Everything About Rental Agreements

All arrangements in between a landlord and a tenant are "rental contracts" according to Vermont's Residential Rental Agreements Act (RRAA). 9 V.S.A. § 4451( 8 ). The rental agreement does not have to be in composing. You and the landlord have all the rights and obligations in the law although there is no written contract. 9 V.S.A. § 4453.

The RRAA needs that the tasks and rights of property owners and occupants in the law are implied (made a part of) all rental agreements. Which ones are suggested in all rental agreements? See this list of rights and duties of occupants and proprietors. To find out more on these rights and tasks, visit our Rights and Duties Explained page.

All of the agreements made by you and the proprietor or suggested by the RRAA are called the "terms" of the tenancy. 9 V.S.A. § 4454.

The RRAA secures you and needs you to do (or not do) some things. It likewise safeguards proprietors 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 agreement that tries 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 remain in a rental agreement.

The RRAA never uses the word "lease." Calling a property rental agreement 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 landlords and housing authorities do utilize the word "lease."

Rental agreements can be for a time period that is specified in the rental contract. For example, the agreement could be 6 months or a year. During that time, all of the terms (including the amount of rent) of the tenancy remain the same. Or a rental agreement can be "month-to-month." This indicates the length of the tenancy or the quantity of rent can be changed as long as you get the notification required by the RRAA.

As far as rental arrangements go, calling it a lease doesn't ensure that the terms can't be changed for a year. If you want the occupancy to be for a specific amount of time, you have to get the proprietor to agree.

All of the rights and commitments of the RRAA become part of the agreement even without being made a note of. 9 V.S.A. § 4453. Any additional terms may not be enforceable unless you and the proprietor have talked about them and agreed - and after that just as long as the RRAA does not prohibit the contract. 9 V.S.A. § 4454.

If you have only a verbal arrangement, you might "agree" to something without recognizing you have actually agreed. For instance, if you accept no holes in the walls thinking that does not keep you from hanging images, the landlord might charge you for repairing the holes from hanging your images.

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

Because the RRAA sets out many rights and tasks of occupants and proprietors, and due to the fact that written rental arrangements can't change what remains in the RRAA, a composed rental contract tends to have more benefits for proprietors than for tenants.

Advantages for a proprietor:

- The property owner might shorten the time length of advance notification required to end the occupancy. 9 V.S.A. § 4467( c), (e).
- The property manager could make the time length of advance notice you require to give the landlord when you want to leave longer. 9 V.S.A. § 4456( d).
- A composed rental contract could need you to pay your property manager's lawyer's costs if a legal representative is used to enforce any part of the contract or to evict you. (Note: If you harm the unit or interrupt your next-door neighbors and your property manager evicts you due to the fact that of it, the RRAA makes you accountable for the property owner's attorney's fees. 9 V.S.A. § 4456( e).).
- A written rental arrangement can name the people who can live in the unit, and keep you from letting someone relocation in. - Note: It would be discrimination for a property owner to evict you for having a baby. 9 V.S.A. § 4503( a).
- A property owner can keep you from subleasing the location you lease, 9 V.S.A. § 4456b( a)( 1 ), and can kick out the person who subleases your location in an "expedited hearing." Expedited means much faster than usual. 12 V.S.A. § 4853b.

A composed rental agreement may assist you as a tenant because:

- It may ensure that the lease won't alter till a particular date.
- It can restrict the amount your lease can increase.
- It can state the length of time you can live there.
- If it isn't composed in the agreement, the proprietor can't state you agreed to it. Verbal arrangements outside the composed arrangement might not be enforceable. For example, a written arrangement can state who should pay for heating fuel or electricity.

Generally, a landlord can not charge late charges.

A late charge is legal only if:

- The rental arrangement says a late fee will be charged for late lease, and

- The charge is just the reasonable cost to the proprietor since of the late payment. See Highgate Associates, Ltd. v. Merryfield, 157 Vt. 313 (1991 ). Reasonable expenses to the landlord indicates the property owner's actual extra expense due to the fact that of late lease, like additional cost in keeping the books, driving over to you, making phone calls, or composing you letters.

A late charge is illegal when:

- A flat charge of a specific quantity of cash if lease is paid after the lease day is typically not the landlord's sensible cost, therefore is unlawful.
- Your property manager can not use you a rent "discount rate" for paying by a specific date. In one case, the Windham Superior Court held that rewards for early payments are the very 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 need an available variation of this PDF file, we will offer it on your request. Please use our website feedback form to do so.)

A rental arrangement can include these terms:

- Only the individuals named in the composed rental agreement (and their small children, even if they arrive later) can reside in the rental.
- Subleasing is allowed or not permitted. 9 V.S.A. § 4456b( a)( 1 ).
- Smoking is not enabled.
- Pets are not permitted. 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 area, other locations) are consisted of.
- Rules about using typical areas.
- Who is accountable for paying utility expenses.
- The responsibility to pay a set amount of rent, for a set time period, even if the tenant decides to leave early. (The proprietor has a task to re-rent the location as soon as possible, but the occupant may owe lease until somebody else leases it.)

You can agree to a change but you do not need to.

If you or the landlord 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 writing, changes need to remain in writing.

Generally for things like family pets, improvements (redecorating or updating devices or fixtures) if someone asks, and the other agrees, then that regard to the rental agreement is altered. But if the landlord desires something, and you don't want it, then you can disagree.

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

- Two months after you move in the property manager states, "I wish to get the bath tub and put in a shower." You state, "No, I like the tub." The bathtub is part of what you accepted rent, and you don't consent to change it. Landlord can't remodel the bathroom.
- Or, landlord states, "I am altering my mind. You can't have a pet." You do not need to accept get rid of your family pet.
- Or you say, "I do not like the gas stove in the apartment. I want an electrical stove." Landlord doesn't have to accept a new stove.

Note: There is a distinction between agreements to alter something and repairs needed 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 owner to keep the unit 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 wish to end the occupancy if among you desires a change and the other doesn't. If your rental contract is not for a particular time period, 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 specific period of time, for instance January 1 - December 31? If that time has ended, you may wonder if there is still a written rental agreement, or is there no written rental contract?

It depends on what the written contract states. If it states the dates and does not further address what occurs when it expires, the composed agreement ends, however the tenancy does not. That is since when you relocate with the contract of a proprietor, the property owner needs to send 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 enough notice to end an occupancy.

A composed rental arrangement that expires on a certain date might include a stipulation that specifies the length of the occupancy after that date has actually passed. It might say, for instance, the occupancy continues from month to month. Or it might state if you don't leave, the occupancy continues for another year.

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

Discover more on our Rent Increases page.

A Vermont law that took impact on July 1, 2018, legislated ownership of up to an ounce of cannabis 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 form of federally helped rental aid, beware. Your lease and program rules may still make it an infraction of the rules for you to have cannabis or cannabis plants in your rental unit. Your lease might also prohibit smoking cigarettes, including smoking cannabis.

The brand-new Vermont law does not alter the terms of your lease. The brand-new law does not alter the program rules for tenants with federal rental help. If you are not sure, examine your lease or program rules or speak with your proprietor or housing authority. You can also contact us for aid. Your information will be sent out to Legal Services Vermont, which screens requests for help for both Vermont Legal Aid and Legal Services Vermont.

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