All About Rental Agreements

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

The RRAA needs that the duties and rights of landlords and occupants in the law are indicated (made a part of) all rental contracts. Which ones are implied in all rental arrangements? See this list of rights and duties of renters and property owners. For more details on these rights and duties, visit our Rights and Duties Explained page.

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

The RRAA protects 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 a written or verbal rental agreement. 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 responsibilities in the RRAA for what must remain in a rental contract.

The RRAA never utilizes the word "lease." Calling a domestic 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 property managers and housing authorities do utilize the word "lease."

Rental arrangements can be for an amount of time that is defined in the rental arrangement. For instance, the contract could be 6 months or a year. During that time, all of the terms (including the amount of rent) of the occupancy remain the exact same. Or a rental contract 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 notification needed by the RRAA.

As far as rental contracts go, calling it a lease doesn't guarantee that the terms can't be changed for a year. If you want the tenancy to be for a particular amount of time, you need to get the property manager to concur.

All of the rights and commitments of the RRAA become part of the contract even without being documented. 9 V.S.A. § 4453. Any extra terms may not be enforceable unless you and the proprietor have actually spoken about them and concurred - and then only as long as the RRAA does not restrict the agreement. 9 V.S.A. § 4454.

If you have just a verbal arrangement, you may "concur" to something without understanding you have concurred. For instance, if you concur to no holes in the walls believing that does not keep you from hanging images, the landlord may charge you for fixing the holes from hanging your pictures.

When you are deciding to lease a house, you need to pay attention to what the landlord states.

Because the RRAA sets out many rights and duties of renters and proprietors, and because written rental contracts can't change what is in the RRAA, a composed rental arrangement tends to have more advantages for property owners than for renters.

Advantages for a landlord:

- The property manager might shorten the time length of advance notification required to end the occupancy. 9 V.S.A. § 4467( c), (e).
- The proprietor might make the time length of advance notice you require to offer the proprietor when you want to move out longer. 9 V.S.A. § 4456( d).
- A written rental arrangement might require you to pay your property manager's attorney's fees if a legal representative is utilized to enforce any part of the arrangement or to evict you. (Note: If you damage the system or disrupt your next-door neighbors and your property owner evicts you since of it, the RRAA makes you responsible for the proprietor's lawyer's costs. 9 V.S.A. § 4456( e).).
- A composed rental contract can name individuals who can reside in the system, and keep you from letting somebody move in. - Note: It would be discrimination for a proprietor to evict you for having a child. 9 V.S.A. § 4503( a).
- A proprietor can keep you from subleasing the place you rent, 9 V.S.A. § 4456b( a)( 1 ), and can force out the individual who subleases your location in an "expedited hearing." Expedited means quicker than normal. 12 V.S.A. § 4853b.

A written rental arrangement may assist you as a tenant due to the fact that:

- It might ensure that the rent won't alter up until a certain date.
- It can restrict the amount your lease can increase.
- It can say the length of time you can live there.
- If it isn't composed in the contract, the property owner can't state you agreed to it. Verbal agreements outside the composed arrangement may not be enforceable. For example, a written arrangement can say who need to spend for heating fuel or electricity.

Generally, a proprietor can not charge late costs.

A late cost is legal only if:

- The rental arrangement states a late cost will be charged for late lease, and

- The charge is only the sensible expense to the landlord due to the fact that 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 expenditure because of late lease, like additional expense in keeping the books, driving over to you, making telephone call, 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 lease day is typically not the landlord's sensible cost, therefore is prohibited.
- Your property manager can not offer you a lease "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 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 accessible version of this PDF file, we will offer it on your demand. Please use our site feedback kind to do so.)

A rental arrangement can consist of these terms:

- Only the individuals called in the written rental contract (and their minor kids, even if they get here later) can live in the rental.
- Subleasing is enabled or not allowed. 9 V.S.A. § 4456b( a)( 1 ).
- Smoking is not enabled.
- Pets are not enabled. But, if you require an animal since of your disability, see our Reasonable Accommodations page.
- A description of what spaces (living space, other locations) are consisted of.
- Rules about using common locations.
- Who is responsible for paying utility costs.
- The responsibility to pay a set amount of rent, for a set time period, even if the tenant decides to move out early. (The landlord has a responsibility to re-rent the location as quickly as possible, but the occupant might owe rent until somebody else leases it.)

You can consent to a modification however you don't need to.

If you or the property manager wishes to change a term or condition in your rental contract, you can ask each other to agree. You or the landlord can't alter the rights and responsibilities in the RRAA, however other parts of rental agreements can be changed. If the rental contract remains in composing, modifications must be in composing.

Generally for things like pets, improvements (redecorating or upgrading appliances or fixtures) if a single person asks, and the other agrees, then that regard to the rental agreement is altered. But if the property owner wants something, and you don't desire it, then you can disagree.

The examples listed below presume that the unit is in good repair work, and not being damaged by the tenant:

- Two months after you move in the property manager says, "I want to secure the bath tub and put in a shower." You say, "No, I like the tub." The bathtub is part of what you agreed to rent, and you do not consent to change it. Landlord can't remodel the bathroom.
- Or, landlord states, "I am changing my mind. You can't have an animal." You don't have to accept eliminate your pet.
- Or you state, "I do not like the gas range in the apartment or condo. I desire an electric range." Landlord does not have to accept a brand-new range.

Note: There is a difference in between agreements to alter something and repairs needed by law. The RRAA does not enable you or your family pet to cause damage, 9 V.S.A. § 4456( a), (c), and the RRAA needs the property owner 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 wish to end the tenancy if among you wants a modification and the other does not. If your rental agreement is not for a certain time period, either of you could 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 arrangement

Do you have a composed rental agreement that says the rental arrangement was for a specific duration of time, for instance January 1 - December 31? If that time has ended, you may wonder if there is still a composed rental contract, or exists no composed rental contract?

It depends upon what the composed contract states. If it states the dates and does not more address what takes place when it expires, the written arrangement ends, but the tenancy does not. That is since when you move in with the arrangement of a property owner, the property manager needs to send a notification to end the occupancy, even if there is a composed rental arrangement which expires. In other words, the expiration of the arrangement is not adequate notice 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 might say, for instance, the tenancy continues from month to month. Or it could say if you do not 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 notification needed 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 marijuana and 2 mature and four immature plants. If you are an occupant, or if you have a rental aid from a housing authority, or if you have some other form of federally helped rental aid, take care. Your lease and program guidelines might still make it a violation of the guidelines for you to have cannabis or marijuana plants in your rental. Your lease may also prohibit smoking cigarettes, including cigarette smoking marijuana.

The brand-new Vermont law does not change the regards to your lease. The brand-new law does not alter the program rules for occupants with federal rental support. If you are unsure, examine your lease or program rules or speak to your property manager or housing authority. You can also call us for aid. Your information will be sent out to Legal Services Vermont, which evaluates demands for aid for both Vermont Legal Aid and Legal Services Vermont.

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