Everything About Rental Agreements

All agreements in between a property manager 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 need to be in writing. You and the property owner have all the rights and commitments in the law although there is no written arrangement. 9 V.S.A. § 4453.

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

All of the agreements made by you and the landlord or indicated by the RRAA are called the "terms" of the tenancy. 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 very same if you have a written or spoken rental contract. 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 responsibilities in the RRAA for what need to remain in a rental arrangement.

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

Rental arrangements can be for an amount of time that is specified in the rental arrangement. For example, the contract could be six months or a year. During that time, all of the terms (consisting of the quantity of rent) of the occupancy remain the exact same. Or a rental agreement can be "month-to-month." This suggests the length of the occupancy 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 ensure that the terms can't be altered for a year. If you want the tenancy to be for a specific duration of time, you need to get the landlord to concur.

All of the rights and responsibilities of the RRAA become part of the agreement even without being made a note of. 9 V.S.A. § 4453. Any additional terms may not be enforceable unless you and the property manager have spoken about them and concurred - and then just as long as the RRAA does not forbid the contract. 9 V.S.A. § 4454.

If you have only a verbal contract, you might "agree" to something without realizing you have actually concurred. For instance, if you accept no holes in the walls believing that does not keep you from hanging photos, the property manager might charge you for fixing the holes from hanging your photos.

When you are choosing to lease an apartment or condo, you need to pay close attention to what the property owner states.

Because the RRAA sets out many rights and duties of renters and property managers, and due to the fact that written rental agreements can't change what is in the RRAA, a written rental arrangement tends to have more advantages for property managers than for occupants.

Advantages for a property manager:

- The landlord could shorten the time length of advance notification required to end the tenancy. 9 V.S.A. § 4467( c), (e).
- The property owner could make the time length of advance notice you require to offer the property manager when you wish to move out longer. 9 V.S.A. § 4456( d).
- A composed rental arrangement could require you to pay your landlord's lawyer's costs if a legal representative is used to implement any part of the arrangement or to evict you. (Note: If you harm the system or interrupt your next-door neighbors and your landlord evicts you since of it, the RRAA makes you accountable for the landlord's lawyer's fees. 9 V.S.A. § 4456( e).).
- A written rental arrangement can call the individuals who can reside in the unit, and keep you from letting someone move 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 place you lease, 9 V.S.A. § 4456b( a)( 1 ), and can evict the person who subleases your location in an "expedited hearing." Expedited means much faster than typical. 12 V.S.A. § 4853b.

A composed rental arrangement might assist you as a renter because:

- It may ensure that the rent won't change up until a specific date.
- It can restrict the quantity your rent can go up.
- It can state the length of time you can live there.
- If it isn't written in the agreement, the property owner can't say you accepted it. Verbal arrangements outside the composed arrangement might not be enforceable. For example, a written contract can say who need to spend for heating fuel or electrical energy.

Generally, a property owner can not charge late fees.

A late fee is legal only if:

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

- The charge is only the sensible cost 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 proprietor implies the landlord's actual additional expense because of late lease, like additional expense in keeping the books, driving over to you, making call, or writing you letters.

A late fee is illegal when:

- A flat charge of a particular quantity of cash if lease is paid after the lease day is usually not the property owner's reasonable expense, and so is illegal.
- Your property owner can not offer 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 charges and therefore, they are not legally valid. 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 site feedback form to do so.)

A rental agreement can consist of these terms:

- Only individuals called in the composed rental arrangement (and their minor children, even if they get here later) can live in the rental.
- Subleasing is allowed or not enabled. 9 V.S.A. § 4456b( a)( 1 ).
- Smoking is not permitted.
- Pets are not permitted. But, if you need an animal because of your disability, see our Reasonable Accommodations page.
- A description of what spaces (living space, other locations) are consisted of.
- Rules about utilizing common areas.
- Who is accountable for paying energy costs.
- The obligation to pay a set amount of rent, for a set amount of time, even if the occupant decides to move out early. (The property owner has a responsibility to re-rent the location as soon as possible, but the tenant may owe rent up until someone else leases it.)

You can accept a change however you don't have to.

If you or the property owner wants to alter a term or condition in your rental arrangement, you can ask each other to agree. 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 contract remains in writing, changes ought to be in composing.

Generally for things like pets, improvements (refurnishing or upgrading appliances or components) if one individual asks, and the other concurs, then that regard to the rental agreement is altered. But if the property manager wants something, and you do not want it, then you can disagree.

The examples listed below presume that the system is in great repair work, and not being harmed by the occupant:

- Two months after you relocate the property owner says, "I desire to secure the bathtub and put in a shower." You state, "No, I like the bath tub." The bath tub is part of what you accepted rent, and you don't accept 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 need to consent to get rid of your family pet.
- Or you state, "I do not like the gas range in the home. I desire an electric range." Landlord doesn't have to accept a brand-new range.

Note: There is a difference between agreements to change something and repairs required by law. The RRAA does not permit you or your pet to cause damage, 9 V.S.A. § 4456( a), (c), and the RRAA requires the property manager 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 proprietor might wish to end the occupancy if among you wants a change and the other doesn't. If your rental agreement is not for a certain time period, either of you might offer advance notice 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 contract that says the rental contract was for a certain duration of time, for example January 1 - December 31? If that time has ended, you may wonder if there is still a written rental agreement, or is there no composed rental agreement?

It depends on what the composed agreement says. If it specifies the dates and does not additional address what occurs when it expires, the composed agreement ends, but the tenancy does not. That is since when you relocate with the agreement of a landlord, the landlord must send a notification to end the occupancy, even if there is a composed rental contract which ends. To put it simply, the expiration of the contract is not adequate notification to end a tenancy.

A written rental agreement that expires on a specific date could include a provision that specifies the length of the occupancy after that date has passed. It could say, for instance, the occupancy continues from month to month. Or it could say if you do not move out, the tenancy continues for another year.

Whatever it states, if the landlord wants you out, they need to give you a termination notice required by the occupancy you have.

Discover more on our Rent Increases page.

A Vermont law that took result on July 1, 2018, legalized possession of as much as an ounce of cannabis and 2 mature and four immature plants. If you are a renter, or if you have a rental aid from a housing authority, or if you have some other type of federally assisted rental subsidy, beware. Your lease and program guidelines might still make it a violation of the guidelines for you to have marijuana or marijuana plants in your rental system. Your lease may likewise ban smoking cigarettes, including smoking cannabis.

The brand-new Vermont law does not alter the terms of your lease. The new law does not change the program rules for occupants with federal rental assistance. If you are uncertain, inspect your lease or program guidelines or talk with your property owner or housing authority. You can likewise contact us for assistance. Your information will be sent out to Legal Services Vermont, which evaluates demands for assistance for both Vermont Legal Aid and Legal Services Vermont.

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