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All contracts in between a landlord and a tenant are "rental arrangements" according to Vermont's Residential Rental Agreements Act (RRAA). 9 V.S.A. § 4451( 8 ). The rental agreement does not need to remain in writing. You and the property manager have all the rights and commitments in the law despite the fact that there is no written contract. 9 V.S.A. § 4453.
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The RRAA needs that the duties and rights of property managers and tenants in the law are implied (made a part of) all rental agreements. Which ones are implied in all rental agreements? See this list of rights and tasks of renters and landlords. To learn more on these rights and tasks, visit our Rights and Duties Explained page.

All of the contracts 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 protects property managers and requires them to do (or not do) some things. The law is the very same if you have actually a written 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 responsibilities in the RRAA for what must be in a rental agreement.

The RRAA never uses the word "lease." Calling a property rental agreement a "lease" does not have any unique 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 property managers and housing authorities do use the word "lease."

Rental agreements can be for a duration of time that is defined in the rental contract. For example, the agreement might be six months or a year. During that time, all of the terms (including the amount of lease) of the occupancy remain the very same. Or a rental agreement can be "month-to-month." This suggests the length of the tenancy or the amount of lease can be changed as long as you get the notice required by the RRAA.

As far as rental contracts go, calling it a lease doesn't guarantee that the terms can't be altered for a year. If you want the occupancy to be for a specific time period, you have to get the landlord to concur.

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

If you have only a spoken contract, you might "agree" to something without understanding you have concurred. For instance, if you consent to no holes in the walls thinking that does not keep you from hanging images, the property manager might charge you for repairing the holes from hanging your photos.

When you are choosing to rent a house, you need to pay attention to what the proprietor says.

Because the RRAA sets out lots of rights and duties of renters and proprietors, and since composed rental contracts can't alter what remains in the RRAA, a written rental contract tends to have more benefits for property owners than for occupants.

Advantages for a landlord:

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

• The landlord could make the time length of advance notification you require to provide the property manager when you want to move out longer. 9 V.S.A. § 4456( d).
• A composed rental contract might need you to pay your property owner's attorney's fees if an attorney is used to implement any part of the contract or to evict you. (Note: If you damage the unit or disturb your neighbors and your property owner evicts you because of it, the RRAA makes you responsible for the landlord's lawyer's costs. 9 V.S.A. § 4456( e).).
• A written rental arrangement can name the 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 a baby. 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 individual who subleases your location in an "expedited hearing." Expedited means faster than usual. 12 V.S.A. § 4853b.
  
  A composed rental arrangement may help you as a tenant since:
  
  - It might guarantee that the lease won't change up until a particular date.
• It can limit the amount your rent can increase.
• It can state the length of time you can live there.
• If it isn't composed in the contract, the property owner can't state you concurred to it. Verbal contracts outside the composed arrangement may not be enforceable. For example, a written contract can state who need to pay for heating fuel or electrical energy.
  
  Generally, a landlord can not charge late costs.
  
  A late charge is legal only if:
  
  - The rental contract says a late charge will be charged for late lease, and
  
  - The charge is only the reasonable cost to the property manager since of the late payment. See Highgate Associates, Ltd. v. Merryfield, 157 Vt. 313 (1991 ). Reasonable costs to the proprietor means the property manager's real additional expenditure since of late lease, like additional expense in keeping the books, driving over to you, making call, or composing you letters.
  
  A late fee is not legal when:
  
  - A flat charge of a specific amount of money if rent is paid after the rent day is generally not the proprietor's sensible cost, therefore is unlawful.
• Your proprietor can not use you a lease "discount rate" 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 therefore, they are not lawfully legitimate. See Shapiro v. Cormier, Docket No. 220-5-12 Wmcv (Windham Super. Ct., Aug. 22, 2012). (If you require an accessible version of this PDF document, we will supply it on your request. Please use our website feedback form to do so.)
  
  A rental contract can include these terms:
  
  - Only individuals called in the composed rental arrangement (and their minor kids, even if they get here later) can reside in the rental system.
• Subleasing is permitted or not enabled. 9 V.S.A. § 4456b( a)( 1 ).
• Smoking is not allowed.
• Pets are not enabled. But, if you require an animal because of your disability, see our Reasonable Accommodations page.
• A description of what spaces (home, other areas) are included.
• Rules about utilizing common locations.
• Who is accountable for paying utility expenses.
• The obligation to pay a set amount of lease, for a set time period, even if the renter decides to leave early. (The property manager has a task to re-rent the place as soon as possible, but the renter may owe rent until another person rents it.)
  
  You can consent to a change but you don't have to.
  
  If you or the property manager desires to alter a term or condition in your rental contract, you can ask each other to agree. You or the landlord can't change the rights and commitments in the RRAA, but other parts of rental agreements can be altered. If the rental agreement is in writing, changes should be in composing.
  
  Generally for things like animals, enhancements (remodeling or updating devices or components) if one person asks, and the other agrees, then that regard to the rental agreement is altered. But if the property manager wants something, and you do not desire it, then you can disagree.
  
  The examples listed below presume that the unit remains in excellent repair, and not being damaged by the tenant:
  
  - Two months after you relocate the proprietor states, "I desire to secure the bath tub and put in a shower." You say, "No, I like the tub." The bathtub belongs to what you consented to lease, and you do not agree to change it. Landlord can't remodel the restroom.
• Or, property manager states, "I am changing my mind. You can't have a pet." You don't have to consent to eliminate your family pet.
• Or you state, "I do not like the gas range in the house. I desire an electrical stove." Landlord does not have to accept a new stove.
  
  Note: There is a distinction in between contracts to alter something and repairs required by law. The RRAA does not allow you or your pet to cause damage, 9 V.S.A. § 4456( a), (c), and the RRAA requires the property owner 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 proprietor might desire to end the occupancy if among you desires a modification and the other doesn't. If your rental contract is not for a particular duration of time, either of you could 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 agreement that states the rental agreement was for a certain time period, for example January 1 - December 31? If that time has ended, you may wonder if there is still a written rental arrangement, or exists no composed rental contract?
  
  It depends on what the composed agreement states. If it mentions the dates and does not more address what happens when it expires, the written agreement ends, however the occupancy does not. That is because when you move in with the arrangement of a property manager, the property manager should send a notification to end the tenancy, 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 composed rental arrangement that expires on a specific date might include a stipulation that defines the length of the occupancy after that date has actually passed. It might say, for instance, the tenancy continues from month to month. Or it could say if you do not move out, the tenancy continues for another year.
  
  Whatever it says, if the proprietor desires you out, they need to give you a termination notice required by the tenancy you have.
  
  Discover more on our Rent Increases page.
  
  A Vermont law that worked on July 1, 2018, legislated ownership of up to an ounce of marijuana and 2 fully grown and 4 immature plants. If you are an occupant, or if you have a rental aid from a housing authority, or if you have some other kind of federally helped rental aid, 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 also prohibit smoking cigarettes, including smoking cannabis.
  
  The new Vermont law does not alter the regards to your lease. The new law does not change the program rules for tenants with federal rental help. If you are uncertain, examine your lease or program guidelines or speak to your property manager or housing authority. You can also call us for help. Your info will be sent to Legal Services Vermont, which evaluates demands for help for both Vermont Legal Aid and Legal Services Vermont.
  
  Print.

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