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All contracts in between a property manager 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 need to be 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 tasks and rights of property managers and renters in the law are suggested (made a part of) all rental contracts. Which ones are indicated in all rental agreements? See this list of rights and responsibilities of occupants and property managers. To find out more on these rights and responsibilities, visit our Rights and Duties Explained page.

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

The RRAA safeguards you and requires you to do (or not do) some things. It likewise protects proprietors and needs them to do (or not do) some things. The law is the exact same if you have actually a composed or verbal rental arrangement. 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 tasks in the RRAA for what need to be in a rental arrangement.

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

Rental arrangements can be for an amount of time that is defined in the rental contract. For example, the contract might be six months or a year. During that time, all of the terms (including the amount of lease) of the tenancy remain the same. Or a rental arrangement can be "month-to-month." This means the length of the occupancy or the amount of lease can be changed as long as you get the notification needed by the RRAA.

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

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

If you have only a spoken agreement, you might "concur" to something without recognizing you have agreed. For instance, if you consent to no holes in the walls thinking that does not keep you from hanging photos, the property manager may charge you for repairing the holes from hanging your photos.

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

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

Advantages for a proprietor:

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

• The property manager might make the time length of advance notice you require to offer the property manager when you wish to vacate longer. 9 V.S.A. § 4456( d).
• A written rental agreement might require you to pay your property owner's attorney's costs if a legal representative is used to implement any part of the agreement or to evict you. (Note: If you damage the unit or interrupt your next-door neighbors and your property owner evicts you because of it, the RRAA makes you accountable for the proprietor's attorney's fees. 9 V.S.A. § 4456( e).).
• A written rental agreement can name individuals who can reside in the unit, and keep you from letting somebody move in. - Note: It would be discrimination for a landlord to evict you for having an infant. 9 V.S.A. § 4503( a).
• A proprietor can keep you from subleasing the location you rent, 9 V.S.A. § 4456b( a)( 1 ), and can force out the person who subleases your location in an "expedited hearing." Expedited ways much faster than typical. 12 V.S.A. § 4853b.
  
  A composed rental contract might help you as a renter because:
  
  - It may guarantee that the lease won't change up until a particular date.
• It can limit the amount your lease can increase.
• It can say the length of time you can live there.
• If it isn't written in the contract, the property manager can't say you consented to it. Verbal contracts outside the might not be enforceable. For instance, a written agreement can say who should pay for heating fuel or electrical energy.
  
  Generally, a proprietor can not charge late costs.
  
  A late charge is legal just if:
  
  - The rental arrangement states a late charge will be charged for late rent, and
  
  - The charge is only the affordable expense to the landlord because of the late payment. See Highgate Associates, Ltd. v. Merryfield, 157 Vt. 313 (1991 ). Reasonable expenses to the landlord implies the proprietor's actual additional expense since of late rent, like extra cost in keeping the books, driving over to you, making phone calls, or writing you letters.
  
  A late charge is not legal when:
  
  - A flat charge of a specific quantity of money if lease is paid after the lease day is normally not the landlord's sensible cost, and so is illegal.
• Your property owner can not provide you a rent "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 thus, they are not lawfully valid. See Shapiro v. Cormier, Docket No. 220-5-12 Wmcv (Windham Super. Ct., Aug. 22, 2012). (If you require an available version of this PDF document, we will offer it on your demand. Please utilize our site feedback kind to do so.)
  
  A rental arrangement can include these terms:
  
  - Only the individuals called in the composed rental agreement (and their minor kids, even if they show up later on) can live in the rental.
• Subleasing is permitted or not permitted. 9 V.S.A. § 4456b( a)( 1 ).
• Smoking is not allowed.
• Pets are not permitted. But, if you need an animal because of your disability, see our Reasonable Accommodations page.
• A description of what spaces (home, other locations) are consisted of.
• Rules about utilizing common locations.
• Who is responsible for paying utility expenses.
• The responsibility to pay a set quantity of lease, for a set duration of time, even if the occupant decides to vacate early. (The property owner has a responsibility to re-rent the location as quickly as possible, but the renter might owe lease until somebody else leases it.)
  
  You can concur to a change but 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 property owner can't change the rights and obligations in the RRAA, however other parts of rental contracts can be changed. If the rental agreement is in writing, changes need to be in writing.
  
  Generally for things like pets, improvements (redecorating or upgrading devices or components) if someone asks, and the other agrees, then that term of the rental agreement is changed. But if the property manager desires something, and you don't desire it, then you can disagree.
  
  The examples listed below presume that the system is in good repair, and not being damaged by the occupant:
  
  - Two months after you relocate the property manager states, "I want to take out the bathtub and put in a shower." You state, "No, I like the bath tub." The tub is part of what you consented to rent, and you do not consent to alter it. Landlord can't remodel the restroom.
• Or, landlord states, "I am changing my mind. You can't have a family pet." You don't have to accept eliminate your pet.
• Or you say, "I do not like the gas stove in the apartment. I desire an electric stove." Landlord does not have to agree to a brand-new range.
  
  Note: There is a distinction in between agreements to alter something and repairs required by law. The RRAA does not enable you or your animal to cause damage, 9 V.S.A. § 4456( a), (c), and the RRAA needs the proprietor 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 landlord might wish to end the occupancy if one of you desires a modification and the other doesn't. If your rental arrangement is not for a specific period of time, either of you might offer advance notice to end the tenancy. 9 V.S.A. § 4456( d), 9 V.S.A § 4467( c)( e).
  
  Staying longer than a written arrangement
  
  Do you have a written rental contract that states the rental contract 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 written rental contract?
  
  It depends on what the written arrangement says. If it specifies the dates and does not further address what occurs when it ends, the written arrangement ends, but the occupancy does not. That is because when you move in with the arrangement of a landlord, the property manager must send out a notification to end the occupancy, even if there is a composed rental contract which expires. To put it simply, the expiration of the contract is not adequate notice to end an occupancy.
  
  A written rental agreement that expires on a particular date could consist of a stipulation that specifies the length of the occupancy after that date has actually passed. It could say, for example, the tenancy continues from month to month. Or it could say if you don't leave, the occupancy continues for another year.
  
  Whatever it states, if the proprietor desires you out, they need to give you a termination notice needed by the occupancy you have.
  
  Discover more on our Rent Increases page.
  
  A Vermont law that took effect on July 1, 2018, legislated ownership of up to an ounce of marijuana and two fully grown and four 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 assisted rental subsidy, beware. Your lease and program guidelines may still make it an infraction of the rules for you to have cannabis or marijuana plants in your rental unit. Your lease might likewise ban smoking cigarettes, including cigarette smoking marijuana.
  
  The new Vermont law does not alter the terms of your lease. The brand-new law does not change the program rules for occupants with federal rental help. If you are not sure, inspect your lease or program guidelines or talk to your property owner or housing authority. You can also call us for assistance. Your information will be sent to Legal Services Vermont, which evaluates demands for assistance for both Vermont Legal Aid and Legal Services Vermont.
  
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