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

The RRAA needs that the duties and rights of proprietors and occupants 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 property owners. To learn more on these rights and duties, visit our Rights and Duties Explained page.

All of the agreements made by you and the property manager or implied by the RRAA are called the "terms" of the occupancy. 9 V.S.A. § 4454.

The RRAA secures you and needs you to do (or not do) some things. It also safeguards property managers and requires them to do (or not do) some things. The law is the very same if you have actually a composed or verbal rental arrangement. 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 duties in the RRAA for what should remain in a rental agreement.

The RRAA never ever utilizes the word "lease." Calling a residential rental agreement 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 utilize the word "lease."

Rental arrangements can be for an amount of time that is defined in the rental arrangement. For example, the contract could be 6 months or a year. During that time, all of the terms (including the amount of rent) of the tenancy remain the same. Or a rental arrangement can be "month-to-month." This means the length of the occupancy or the quantity of lease can be altered as long as you get the notification needed by the RRAA.

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

All of the rights and commitments of the RRAA become part of the arrangement even without being made a note of. 9 V.S.A. § 4453. Any extra terms may not be enforceable unless you and the property owner have actually discussed them and agreed - and then only as long as the RRAA does not forbid the arrangement. 9 V.S.A. § 4454.

If you have only a verbal contract, you may "agree" to something without understanding you have actually agreed. For example, if you accept no holes in the walls believing that does not keep you from hanging pictures, the proprietor might charge you for fixing the holes from hanging your photos.

When you are choosing to lease a house, you require to pay very close attention to what the property owner says.

Because the RRAA sets out numerous rights and duties of tenants and property managers, and due to the fact that composed rental arrangements can't change what remains in the RRAA, a written rental contract tends to have more benefits for property owners than for occupants.

Advantages for a proprietor:

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

• The landlord could make the time length of advance notification you need to give the landlord when you desire to move out longer. 9 V.S.A. § 4456( d).
• A composed rental arrangement might require you to pay your landlord's attorney's fees if an attorney is utilized to impose any part of the arrangement or to evict you. (Note: If you harm the unit or disturb your next-door neighbors and your property owner evicts you since of it, the RRAA makes you accountable for the property owner's lawyer'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 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 property manager can keep you from subleasing the place you lease, 9 V.S.A. § 4456b( a)( 1 ), and can kick out the person who subleases your location in an "expedited hearing." Expedited methods much faster than usual. 12 V.S.A. § 4853b.
  
  A composed rental agreement may assist you as an occupant because:
  
  - It might guarantee that the rent won't alter up until a particular date.
• It can limit the quantity your lease can go up.
• It can state the length of time you can live there.
• If it isn't composed in the arrangement, the landlord can't say you agreed to it. Verbal agreements outside the composed agreement may not be enforceable. For instance, a written arrangement can say who must spend for heating fuel or electrical power.
  
  Generally, a proprietor can not charge late charges.
  
  A late fee is legal only if:
  
  - The rental contract states a late charge will be charged for late lease, and
  
  - The charge is only the reasonable cost to the landlord because of the late payment. See Highgate Associates, Ltd. v. Merryfield, 157 Vt. 313 (1991 ). Reasonable expenses to the landlord suggests the proprietor's real additional cost due to the fact that of late rent, like extra cost in keeping the books, driving over to you, making telephone call, or writing you letters.
  
  A late cost is illegal when:
  
  - A flat charge of a particular amount of money if lease is paid after the lease day is generally not the property manager's affordable cost, therefore is illegal.
• Your property owner can not use you a rent "discount" 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 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 file, we will supply it on your demand. Please use our site feedback type to do so.)
  
  A rental contract can consist of these terms:
  
  - Only individuals named in the composed rental agreement (and their minor children, even if they arrive later on) can live in the rental.
• Subleasing is enabled or not permitted. 9 V.S.A. § 4456b( a)( 1 ).
• Smoking is not enabled.
• Pets are not permitted. But, if you need an animal because of your impairment, see our Reasonable Accommodations page.
• A description of what spaces (living space, other locations) are included.
• Rules about utilizing typical areas.
• Who is accountable for paying utility costs.
• The responsibility to pay a set quantity of rent, for a set amount of time, even if the renter chooses to vacate early. (The proprietor has a duty to re-rent the place as quickly as possible, but the tenant may owe rent till somebody else rents it.)
  
  You can agree to a change but you do not need to.
  
  If you or the property owner wishes to alter a term or condition in your rental contract, you can ask each other to concur. You or the property manager can't change the rights and commitments in the RRAA, but other parts of rental arrangements can be changed. If the rental contract remains in writing, modifications should be in writing.
  
  Generally for things like pets, improvements (remodeling or updating appliances or components) if one individual asks, and the other agrees, then that regard to the rental agreement is changed. But if the property owner desires something, and you don't want it, then you can disagree.
  
  The examples below presume that the unit remains in excellent repair work, and not being harmed by the occupant:
  
  - Two months after you relocate the proprietor states, "I desire to take out the tub and put in a shower." You state, "No, I like the bathtub." The tub is part of what you consented to lease, and you don't concur to change it. Landlord can't refurbish the bathroom.
• Or, property owner states, "I am changing my mind. You can't have a family pet." You do not need to concur to get rid of your animal.
• Or you say, "I don't like the gas stove in the home. I want an electrical range." Landlord doesn't have to accept a brand-new range.
  
  Note: There is a distinction in between arrangements to alter something and repair work required by law. The RRAA does not permit you or your family pet to trigger damage, 9 V.S.A. § 4456( a), (c), and the RRAA needs the property manager 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 property manager may desire to end the occupancy if among you desires a change and the other does not. If your rental contract is not for a specific period of time, either of you might give advance notice to end the tenancy. 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 agreement was for a particular amount 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 on what the composed contract says. If it specifies the dates and does not further address what happens when it ends, the composed contract ends, however the occupancy does not. That is due to the fact that when you move in with the contract of a property manager, the property owner must 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 adequate notice to end a tenancy.
  
  A written rental agreement that ends on a particular date could include a clause that specifies the length of the occupancy after that date has passed. It might say, for instance, the occupancy continues from month to month. Or it could say if you do not vacate, the tenancy continues for another year.
  
  Whatever it says, if the property manager wants you out, they need to give you a termination notification required by the tenancy you have.
  
  Discover more on our Rent Increases page.
  
  A Vermont law that took result on July 1, 2018, legislated ownership of approximately an ounce of marijuana and two mature 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 type of federally assisted rental aid, beware. Your lease and program rules might still make it a violation of the rules for you to have cannabis or cannabis plants in your rental unit. Your lease might likewise ban smoking, consisting of smoking cannabis.
  
  The new Vermont law does not change the regards to your lease. The brand-new law does not change the program guidelines for occupants with federal rental help. If you are uncertain, inspect your lease or program rules or talk with your property owner or housing authority. You can also contact us for assistance. Your information will be sent out to Legal Services Vermont, which screens demands for aid for both Vermont Legal Aid and Vermont.
  
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