1 All About Rental Agreements

Jody Chowne edited this page 2025-06-16 20:25:28 +08:00

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

The RRAA requires that the responsibilities and rights of property owners and renters in the law are suggested (made a part of) all rental contracts. Which ones are suggested in all rental agreements? See this list of rights and tasks of tenants and proprietors. To find out more on these rights and duties, visit our Rights and Duties Explained page.
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All of the contracts made by you and the property manager or implied 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 likewise safeguards property managers and requires them to do (or not do) some things. The law is the same if you have actually a written or spoken rental contract. 9 V.S.A. § 4453.

Any part of a rental contract that attempts 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 must remain in a rental contract.

The RRAA never ever utilizes the word "lease." Calling a domestic rental arrangement a "lease" does not have any unique 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 proprietors and housing authorities do use the word "lease."

Rental arrangements can be for a period of time that is specified in the rental contract. For instance, the agreement might be 6 months or a year. During that time, all of the terms (consisting of the quantity of lease) of the occupancy stay the same. Or a rental contract can be "month-to-month." This implies the length of the occupancy or the amount of rent can be altered as long as you get the notice required by the RRAA.

As far as rental contracts go, calling it a lease does not ensure that the terms can't be altered for a year. If you desire the occupancy to be for a specific time period, you have to get the property manager to concur.

All of the rights and commitments of the RRAA become part of the agreement even without being documented. 9 V.S.A. § 4453. Any extra terms may not be enforceable unless you and the landlord have talked about them and agreed - and after that just as long as the RRAA does not restrict the agreement. 9 V.S.A. § 4454.

If you have just a spoken agreement, you might "agree" to something without realizing you have concurred. For example, if you accept no holes in the walls thinking that does not keep you from hanging images, the property owner may charge you for fixing the holes from hanging your photos.

When you are deciding to rent an apartment, you need to pay very close attention to what the landlord states.

Because the RRAA sets out many rights and responsibilities of occupants and landlords, and due to the fact that written rental agreements can't change what is in the RRAA, a written rental contract tends to have more benefits for landlords than for occupants.

Advantages for a property manager:

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

• The property manager could make the time length of advance notice you need to provide the property manager when you desire to leave longer. 9 V.S.A. § 4456( d).
• A written rental arrangement could need you to pay your landlord's attorney's costs if an attorney is used to impose 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 because of it, the RRAA makes you accountable for the landlord's attorney's costs. 9 V.S.A. § 4456( e).).
• A written rental contract can name individuals who can reside in the system, and keep you from letting someone relocation in. - Note: It would be discrimination for a proprietor to evict you for having an infant. 9 V.S.A. § 4503( a).
• A landlord can keep you from subleasing the location you rent, 9 V.S.A. § 4456b( a)( 1 ), and can evict the individual who subleases your place in an "expedited hearing." Expedited ways faster than typical. 12 V.S.A. § 4853b.
  
  A composed rental contract may assist you as a tenant because:
  
  - It may ensure that the lease will not change until a particular date.
• It can limit the amount your rent can go up.
• It can say the length of time you can live there.
• If it isn't composed in the contract, the property manager can't state you consented to it. Verbal arrangements outside the composed agreement may not be enforceable. For instance, a written contract can say who must spend for heating fuel or electrical power.
  
  Generally, a property owner can not charge late fees.
  
  A late cost is legal only if:
  
  - The rental agreement states a late cost will be charged for late rent, and
  
  - The charge is just the affordable expense to the property owner since of the late payment. See Highgate Associates, Ltd. v. Merryfield, 157 Vt. 313 (1991 ). Reasonable costs to the landlord implies the landlord's actual extra cost due to the fact that of late lease, like additional cost in keeping the books, driving over to you, making phone calls, or writing you letters.
  
  A late fee is illegal when:
  
  - A flat charge of a specific amount of money if lease is paid after the rent day is generally not the property manager's sensible cost, and so is prohibited.
• Your landlord can not provide you a lease "discount" for paying by a particular 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 lawfully legitimate. See Shapiro v. Cormier, Docket No. 220-5-12 Wmcv (Windham Super. Ct., Aug. 22, 2012). (If you need an accessible variation of this PDF file, we will provide it on your demand. Please utilize our website feedback kind to do so.)
  
  A rental contract can include these terms:
  
  - Only the people named in the written rental agreement (and their minor children, even if they get here later on) can live in the rental system.
• Subleasing is enabled or not permitted. 9 V.S.A. § 4456b( a)( 1 ).
• Smoking is not allowed.
• Pets are not enabled. But, if you require an animal since of your impairment, see our Reasonable Accommodations page.
• A description of what spaces (home, other locations) are included.
• Rules about using common areas.
• Who is accountable for paying utility costs.
• The responsibility to pay a set amount of rent, for a set time period, even if the tenant chooses to leave early. (The landlord has a responsibility to re-rent the location as quickly as possible, however the renter may owe lease up until somebody else leases it.)
  
  You can accept a change however you do not have to.
  
  If you or the property owner desires to alter a term or condition in your rental agreement, you can ask each other to concur. You or the proprietor can't change the rights and commitments in the RRAA, but other parts of rental arrangements can be altered. If the rental agreement is in writing, changes should remain in composing.
  
  Generally for things like family pets, enhancements (refurnishing or updating appliances or fixtures) if a single person asks, and the other concurs, then that regard to the rental agreement is changed. But if the landlord wants something, and you do not want it, then you can disagree.
  
  The examples below assume that the system remains in great repair, and not being harmed by the renter:
  
  - Two months after you relocate the landlord states, "I desire to secure the bath tub and put in a shower." You state, "No, I like the bath tub." The bathtub is part of what you accepted lease, and you do not concur to alter it. Landlord can't refurbish the bathroom.
• Or, landlord states, "I am altering my mind. You can't have an animal." You don't have to accept eliminate your animal.
• Or you say, "I do not like the gas stove in the house. I want an electrical stove." Landlord doesn't need to consent to a new stove.
  
  Note: There is a distinction between contracts to alter something and repairs required 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 requires the proprietor 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 property owner might want to end the occupancy if among you desires a modification and the other does not. If your rental arrangement is not for a specific amount of time, 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 contract
  
  Do you have a composed rental arrangement that states the rental contract was for a specific time period, for instance January 1 - December 31? If that time has ended, you may question if there is still a composed rental agreement, or exists no written rental arrangement?
  
  It depends on what the composed arrangement states. If it specifies the dates and does not more address what happens when it expires, the written agreement ends, but the occupancy does not. That is because when you relocate with the arrangement of a proprietor, the property owner needs to send a notification to end the occupancy, even if there is a composed rental contract which expires. In other words, the expiration of the agreement is not sufficient notice to end a tenancy.
  
  A written rental arrangement that ends on a specific date could include a clause that defines the length of the tenancy after that date has actually passed. It might state, for example, the occupancy continues from month to month. Or it might say if you don't vacate, the tenancy continues for another year.
  
  Whatever it says, if the proprietor desires you out, they need to give you a termination notification needed by the occupancy you have.
  
  Discover more on our Rent Increases page.
  
  A Vermont law that worked on July 1, 2018, legalized ownership of as much as an ounce of cannabis 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 type of federally assisted rental subsidy, take care. Your lease and program guidelines might still make it a violation of the rules for you to have cannabis or cannabis plants in your rental unit. Your lease may also prohibit smoking cigarettes, including smoking marijuana.
  
  The new Vermont law does not change the regards to your lease. The new law does not alter the program guidelines for tenants with federal rental support. If you are unsure, check your lease or program rules or talk to your property owner or housing authority. You can also contact us for assistance. Your details will be sent out to Legal Services Vermont, which screens demands for assistance for both Vermont Legal Aid and Legal Services Vermont.
  
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