Situations
  
  
  Mortgage and Foreclosure Form Letters
  
  
  More Help
  
  
  Renter Rights After a Catastrophe
  
  
  Vermont Law on Renting: The RRAA
  
  
  What to Know Before You Rent
  
  
  All About Rental Agreements
  
  
  Rights and Duties Explained
  
  
  Rent Increases
  
  
  Bedbugs
  
  
  Repair Problems
  
  
  Guests, Roommates & Trespassers
  
  
  Can the Landlord Enter My Unit?
  
  
  Lockouts, Utility Shutoffs & Your Belongings
  
  
  Housing Protections for Victims
  
  
  Vacating
  
  
  Security Deposits
  
  
  Evictions
  
  
  Notice to Terminate Tenancy
  
  
  Court Process: General
  
  
  Court Process: Eviction
  
  
  Court Process: Suing Landlord
  
  
  Court Process: Small Claims
  
  
  Abandoned Rental or Residential Or Commercial Property
  
  
  Rights of Tenants When a Property Owner remains in Foreclosure
  
  
  Renter Credit/ Rebate
  
  
  Subsidized Housing/ Subsidies
  
  
  Health and Safety
  
  
  Mobile Home Park Leases
  
  
  Lot Rent Increases
  
  
  Mobile Home Park Evictions
  
  
  Selling Your Mobile Home
  
  
  Abandoned Mobile Homes
  
  
  When a Park is Sold or Closes
  
  Links to Vermont law
  
  V.S.A. suggests Vermont Statutes Annotated. The number before V.S.A. is the title number. The number after § is the area number. You can use these links to look up Vermont laws mentioned on this page:
  
  9 V.S.A.
  
  . More Help
  
  How We Can Help - Contact Us
  
  Forms You Can Use
  
  Help From Other Vermont Lawyers:
  
  Ask legal questions through Vermont's Free Legal Answers program. Vermont Bar Association attorney recommendation. VT Association for Justice lawyer recommendation. Criminal Public Defenders
  
  Legal Help for Active Military, Veterans & Their Families
  
  Legal Problem in Another State
  
  Quick Links
  
  - Home.
• How We Can Help - Contact Us.
• Locations.
• Legal Help Tool.
• Legal Roadmaps.
• VTCourtForms.
• Other Forms You Can Use.
• COVID Legal + Benefits Info.
• Website + SMS Privacy.
• Accessibility.
• PDFs and Adobe Reader
  
  Language Help
  
  - American Sign Language.
• العربية/ Arabic.
• Bosanski/ Bosnian.
• မ န မ စ/ Burmese.
• دری/ Dari.
• Español/ Spanish.
• Français/ French.
• Ikirundi/ Kirundi.
• Kiswahili/ Swahili.
• Mai-Mai/ Maay Maay.
• 官話/ 官话/ Mandarin.
• नेपाली/ Nepali.
• پښتو/ Pashto.
• Soomaali/ Somali.
• українська мова/ Ukrainian.
• Tiếng Việt/ Vietnamese.
• Google Translate
  
  About This Website
  
  VTLawHelp.org is a joint project of Vermont Legal Aid and Legal Services Vermont - Collaborating for Justice.
  
  Funding from the Legal Services Corporation.
  
  © 2025 Legal Services Vermont and Vermont Legal Aid. All Rights Reserved.