Everything About Rental Agreements

All arrangements in between a property owner and a renter are "rental contracts" according to Vermont's Residential Rental Agreements Act (RRAA). 9 V.S.A. § 4451( 8 ). The rental contract does not have to remain in writing. You and the landlord have all the rights and commitments in the law despite the fact that there is no written contract. 9 V.S.A. § 4453.

The RRAA needs that the tasks and rights of property managers and tenants in the law are implied (made a part of) all rental contracts. Which ones are indicated in all rental agreements? See this list of rights and responsibilities of tenants and property owners. For more details on these rights and tasks, visit our Rights and Duties Explained page.

All of the contracts made by you and the proprietor or suggested by the RRAA are called the "terms" of the tenancy. 9 V.S.A. § 4454.

The RRAA secures you and needs you to do (or not do) some things. It likewise protects proprietors and requires them to do (or not do) some things. The law is the exact same if you have a written or spoken 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 utilizes 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 owners and housing authorities do use the word "lease."

Rental arrangements can be for an amount of time that is defined in the rental arrangement. For instance, the arrangement could be six months or a year. During that time, all of the terms (including the amount of lease) of the tenancy stay the same. Or a rental arrangement can be "month-to-month." This implies the length of the tenancy or the quantity of rent can be altered as long as you get the notice needed 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 particular time period, you need to get the property manager to concur.

All of the rights and commitments of the RRAA belong to the agreement even without being documented. 9 V.S.A. § 4453. Any additional terms might not be enforceable unless you and the proprietor have talked about them and agreed - and then just as long as the RRAA does not prohibit the contract. 9 V.S.A. § 4454.

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

When you are deciding to lease an apartment, you need to pay very close attention to what the property manager says.

Because the RRAA sets out lots of rights and tasks of tenants and landlords, and due to the fact that written rental agreements can't alter what is in the RRAA, a written rental contract tends to have more advantages for landlords than for occupants.

Advantages for a property owner:

- The proprietor might shorten the time length of advance notification needed to end the occupancy. 9 V.S.A. § 4467( c), (e).
- The property owner might make the time length of advance notification you require to give the property manager when you wish to leave longer. 9 V.S.A. § 4456( d).
- A written rental contract could require you to pay your proprietor's attorney's fees if a legal representative is utilized to impose any part of the agreement or to evict you. (Note: If you damage the unit or disturb your next-door neighbors and your proprietor evicts you due to the fact that of it, the RRAA makes you responsible for the landlord's lawyer's charges. 9 V.S.A. § 4456( e).).
- A composed rental agreement can call the people 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 baby. 9 V.S.A. § 4503( a).
- A property owner can keep you from subleasing the location you lease, 9 V.S.A. § 4456b( a)( 1 ), and can evict the individual who subleases your place in an "expedited hearing." Expedited methods faster than usual. 12 V.S.A. § 4853b.

A written rental agreement may assist you as a tenant due to the fact that:

- It may ensure that the rent will not alter up until a particular date.
- It can limit the quantity your rent can increase.
- It can say the length of time you can live there.
- If it isn't composed in the contract, the property owner can't say you consented to it. Verbal arrangements outside the written agreement might not be enforceable. For instance, a written agreement can say who need to pay for heating fuel or electricity.

Generally, a landlord can not charge late costs.

A late fee is legal only if:

- The rental contract says a late charge will be charged for late lease, and

- The charge is only the sensible expense to the property owner because of the late payment. See Highgate Associates, Ltd. v. Merryfield, 157 Vt. 313 (1991 ). Reasonable expenses to the proprietor indicates the property manager's actual additional expense since of late lease, like extra cost 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 quantity of cash if rent is paid after the rent day is normally not the proprietor's reasonable cost, therefore is illegal.
- Your landlord can not offer 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 very same as charges 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 need an accessible variation of this PDF document, we will offer it on your request. Please utilize our site feedback form to do so.)

A rental contract can include these terms:

- Only individuals called in the written rental contract (and their minor kids, even if they show up later on) can reside in the rental unit.
- Subleasing is permitted or not enabled. 9 V.S.A. § 4456b( a)( 1 ).
- Smoking is not enabled.
- 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 locations) are included.
- Rules about utilizing typical areas.
- Who is responsible for paying utility costs.
- The duty to pay a set quantity of lease, for a set time period, even if the tenant decides to leave early. (The proprietor has a task to re-rent the location as quickly as possible, however the renter may owe lease till somebody else rents it.)

You can agree to a modification however you don't need to.

If you or the proprietor desires 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 agreements can be changed. If the rental agreement remains in writing, modifications ought to remain in writing.

Generally for things like animals, improvements (refurnishing or upgrading home appliances or components) if someone asks, and the other concurs, then that regard to the rental agreement is altered. But if the proprietor wants something, and you don't want it, then you can disagree.

The examples listed below assume that the unit remains in good repair work, and not being harmed by the renter:

- Two months after you relocate the property owner states, "I wish to get the bath tub and put in a shower." You state, "No, I like the bathtub." The bath tub is part of what you accepted lease, and you do not concur to alter it. Landlord can't remodel the restroom.
- Or, landlord states, "I am changing my mind. You can't have a family pet." You do not have to accept eliminate your family pet.
- Or you state, "I do not like the gas range in the home. I desire an electrical range." Landlord doesn't have to accept a brand-new range.

Note: There is a difference in between agreements to change something and repairs needed by law. The RRAA does not enable you or your animal to trigger damage, 9 V.S.A. § 4456( a), (c), and the RRAA requires the property owner 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 landlord may wish to end the tenancy if one of you wants a modification and the other doesn't. If your rental arrangement is not for a specific amount of time, either of you could provide advance notice to end the occupancy. 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 contract that says the rental contract was for a certain 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 is there no composed rental agreement?

It depends on what the written agreement states. If it states the dates and does not additional address what occurs when it expires, the written agreement ends, but the occupancy does not. That is due to the fact that when you move in with the contract of a property owner, the property manager needs to send a notification to end the occupancy, even if there is a written rental agreement which expires. Simply put, the expiration of the contract is not enough notification to end an occupancy.

A composed rental arrangement that expires on a certain date could include a clause that specifies the length of the occupancy after that date has actually passed. It could state, for example, the occupancy continues from month to month. Or it could state if you don't vacate, the occupancy continues for another year.

Whatever it says, if the property owner desires you out, they have to provide you a termination notice needed by the tenancy you have.

Find out more on our Rent Increases page.

A Vermont law that worked on July 1, 2018, legislated possession of as much as an ounce of cannabis and 2 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 helped rental aid, beware. Your lease and program rules may still make it a violation of the rules for you to have cannabis or marijuana plants in your rental. Your lease may also prohibit cigarette smoking, consisting of cigarette smoking marijuana.

The new Vermont law does not alter the regards to your lease. The brand-new law does not alter the program rules for tenants with federal rental assistance. If you are not sure, examine your lease or program guidelines or speak to your property manager or housing authority. You can also contact us for aid. Your details will be sent out to Legal Services Vermont, which evaluates requests for help for both Vermont Legal Aid and Legal Services Vermont.

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