All contracts in between a property owner and a renter are "rental arrangements" according to Vermont's Residential Rental Agreements Act (RRAA). 9 V.S.A. § 4451( 8 ). The rental agreement does not have to be in composing. You and the landlord have all the rights and commitments 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 arrangements. Which ones are suggested in all rental agreements? See this list of rights and responsibilities of renters and landlords. For more details on these rights and duties, visit our Rights and Duties Explained page.

All of the arrangements made by you and the property owner or indicated 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 secures landlords and needs them to do (or not do) some things. The law is the same if you have 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 duties in the RRAA for what must be in a rental arrangement.

The RRAA never ever uses the word "lease." Calling a domestic rental contract a "lease" does not have any special 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 utilize the word "lease."

Rental contracts can be for a duration of time that is defined in the rental contract. For instance, the contract could be six months or a year. During that time, all of the terms (including the amount of lease) of the occupancy stay the exact same. Or a rental arrangement can be "month-to-month." This suggests the length of the tenancy or the quantity of rent can be changed as long as you get the notification required by the RRAA.
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As far as rental agreements go, calling it a lease does not ensure that the terms can't be changed for a year. If you desire the tenancy to be for a specific amount of time, you have to get the landlord to concur.

All of the rights and commitments of the RRAA belong to the agreement even without being jotted down. 9 V.S.A. § 4453. Any extra terms may not be enforceable unless you and the landlord have talked about them and concurred - and then just as long as the RRAA does not prohibit the arrangement. 9 V.S.A. § 4454.

If you have just a verbal agreement, you may "agree" to something without understanding you have actually agreed. For instance, if you concur to no holes in the walls believing that does not keep you from hanging pictures, the property manager may charge you for fixing the holes from hanging your pictures.

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

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

Advantages for a landlord:

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

• The property manager could make the time length of advance notification you need to offer the proprietor when you want to vacate longer. 9 V.S.A. § 4456( d).
• A composed rental agreement could require you to pay your property manager's attorney's charges if a lawyer is used to enforce any part of the contract or to evict you. (Note: If you harm the unit or disrupt your next-door neighbors and your property owner evicts you due to the fact that of it, the RRAA makes you responsible for the landlord's lawyer's fees. 9 V.S.A. § 4456( e).).
• A written rental contract can call the people who can live in the unit, and keep you from letting somebody move in. - Note: It would be discrimination for a property manager 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 kick out the individual who subleases your location in an "expedited hearing." Expedited ways faster than normal. 12 V.S.A. § 4853b.
  
  A composed rental contract might assist you as an occupant because:
  
  - It might ensure that the lease won't alter until a specific 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 agreement, the landlord can't say you consented to it. Verbal agreements outside the composed contract may not be enforceable. For instance, a written agreement can state who need to pay for heating fuel or electricity.
  
  Generally, a property owner can not charge late costs.
  
  A late charge is legal only if:
  
  - The rental agreement states a late cost will be charged for late lease, and
  
  - The charge is just the affordable expense to the property manager since of the late payment. See Highgate Associates, Ltd. v. Merryfield, 157 Vt. 313 (1991 ). Reasonable expenses to the property owner implies the property manager's real additional expense since of late rent, like additional cost in keeping the books, driving over to you, making phone calls, or composing you letters.
  
  A late cost is not legal when:
  
  - A flat charge of a particular quantity of cash if rent is paid after the lease day is usually not the proprietor's sensible expense, and so is unlawful.
• Your landlord can not offer you a lease "discount" for paying by a particular date. In one case, the Windham Superior Court held that incentives for early payments are the same as penalties and therefore, 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 accessible variation of this PDF document, we will offer it on your request. Please utilize our website feedback type to do so.)
  
  A rental contract can consist of these terms:
  
  - Only the individuals called in the written rental agreement (and their minor children, even if they arrive later on) can reside in the rental.
• Subleasing is allowed or not enabled. 9 V.S.A. § 4456b( a)( 1 ).
• Smoking is not enabled.
• Pets are not enabled. But, if you need an animal since of your disability, see our Reasonable Accommodations page.
• A description of what spaces (living area, other locations) are included.
• Rules about using common locations.
• Who is accountable for paying utility bills.
• The responsibility to pay a set amount of lease, for a set period of time, even if the renter decides to vacate early. (The proprietor has a duty to re-rent the location as quickly as possible, however the occupant might owe lease up until another person rents it.)
  
  You can accept a change however you don't have to.
  
  If you or the landlord wishes to alter a term or condition in your rental contract, you can ask each other to concur. You or the landlord can't change the rights and obligations in the RRAA, however other parts of rental arrangements can be changed. If the rental contract is in writing, modifications should remain in writing.
  
  Generally for things like family pets, improvements (refurnishing or updating appliances or fixtures) if someone asks, and the other concurs, then that regard to the rental agreement is changed. But if the landlord desires something, and you do not desire it, then you can disagree.
  
  The examples below presume that the system remains in good repair, and not being harmed by the renter:
  
  - Two months after you move in the property manager states, "I wish to take out the bathtub and put in a shower." You state, "No, I like the bathtub." The bathtub becomes part of what you accepted lease, and you do not consent to change it. Landlord can't remodel the bathroom.
• Or, proprietor states, "I am changing my mind. You can't have a pet." You do not have to agree to get rid of your animal.
• Or you say, "I don't like the gas stove in the home. I want an electrical stove." Landlord does not need to agree to a brand-new range.
  
  Note: There is a distinction between agreements to change something and repair work needed by law. The RRAA does not permit you or your family pet to cause damage, 9 V.S.A. § 4456( a), (c), and the RRAA needs the proprietor 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 proprietor might wish to end the tenancy if one of you wants a modification and the other doesn't. If your rental agreement is not for a specific time period, 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 composed agreement
  
  Do you have a composed rental contract that says the rental contract was for a particular time period, for instance January 1 - December 31? If that time has expired, you may wonder if there is still a composed rental agreement, or exists no composed rental agreement?
  
  It depends on what the written agreement states. If it specifies the dates and does not more address what takes place when it ends, the composed agreement ends, but the occupancy does not. That is since when you relocate with the contract of a property owner, the proprietor should send a notice to end the tenancy, even if there is a composed rental contract which expires. Simply put, the expiration of the contract is not adequate notice to end an occupancy.
  
  A composed rental arrangement that ends on a particular date might consist of a clause that defines the length of the tenancy after that date has passed. It might say, for instance, the tenancy continues from month to month. Or it could state if you don't move out, the occupancy continues for another year.
  
  Whatever it says, if the landlord wants you out, they need to provide you a termination notice required by the tenancy you have.
  
  Discover more on our Rent Increases page.
  
  A Vermont law that took impact on July 1, 2018, legalized belongings of approximately an ounce of marijuana and 2 mature and 4 immature plants. If you are a renter, 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 a violation of the guidelines for you to have marijuana or cannabis plants in your rental system. Your lease may likewise prohibit smoking, consisting of smoking cigarettes marijuana.
  
  The new Vermont law does not alter the regards to your lease. The brand-new law does not change the program guidelines for occupants with federal rental support. If you are not sure, inspect your lease or program guidelines or talk with your landlord or housing authority. You can also contact us for assistance. Your info will be sent out to Legal Services Vermont, which screens demands for aid for both Vermont Legal Aid and Legal Services Vermont.
  
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