All agreements in between a property owner and a renter 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 owner have all the rights and obligations in the law despite the fact that there is no written contract. 9 V.S.A. § 4453.
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The RRAA requires that the responsibilities and rights of property managers and occupants in the law are indicated (made a part of) all rental agreements. Which ones are implied in all rental agreements? See this list of rights and responsibilities of renters and property managers. To learn more on these rights and duties, visit our Rights and Duties Explained page.

All of the arrangements made by you and the landlord or implied 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 also protects property managers and needs them to do (or not do) some things. The law is the same if you have a written or spoken rental agreement. 9 V.S.A. § 4453.

Any part of a rental arrangement 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 arrangement.

The RRAA never utilizes the word "lease." Calling a property 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 use the word "lease."

Rental arrangements can be for a duration of time that is specified in the rental arrangement. For instance, the arrangement might be 6 months or a year. During that time, all of the terms (consisting of the quantity of rent) of the occupancy stay the same. Or a rental agreement can be "month-to-month." This indicates the length of the occupancy or the amount of rent can be altered 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 changed for a year. If you want the tenancy to be for a particular time period, you need to get the landlord to agree.

All of the rights and commitments of the RRAA are part of the agreement even without being documented. 9 V.S.A. § 4453. Any extra terms might not be enforceable unless you and the property manager have talked about them and agreed - and after that only as long as the RRAA does not restrict the agreement. 9 V.S.A. § 4454.

If you have only a spoken contract, you may "concur" to something without understanding 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 fixing the holes from hanging your photos.

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

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

Advantages for a property owner:

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

• The property manager could make the time length of advance notification you require to provide the proprietor when you wish to move out longer. 9 V.S.A. § 4456( d).
• A composed rental contract could need you to pay your property manager's lawyer's fees if a legal representative is utilized to implement any part of the contract or to evict you. (Note: If you harm the unit or disturb your next-door neighbors and your landlord evicts you due to the fact that 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 call the individuals who can live in the unit, and keep you from letting someone move in. - Note: It would be discrimination for a property manager to evict you for having a child. 9 V.S.A. § 4503( a).
• A proprietor can keep you from subleasing the location you lease, 9 V.S.A. § 4456b( a)( 1 ), and can kick out the person who subleases your place in an "expedited hearing." Expedited methods faster than normal. 12 V.S.A. § 4853b.
  
  A composed rental arrangement might assist you as a renter since:
  
  - It may guarantee that the rent will not change till a specific date.
• It can restrict the quantity your rent can go up.
• It can say the length of time you can live there.
• If it isn't composed in the arrangement, the proprietor can't say you accepted it. Verbal arrangements outside the composed agreement might not be enforceable. For instance, a written contract can say who must pay for heating fuel or electrical power.
  
  Generally, a proprietor can not charge late fees.
  
  A late fee is legal just if:
  
  - The rental arrangement states a late charge will be charged for late lease, and
  
  - The charge is just the affordable expense to the property owner because of the late payment. See Highgate Associates, Ltd. v. Merryfield, 157 Vt. 313 (1991 ). Reasonable expenses to the property manager indicates the proprietor's actual extra cost due to the fact that of late rent, like extra expense in keeping the books, driving over to you, making call, or composing you letters.
  
  A late fee is illegal when:
  
  - A flat charge of a specific amount of cash if rent is paid after the lease day is generally not the landlord's affordable expense, and so is unlawful.
• Your property owner can not provide you a lease "discount" for paying by a particular date. In one case, the Windham Superior Court held that rewards for early payments are the exact same as charges and thus, they are not legally 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 file, we will offer it on your demand. Please use our site feedback kind to do so.)
  
  A rental agreement can consist of these terms:
  
  - Only individuals named in the written rental arrangement (and their minor kids, even if they show up later) can live in the rental.
• Subleasing is allowed or not allowed. 9 V.S.A. § 4456b( a)( 1 ).
• Smoking is not allowed.
• Pets are not permitted. But, if you require an animal because of your special needs, see our Reasonable Accommodations page.
• A description of what spaces (living space, other areas) are consisted of.
• Rules about using typical locations.
• Who is accountable for paying utility bills.
• The obligation to pay a set amount of lease, for a set time period, even if the tenant chooses to leave early. (The landlord has a duty to re-rent the place as soon as possible, but the renter may owe rent till somebody else rents it.)
  
  You can consent to a change however you don't have to.
  
  If you or the landlord wishes to change a term or condition in your rental arrangement, you can ask each other to concur. You or the property manager can't alter the rights and obligations in the RRAA, but other parts of rental arrangements can be altered. If the rental contract remains in writing, changes ought to be in writing.
  
  Generally for things like animals, enhancements (redecorating or updating appliances or fixtures) if one person asks, and the other agrees, then that term of the rental agreement is changed. But if the proprietor wants something, and you do not want it, then you can disagree.
  
  The examples below presume that the unit remains in good repair work, and not being harmed by the tenant:
  
  - Two months after you move in the property manager says, "I wish to secure the tub and put in a shower." You state, "No, I like the bathtub." The bath tub belongs to what you consented to lease, and you don't concur to change it. Landlord can't renovate the restroom.
• Or, property owner states, "I am changing my mind. You can't have a pet." You don't have to consent to eliminate your pet.
• Or you say, "I do not like the gas stove in the apartment or condo. I desire an electric range." Landlord does not need to consent to a brand-new range.
  
  Note: There is a difference between contracts to change something and repairs required by law. The RRAA does not enable you or your pet to cause damage, 9 V.S.A. § 4456( a), (c), and the RRAA needs the landlord to keep the system safe and clean, 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 tenancy if among you desires a modification and the other doesn't. If your rental agreement is not for a specific time period, 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 composed contract
  
  Do you have a composed rental agreement that states the rental agreement was for a certain amount of time, for instance January 1 - December 31? If that time has expired, you may wonder if there is still a written rental contract, or exists no written rental arrangement?
  
  It depends on what the composed arrangement says. If it specifies the dates and does not further address what occurs when it ends, the written contract ends, however the tenancy does not. That is because when you relocate with the arrangement of a property manager, the landlord must send out a notice to end the tenancy, even if there is a written rental agreement which ends. To put it simply, the expiration of the arrangement is not enough notification to end a tenancy.
  
  A written rental contract that ends on a specific date could consist of a provision that defines the length of the tenancy after that date has passed. It might say, for example, the occupancy continues from month to month. Or it could state if you don't leave, the occupancy continues for another year.
  
  Whatever it says, if the property owner desires you out, they have to offer you a termination notice needed by the occupancy you have.
  
  Find out 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 form of federally helped rental aid, take care. Your lease and program rules may still make it an infraction of the rules for you to have cannabis or cannabis plants in your rental. Your lease may also prohibit smoking cigarettes, including cigarette smoking marijuana.
  
  The new Vermont law does not alter the terms of your lease. The new law does not change the program rules for renters with federal rental support. If you are uncertain, check your lease or program guidelines or speak with your property owner or housing authority. You can also call us for help. Your details will be sent out to Legal Services Vermont, which screens requests for assistance for both Vermont Legal Aid and Legal Services Vermont.
  
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