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

The RRAA requires that the duties and rights of proprietors and tenants in the law are indicated (made a part of) all rental agreements. Which ones are indicated in all rental agreements? See this list of rights and responsibilities of tenants and landlords. For more details 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 proprietor 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 also safeguards property managers and needs them to do (or not do) some things. The law is the exact same if you have actually a written or spoken rental agreement. 9 V.S.A. § 4453.

Any part of a rental contract 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 be in a rental arrangement.

The RRAA never uses the word "lease." Calling a domestic rental arrangement 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 proprietors and housing authorities do use the word "lease."

Rental agreements can be for a time period that is defined in the rental arrangement. For instance, the arrangement could be six months or a year. During that time, all of the terms (consisting of the amount of rent) of the occupancy remain the same. Or a rental arrangement can be "month-to-month." This indicates the length of the occupancy or the quantity of lease can be altered as long as you get the notice needed by the RRAA.

As far as rental agreements go, calling it a lease doesn't ensure that the terms can't be changed for a year. If you want the tenancy to be for a specific period of time, you have to get the property owner to agree.

All of the rights and commitments of the RRAA are part of the arrangement even without being made a note of. 9 V.S.A. § 4453. Any additional terms may not be enforceable unless you and the property owner have actually discussed them and concurred - and then just as long as the RRAA does not restrict the agreement. 9 V.S.A. § 4454.

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

When you are choosing to rent a home, you need to pay close attention to what the property manager says.

Because the RRAA sets out lots of rights and responsibilities of tenants and property owners, and because composed rental contracts can't alter what is in the RRAA, a composed rental agreement tends to have more advantages for property managers than for tenants.

Advantages for a property manager:

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

• The landlord could make the time length of advance notice you need to give the proprietor when you desire to move out longer. 9 V.S.A. § 4456( d).
• A composed rental contract might need you to pay your property owner's attorney's fees if a legal representative is used to impose any part of the agreement or to evict you. (Note: If you harm the system or disturb your neighbors and your proprietor evicts you since of it, the RRAA makes you responsible for the landlord's attorney's costs. 9 V.S.A. § 4456( e).).
• A composed rental arrangement can name individuals who can live in the system, 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 force out the individual who subleases your place in an "expedited hearing." Expedited means quicker than typical. 12 V.S.A. § 4853b.
  
  A written rental agreement may assist you as a renter due to the fact that:
  
  - It might guarantee that the rent won't change up until a specific date.
• It can restrict the quantity your lease can go up.
• It can say the length of time you can live there.
• If it isn't composed in the agreement, the proprietor can't say you accepted it. Verbal agreements outside the written agreement might not be enforceable. For instance, a written agreement can state who need to pay for heating fuel or electrical energy.
  
  Generally, a property owner can not charge late costs.
  
  A late fee is legal only if:
  
  - The rental arrangement states a late fee will be charged for late rent, and
  
  - The charge is only the reasonable expense to the property manager due to the fact that of the late payment. See Highgate Associates, Ltd. v. Merryfield, 157 Vt. 313 (1991 ). Reasonable costs to the property owner means the property manager's actual additional cost due to the fact that of late rent, like additional cost in keeping the books, driving over to you, making phone calls, or writing you letters.
  
  A late cost is not legal when:
  
  - A flat charge of a certain amount of cash if lease is paid after the rent day is generally not the property owner's sensible expense, therefore is illegal.
• Your property manager 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 exact same as penalties and hence, they are not lawfully 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 request. 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 arrangement (and their small kids, even if they show up later on) can live in the rental unit.
• Subleasing is enabled or not permitted. 9 V.S.A. § 4456b( a)( 1 ).
• Smoking is not allowed.
• Pets are not enabled. But, if you need an animal due to the fact that of your special needs, see our Reasonable Accommodations page.
• A description of what spaces (living space, other locations) are included.
• Rules about using typical areas.
• Who is accountable for paying utility bills.
• The responsibility to pay a set quantity of lease, for a set period of time, even if the renter chooses to leave early. (The proprietor has a responsibility to re-rent the place as quickly as possible, however the tenant might owe rent till another person leases it.)
  
  You can concur to a modification however you do not need to.
  
  If you or the landlord wants to alter a term or condition in your rental arrangement, you can ask each other to concur. You or the property manager can't alter the rights and responsibilities in the RRAA, but other parts of rental contracts can be altered. If the rental arrangement is in composing, modifications need to be in composing.
  
  Generally for things like family pets, improvements (remodeling or upgrading home appliances or components) if someone asks, and the other concurs, then that regard to the rental agreement is altered. But if the proprietor wants something, and you don't want it, then you can disagree.
  
  The examples listed below assume that the unit remains in excellent repair, and not being harmed by the renter:
  
  - Two months after you move in the landlord states, "I desire to secure the bath tub and put in a shower." You say, "No, I like the bath tub." The bathtub belongs to what you concurred to rent, and you do not consent to change it. Landlord can't remodel the bathroom.
• Or, property owner states, "I am altering my mind. You can't have a family pet." You don't have to consent to get rid of your family pet.
• Or you state, "I don't like the gas range in the apartment. I desire an electric stove." Landlord does not have to concur to a brand-new stove.
  
  Note: There is a difference between contracts to alter something and repairs 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 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 property manager might wish to end the occupancy if among you desires a modification and the other does not. If your rental contract is not for a specific amount of time, either of you could give advance notice 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 composed rental arrangement that states the rental contract was for a particular duration of time, for example January 1 - December 31? If that time has expired, you may wonder if there is still a composed rental arrangement, or is there no composed rental agreement?
  
  It depends upon what the composed arrangement states. If it mentions the dates and does not further what occurs when it expires, the composed contract ends, but the occupancy does not. That is since when you move in with the arrangement of a property owner, the proprietor must send a notice to end the tenancy, even if there is a composed rental arrangement which expires. In other words, the expiration of the contract is not enough notice to end an occupancy.
  
  A composed rental contract that expires on a particular date could include a provision that defines the length of the occupancy after that date has actually passed. It could state, for instance, the occupancy continues from month to month. Or it could state if you don't vacate, the occupancy continues for another year.
  
  Whatever it says, if the proprietor desires you out, they need to provide 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, legalized ownership of approximately an ounce of marijuana and two mature and 4 immature plants. If you are an occupant, or if you have a rental subsidy from a housing authority, or if you have some other form of federally helped rental subsidy, beware. Your lease and program guidelines may still make it an offense of the guidelines for you to have cannabis or marijuana plants in your rental unit. Your lease might likewise ban smoking cigarettes, consisting of cigarette smoking marijuana.
  
  The new Vermont law does not change the regards to your lease. The brand-new law does not alter the program guidelines for renters with federal rental support. If you are not sure, examine your lease or program rules or talk to your property owner or housing authority. You can also call us for aid. Your details will be sent out to Legal Services Vermont, which screens requests for aid for both Vermont Legal Aid and Legal Services Vermont.
  
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