All agreements 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 be in writing. You and the property owner have all the rights and obligations in the law even though there is no written arrangement. 9 V.S.A. § 4453.

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

All of the arrangements made by you and the property owner or indicated by the RRAA are called the "terms" of the tenancy. 9 V.S.A. § 4454.

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

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

The RRAA never ever uses the word "lease." Calling a residential rental contract a "lease" does not have any unique 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 contracts can be for an amount of time that is defined in the rental agreement. For instance, the agreement might be 6 months or a year. During that time, all of the terms (including the quantity of rent) of the tenancy remain the very same. Or a rental agreement can be "month-to-month." This means 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 contracts go, calling it a lease doesn't guarantee that the terms can't be altered for a year. If you desire the occupancy to be for a particular time period, you have to get the landlord to agree.

All of the rights and obligations of the RRAA become part of the contract even without being composed down. 9 V.S.A. § 4453. Any additional terms might not be enforceable unless you and the landlord have actually discussed them and concurred - and after that just as long as the RRAA does not prohibit the agreement. 9 V.S.A. § 4454.

If you have just a verbal contract, you may "concur" to something without recognizing you have actually concurred. For instance, if you accept 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 deciding to lease a house, you need to pay close attention to what the property manager states.

Because the RRAA sets out lots of rights and duties of tenants and property managers, and because composed rental arrangements can't change what is in the RRAA, a composed rental arrangement tends to have more benefits for landlords than for renters.

Advantages for a property manager:

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

• The landlord could make the time length of advance notification you need to offer the proprietor when you wish to vacate longer. 9 V.S.A. § 4456( d).
• A composed rental agreement might need you to pay your property manager's lawyer's charges if an attorney is utilized to enforce any part of the agreement or to evict you. (Note: If you damage the unit or disturb your next-door neighbors and your proprietor evicts you because of it, the RRAA makes you responsible for the property owner's lawyer's charges. 9 V.S.A. § 4456( e).).
• A written rental contract can name individuals who can reside in the unit, and keep you from letting someone move in. - Note: It would be discrimination for a proprietor to evict you for having a baby. 9 V.S.A. § 4503( a).
• A landlord can keep you from subleasing the location you lease, 9 V.S.A. § 4456b( a)( 1 ), and can kick out the individual who subleases your place in an "expedited hearing." Expedited ways faster than normal. 12 V.S.A. § 4853b.
  
  A composed rental arrangement may assist you as a renter because:
  
  - It might guarantee that the lease will not alter until a particular date.
• It can restrict the amount your rent can go up.
• It can state the length of time you can live there.
• If it isn't composed in the agreement, the property owner can't state you concurred to it. Verbal arrangements outside the written contract may not be enforceable. For instance, a written arrangement can state who should spend for heating fuel or electrical power.
  
  Generally, a landlord can not charge late charges.
  
  A late charge is legal only if:
  
  - The rental contract says a late fee will be charged for late lease, and
  
  - The charge is only 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 proprietor implies the landlord's real additional cost because of late rent, like additional expense in keeping the books, driving over to you, making phone calls, or composing you letters.
  
  A late fee is not legal when:
  landrover.com
  - A flat charge of a particular amount of cash if lease is paid after the rent day is normally not the property owner's reasonable cost, and so is illegal.
• Your proprietor can not use you a lease "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 thus, 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 accessible version of this PDF file, we will offer it on your demand. Please utilize our website feedback kind to do so.)
  
  A rental arrangement can consist of these terms:
  
  - Only the individuals called in the written rental agreement (and their small children, even if they arrive later) can live in the rental.
• Subleasing is allowed or not permitted. 9 V.S.A. § 4456b( a)( 1 ).
• Smoking is not permitted.
• 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 spaces (home, other locations) are included.
• Rules about using common areas.
• Who is responsible for paying energy costs.
• The responsibility to pay a set amount of lease, for a set time period, even if the tenant decides to move out early. (The property manager has a duty to re-rent the place as quickly as possible, but the renter may owe lease until somebody else leases it.)
  
  You can concur to a change but you do not need to.
  
  If you or the proprietor wants to change a term or condition in your rental contract, you can ask each other to concur. You or the proprietor can't alter the rights and commitments in the RRAA, however other parts of rental agreements can be altered. If the rental contract remains in composing, modifications need to remain in writing.
  
  Generally for things like animals, enhancements (remodeling or upgrading home appliances or fixtures) if a single person asks, and the other concurs, then that term of the rental contract is changed. But if the property owner wants something, and you do not want it, then you can disagree.
  
  The examples listed below assume that the unit is in good repair work, and not being damaged by the tenant:
  
  - Two months after you move in the proprietor states, "I wish to take out the tub and put in a shower." You say, "No, I like the bath tub." The tub is part of what you consented to rent, and you do not accept change it. Landlord can't refurbish the .
• Or, property owner states, "I am altering my mind. You can't have a pet." You do not have to consent to get rid of your animal.
• Or you state, "I don't like the gas stove in the home. I want an electrical stove." Landlord doesn't need to consent to a brand-new stove.
  
  Note: There is a difference in between contracts to change something and repair work required by law. The RRAA does not enable you or your pet to trigger damage, 9 V.S.A. § 4456( a), (c), and the RRAA needs the property manager 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 proprietor may desire to end the tenancy if one of you desires a modification and the other doesn't. If your rental arrangement is not for a particular time period, 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 agreement
  
  Do you have a composed rental agreement that says the rental arrangement was for a certain amount of time, for example January 1 - December 31? If that time has expired, you may wonder if there is still a written rental agreement, or exists no written rental arrangement?
  
  It depends on what the written arrangement says. If it specifies the dates and does not additional address what happens when it expires, the composed agreement ends, but the occupancy does not. That is because when you relocate with the contract of a property manager, the landlord needs to send out a notice to end the tenancy, even if there is a written rental agreement which expires. To put it simply, the expiration of the agreement is not enough notification to end an occupancy.
  
  A written rental agreement that expires on a certain date might include a stipulation that defines the length of the occupancy after that date has passed. It could say, for instance, the tenancy continues from month to month. Or it might say if you do not move out, the tenancy continues for another year.
  
  Whatever it states, if the property owner desires you out, they have to offer you a termination notice needed by the tenancy you have.
  
  Discover more on our Rent Increases page.
  
  A Vermont law that worked on July 1, 2018, legislated possession of approximately an ounce of cannabis and 2 fully grown 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 assisted 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 might likewise prohibit cigarette smoking, including smoking marijuana.
  
  The brand-new Vermont law does not change the regards to your lease. The new law does not change the program rules for renters with federal rental support. If you are unsure, examine your lease or program guidelines or speak to your property manager or housing authority. You can also call us for help. Your information will be sent out to Legal Services Vermont, which evaluates requests for assistance for both Vermont Legal Aid and Legal Services Vermont.
  
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