All agreements between a proprietor and an occupant are "rental arrangements" according to Vermont's Residential Rental Agreements Act (RRAA). 9 V.S.A. § 4451( 8 ). The rental arrangement does not have to be in writing. You and the property manager have all the rights and commitments in the law even though there is no written contract. 9 V.S.A. § 4453.

The RRAA requires that the duties and rights of property owners and renters in the law are indicated (made a part of) all rental arrangements. Which ones are suggested in all rental arrangements? See this list of rights and duties of tenants and landlords. To learn more on these rights and responsibilities, visit our Rights and Duties Explained page.
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All of the arrangements made by you and the property manager or suggested by the RRAA are called the "terms" of the tenancy. 9 V.S.A. § 4454.

The RRAA protects you and requires you to do (or not do) some things. It also safeguards property owners and requires them to do (or not do) some things. The law is the same if you have actually a composed or verbal rental arrangement. 9 V.S.A. § 4453.

Any part of a rental arrangement that tries 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 agreement.

The RRAA never uses the word "lease." Calling a domestic 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 property managers and housing authorities do utilize the word "lease."

Rental contracts can be for a time period that is defined in the rental agreement. For example, the arrangement might be 6 months or a year. During that time, all of the terms (consisting of the quantity of lease) of the occupancy remain the very same. Or a rental contract can be "month-to-month." This means the length of the occupancy or the quantity of rent can be changed 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 want the occupancy to be for a specific time period, you have to get the property owner to agree.

All of the rights and obligations of the RRAA are part of the arrangement even without being written down. 9 V.S.A. § 4453. Any additional terms might not be enforceable unless you and the property owner have actually spoken about them and agreed - and then only as long as the RRAA does not forbid the contract. 9 V.S.A. § 4454.

If you have only a spoken agreement, you might "agree" to something without understanding you have concurred. For example, if you agree to no holes in the walls believing that does not keep you from hanging pictures, the property owner might charge you for fixing the holes from hanging your images.

When you are deciding to rent a house, you need to pay attention to what the landlord says.

Because the RRAA sets out many rights and responsibilities of tenants and proprietors, and due to the fact that written rental agreements can't change what remains in the RRAA, a written rental agreement tends to have more benefits for property managers than for tenants.

Advantages for a property manager:

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

• The property manager could make the time length of advance notice you need to offer the property owner when you wish to move out longer. 9 V.S.A. § 4456( d).
• A written rental contract could need you to pay your proprietor's lawyer's charges if a lawyer is utilized to enforce any part of the arrangement or to evict you. (Note: If you harm the system or disrupt your next-door neighbors and your property manager 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 name individuals who can reside in the system, and keep you from letting somebody relocation in. - Note: It would be discrimination for a property manager to evict you for having a child. 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 kick out the individual who subleases your location in an "expedited hearing." Expedited means quicker than typical. 12 V.S.A. § 4853b.
  
  A written rental arrangement may assist you as a renter since:
  
  - It might guarantee that the lease won't change until a specific date.
• It can restrict 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 consented to it. Verbal contracts outside the written agreement may not be enforceable. For example, a written contract can say who must spend for heating fuel or electrical energy.
  
  Generally, a property manager can not charge late charges.
  
  A late cost is legal only if:
  
  - The rental agreement says a late charge will be charged for late lease, and
  
  - The charge is just the sensible expense to the landlord because of the late payment. See Highgate Associates, Ltd. v. Merryfield, 157 Vt. 313 (1991 ). Reasonable expenses to the property manager suggests the landlord's real additional cost since of late rent, like extra cost in keeping the books, driving over to you, making phone calls, or composing you letters.
  
  A late charge is not legal when:
  
  - A flat charge of a certain amount of cash if lease is paid after the rent day is usually not the proprietor's sensible cost, and so is prohibited.
• Your property manager can not use you a rent "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 valid. See Shapiro v. Cormier, Docket No. 220-5-12 Wmcv (Windham Super. Ct., Aug. 22, 2012). (If you need an accessible version of this PDF document, we will offer it on your demand. Please use our site feedback form to do so.)
  
  A rental arrangement can include these terms:
  
  - Only the individuals called in the composed rental arrangement (and their small children, even if they show up later) can reside in the rental unit.
• Subleasing is allowed or not allowed. 9 V.S.A. § 4456b( a)( 1 ).
• Smoking is not permitted.
• Pets are not allowed. But, if you need an animal since of your special needs, see our Reasonable Accommodations page.
• A description of what areas (living space, other areas) are consisted of.
• Rules about using typical areas.
• Who is responsible for paying utility expenses.
• The duty to pay a set amount of rent, for a set amount of time, even if the tenant decides to move out early. (The property manager has a task to re-rent the place as soon as possible, however the renter may owe lease till somebody else rents it.)
  
  You can concur to a change but you do not have to.
  
  If you or the property manager wishes to change a term or condition in your rental agreement, you can ask each other to agree. You or the landlord can't alter the rights and responsibilities in the RRAA, however other parts of rental agreements can be altered. If the rental contract is in writing, modifications should be in writing.
  
  Generally for things like animals, enhancements (refurnishing or updating devices or fixtures) if someone asks, and the other agrees, then that regard to the rental arrangement is changed. But if the property manager desires something, and you do not desire it, then you can disagree.
  
  The below assume that the unit is in good repair work, and not being damaged by the renter:
  
  - Two months after you relocate the landlord says, "I desire to secure the tub and put in a shower." You state, "No, I like the bathtub." The tub belongs to what you agreed to lease, and you don't accept change it. Landlord can't renovate the bathroom.
• Or, landlord says, "I am altering my mind. You can't have a family pet." You do not have to consent to eliminate your family pet.
• Or you say, "I do not like the gas range in the home. I desire an electrical stove." Landlord does not need to accept a new range.
  
  Note: There is a difference between contracts to alter something and repairs required by law. The RRAA does not enable you or your family pet to cause damage, 9 V.S.A. § 4456( a), (c), and the RRAA requires the proprietor 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 landlord might desire to end the tenancy if among you wants a modification and the other doesn't. If your rental agreement is not for a specific amount of time, either of you could provide 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 states the rental contract was for a certain amount of time, for example January 1 - December 31? If that time has expired, you may question if there is still a written rental contract, or is there no written rental arrangement?
  
  It depends upon what the composed agreement states. If it states the dates and does not additional address what takes place when it expires, the composed agreement ends, however the occupancy does not. That is since when you relocate with the arrangement of a property owner, the property manager must send out a notification to end the tenancy, even if there is a composed rental arrangement which expires. In other words, the expiration of the arrangement is not adequate notice to end a tenancy.
  
  A composed rental contract that expires on a certain date could consist of a stipulation that defines the length of the tenancy after that date has actually passed. It might say, for example, the occupancy continues from month to month. Or it could state if you don't vacate, the tenancy continues for another year.
  
  Whatever it states, if the proprietor desires you out, they need to provide you a termination notice required by the occupancy you have.
  
  Find out more on our Rent Increases page.
  
  A Vermont law that worked on July 1, 2018, legalized ownership of approximately an ounce of marijuana 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 kind of federally helped rental aid, beware. Your lease and program guidelines might still make it an offense of the guidelines for you to have cannabis or marijuana plants in your rental. Your lease might also prohibit smoking cigarettes, consisting of smoking cigarettes marijuana.
  
  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 assistance. If you are not sure, inspect your lease or program rules or speak to your property manager or housing authority. You can also call us for help. Your info will be sent out to Legal Services Vermont, which screens requests for help for both Vermont Legal Aid and Legal Services Vermont.
  
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