All contracts between a proprietor and a tenant 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 composing. You and the proprietor have all the rights and obligations in the law even though there is no written contract. 9 V.S.A. § 4453.
buildguardian.com
The RRAA needs that the tasks and rights of property owners and renters in the law are suggested (made a part of) all rental contracts. Which ones are implied in all rental agreements? See this list of rights and tasks of tenants and landlords. To find out more on these rights and responsibilities, 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 secures you and requires you to do (or not do) some things. It also secures proprietors and requires them to do (or not do) some things. The law is the exact same if you have a composed or verbal rental agreement. 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 tasks in the RRAA for what need to be in a rental agreement.

The RRAA never uses the word "lease." Calling a residential rental contract 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 landlords and housing authorities do utilize the word "lease."

Rental agreements can be for an amount of time that is defined in the rental contract. For instance, the arrangement might be six months or a year. During that time, all of the terms (including the amount of rent) of the tenancy remain the exact same. Or a rental arrangement can be "month-to-month." This implies the length of the occupancy or the quantity of lease can be altered as long as you get the notice required by the RRAA.

As far as rental arrangements go, calling it a lease does not guarantee that the terms can't be changed for a year. If you want the tenancy to be for a particular period of time, you have to get the property manager to concur.

All of the rights and commitments of the RRAA are part of the agreement even without being composed down. 9 V.S.A. § 4453. Any additional terms may not be enforceable unless you and the property manager have discussed them and agreed - and then just as long as the RRAA does not prohibit the agreement. 9 V.S.A. § 4454.

If you have just a verbal arrangement, you may "concur" to something without understanding you have actually concurred. For example, if you concur to no holes in the walls thinking that does not keep you from hanging images, the proprietor might charge you for fixing the holes from hanging your photos.

When you are choosing to lease a house, you need to pay close attention to what the property owner states.

Because the RRAA sets out lots of rights and duties of occupants and property owners, and since written rental contracts can't change what remains in the RRAA, a composed rental arrangement tends to have more advantages for property managers than for tenants.

Advantages for a landlord:

- The landlord might reduce the time length of advance notice required to end the occupancy. 9 V.S.A. § 4467( c), (e).

• The proprietor might make the time length of advance notification you need to offer the when you desire to leave longer. 9 V.S.A. § 4456( d).
• A written rental arrangement might need you to pay your property owner's attorney's charges if a legal representative is utilized to impose any part of the contract or to evict you. (Note: If you damage the system or interrupt your next-door neighbors and your landlord evicts you since of it, the RRAA makes you accountable for the property manager's attorney's charges. 9 V.S.A. § 4456( e).).
• A composed rental contract can call 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 child. 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 force out the person who subleases your place in an "expedited hearing." Expedited methods much faster than typical. 12 V.S.A. § 4853b.
  
  A composed rental contract might help you as a renter because:
  
  - It may ensure that the lease won't 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 written in the agreement, the property manager can't say you accepted it. Verbal contracts outside the written arrangement might not be enforceable. For example, a written agreement can state who should spend for heating fuel or electrical power.
  
  Generally, a property manager can not charge late fees.
  
  A late charge is legal only if:
  
  - The rental arrangement states a late cost will be charged for late lease, and
  
  - The charge is just the affordable cost to the property manager since of the late payment. See Highgate Associates, Ltd. v. Merryfield, 157 Vt. 313 (1991 ). Reasonable costs to the property manager suggests the proprietor's actual extra cost due to the fact that of late rent, like extra cost in keeping the books, driving over to you, making phone calls, or composing you letters.
  
  A late fee is illegal when:
  
  - A flat charge of a particular quantity of money if rent is paid after the lease day is usually not the landlord's reasonable expense, therefore is unlawful.
• Your property manager can not offer you a rent "discount" for paying by a specific date. In one case, the Windham Superior Court held that rewards for early payments are the exact same as penalties and therefore, 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 variation of this PDF file, we will provide it on your demand. Please use our site feedback type to do so.)
  
  A rental arrangement can consist of these terms:
  
  - Only the individuals named in the composed rental arrangement (and their minor children, even if they get here later on) can reside in the rental.
• Subleasing is permitted or not permitted. 9 V.S.A. § 4456b( a)( 1 ).
• Smoking is not permitted.
• Pets are not permitted. But, if you require an animal because of your impairment, see our Reasonable Accommodations page.
• A description of what areas (living area, other areas) are consisted of.
• Rules about using typical locations.
• Who is accountable for paying utility bills.
• The obligation to pay a set quantity of lease, for a set period of time, even if the renter decides to move out early. (The landlord has a duty to re-rent the location as soon as possible, but the renter may owe lease till another person rents it.)
  
  You can concur to a modification however you do not need to.
  
  If you or the landlord wishes to change a term or condition in your rental agreement, you can ask each other to concur. You or the landlord can't change the rights and obligations in the RRAA, but other parts of rental contracts can be altered. If the rental agreement remains in writing, modifications need to remain in writing.
  
  Generally for things like animals, enhancements (refurnishing or upgrading appliances or fixtures) if someone asks, and the other concurs, then that regard to the rental agreement is changed. But if the property manager wants something, and you do not want it, then you can disagree.
  
  The examples below presume that the unit remains in excellent repair work, and not being damaged by the occupant:
  
  - Two months after you move in the property manager says, "I wish to secure the bathtub and put in a shower." You say, "No, I like the bathtub." The bath tub becomes part of what you agreed to lease, and you don't agree to change it. Landlord can't refurbish the bathroom.
• Or, proprietor states, "I am altering my mind. You can't have a pet." You don't need to concur to eliminate your pet.
• Or you say, "I don't like the gas range in the home. I desire an electric range." Landlord doesn't have to consent to a new range.
  
  Note: There is a distinction in between agreements to alter something and repair work needed by law. The RRAA does not permit you or your pet to trigger damage, 9 V.S.A. § 4456( a), (c), and the RRAA needs the landlord 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 property owner 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 amount of time, either of you could provide advance notification to end the occupancy. 9 V.S.A. § 4456( d), 9 V.S.A § 4467( c)( e).
  
  Staying longer than a written agreement
  
  Do you have a composed rental arrangement 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 is there no composed rental contract?
  
  It depends on what the written agreement says. If it specifies the dates and does not further address what happens when it ends, the written contract ends, however the tenancy does not. That is since when you relocate with the contract of a landlord, the proprietor must send out a notification to end the tenancy, even if there is a composed rental contract which ends. To put it simply, the expiration of the agreement is not sufficient notification to end an occupancy.
  
  A written rental agreement that expires on a certain date might include a clause that defines the length of the tenancy after that date has actually passed. It might say, for instance, the occupancy continues from month to month. Or it might say if you do not move out, the occupancy continues for another year.
  
  Whatever it says, if the property owner desires you out, they have to provide you a termination notification 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 as much as an ounce of marijuana and two 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 kind of federally assisted rental subsidy, beware. Your lease and program guidelines may still make it an offense of the rules for you to have cannabis or marijuana plants in your rental unit. Your lease may also ban smoking, consisting of smoking cigarettes cannabis.
  
  The new Vermont law does not change the terms of your lease. The new law does not change the program rules for renters with federal rental help. If you are not sure, examine your lease or program rules or talk to your property owner or housing authority. You can likewise call us for aid. Your info will be sent out to Legal Services Vermont, which screens requests for assistance for both Vermont Legal Aid and Legal Services Vermont.
  
  Print.
  Housing. Discrimination/ Fair Housing. Housing Discrimination Does Happen in Vermont
  
  
  Have You Been Discriminated Against? Disability Discrimination. Who is Protected?
  
  
  Reasonable Accommodations and Modifications
  
  
  Assistance Animals
  
  Mortgages and Residential Or Commercial Property Taxes After a Catastrophe
  
  
  COVID-19 Crisis, Mortgages and Foreclosures
  
  
  Foreclosure Process
  
  
  Foreclosure Mediation
  
  
  Special Loans and Situations
  
  
  Mortgage and Foreclosure Form Letters
  
  
  More Help
  
  
  Renter Rights After a Disaster
  
  
  Vermont Law on Renting: The RRAA
  
  
  What to Know Before You Rent
  
  
  All About Rental Agreements
  
  
  Rights and Duties Explained
  
  
  Rent Increases
  
  
  Bedbugs
  
  
  Repair Problems
  
  
  Guests, Roommates & Trespassers
  
  
  Can the Landlord Enter My Unit?
  
  
  Lockouts, Utility Shutoffs & Your Belongings
  
  
  Housing Protections for Victims
  
  
  Leaving
  
  
  Security Deposits
  
  
  Evictions
  
  
  Notice to Terminate Tenancy
  
  
  Court Process: General
  
  
  Court Process: Eviction
  
  
  Court Process: Suing Landlord
  
  
  Court Process: Small Claims
  
  
  Abandoned Rental Unit or Residential Or Commercial Property
  
  
  Rights of Tenants When a Proprietor remains in Foreclosure
  
  
  Renter Credit/ Rebate
  
  
  Subsidized Housing/ Subsidies
  
  
  Health and Safety
  
  
  Mobile Home Park Leases
  
  
  Lot Rent Increases
  
  
  Mobile Home Park Evictions
  
  
  Selling Your Mobile Home
  
  
  Abandoned Mobile Homes
  
  
  When a Park is Sold or Closes
  
  Links to Vermont law
  
  V.S.A. indicates Vermont Statutes Annotated. The number before V.S.A. is the title number. The number after § is the area number. You can utilize these links to search for Vermont laws discussed on this page:
  
  9 V.S.A.
  
  . More Help
  
  How We Can Help - Contact Us
  
  Forms You Can Use
  
  Help From Other Vermont Lawyers:
  
  Ask legal questions through Vermont's Free Legal Answers program. Vermont Bar Association attorney recommendation. VT Association for Justice legal representative referral. Criminal Public Defenders
  
  Legal Help for Active Military, Veterans & Their Families
  
  Legal Problem in Another State
  
  Quick Links
  
  - Home.
• How We Can Help - Contact Us. - Locations.
• Legal Help Tool.
• Legal Roadmaps.
• VTCourtForms.
• Other Forms You Can Use.
• COVID Legal + Benefits Info.
• Website + SMS Privacy.
• Accessibility.
• PDFs and Adobe Reader
  
  Language Help
  
  - Sign Language.
• العربية/ Arabic.
• Bosanski/ Bosnian.
• မ န မ စ/ Burmese.
• دری/ Dari.
• Español/ Spanish.
• Français/ French.
• Ikirundi/ Kirundi.
• Kiswahili/ Swahili.
• Mai-Mai/ Maay Maay.
• 官話/ 官话/ Mandarin.
• नेपाली/ Nepali.
• پښتو/ Pashto.
• Soomaali/ Somali.
• українська мова/ Ukrainian.
• Tiếng Việt/ Vietnamese.
• Google Translate
  
  About This Website
  
  VTLawHelp.org is a joint task of Vermont Legal Aid and Legal Services Vermont - Working Together for Justice.
  
  Funding from the Legal Services Corporation.
  
  © 2025 Legal Services Vermont and Vermont Legal Aid. All Rights Reserved.