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

The RRAA requires that the responsibilities and rights of proprietors and occupants in the law are implied (made a part of) all rental arrangements. Which ones are implied in all rental contracts? See this list of rights and responsibilities of renters and landlords. For additional information on these rights and responsibilities, visit our Rights and Duties Explained page.

All of the arrangements made by you and the proprietor or indicated by the RRAA are called the "terms" of the occupancy. 9 V.S.A. § 4454.

The RRAA safeguards you and needs you to do (or not do) some things. It also 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 contract. 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 tasks in the RRAA for what should be in a rental arrangement.

The RRAA never ever uses the word "lease." Calling a property rental contract a "lease" does not have any special legal meaning in Vermont. Other (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 utilize the word "lease."

Rental contracts can be for a duration of time that is specified in the rental arrangement. For example, the agreement could be 6 months or a year. During that time, all of the terms (consisting of the quantity of lease) of the tenancy remain the very same. Or a rental arrangement can be "month-to-month." This indicates the length of the occupancy or the quantity of lease 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 occupancy to be for a particular time period, you have to get the landlord to agree.

All of the rights and responsibilities of the RRAA are part of the contract even without being composed down. 9 V.S.A. § 4453. Any additional terms might not be enforceable unless you and the property owner have actually talked about them and agreed - and after that just as long as the RRAA does not prohibit the contract. 9 V.S.A. § 4454.

If you have only a verbal arrangement, you might "agree" to something without recognizing you have actually concurred. For instance, if you agree to no holes in the walls believing that does not keep you from hanging images, the property owner might charge you for repairing the holes from hanging your images.

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

Because the RRAA sets out lots of rights and duties of renters and property managers, and because composed rental contracts can't alter what is in the RRAA, a composed rental agreement tends to have more benefits for proprietors than for renters.

Advantages for a property owner:

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

• The proprietor could make the time length of advance notification you need to provide the property manager when you wish to vacate longer. 9 V.S.A. § 4456( d).
• A written rental agreement might need you to pay your property owner's attorney's fees if a lawyer is used to implement any part of the contract or to evict you. (Note: If you harm the system or disrupt your next-door neighbors and your proprietor evicts you since of it, the RRAA makes you responsible for the property owner's attorney's charges. 9 V.S.A. § 4456( e).).
• A composed rental contract can call 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 manager can keep you from subleasing the location you lease, 9 V.S.A. § 4456b( a)( 1 ), and can force out the individual who subleases your place in an "expedited hearing." Expedited means faster than typical. 12 V.S.A. § 4853b.
  
  A written rental arrangement might assist you as a tenant since:
  
  - It may guarantee that the rent will not alter until a certain date.
• It can limit the quantity your lease can go up.
• It can say the length of time you can live there.
• If it isn't composed in the agreement, the property owner can't say you agreed to it. Verbal contracts outside the written agreement might not be enforceable. For instance, a written arrangement can say who need to pay for heating fuel or electricity.
  
  Generally, a landlord can not charge late charges.
  
  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 sensible expense to the proprietor because of the late payment. See Highgate Associates, Ltd. v. Merryfield, 157 Vt. 313 (1991 ). Reasonable costs to the proprietor suggests the landlord's real extra expense because of late lease, like additional cost in keeping the books, driving over to you, making telephone call, or writing you letters.
  
  A late charge is not legal when:
  
  - A flat charge of a specific quantity of money if rent is paid after the rent day is generally not the property owner's affordable expense, and so is illegal.
• Your property owner can not provide you a lease "discount rate" for paying by a specific date. In one case, the Windham Superior Court held that rewards for early payments are the 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 version of this PDF document, we will supply it on your demand. Please utilize our website feedback type to do so.)
  
  A rental agreement can include these terms:
  
  - Only the people called in the written rental contract (and their small kids, even if they arrive later on) can live in the rental system.
• Subleasing is permitted or not enabled. 9 V.S.A. § 4456b( a)( 1 ).
• Smoking is not allowed.
• Pets are not allowed. But, if you require an animal due to the fact that of your special needs, see our Reasonable Accommodations page.
• A description of what areas (home, other locations) are included.
• Rules about utilizing common locations.
• Who is accountable for paying energy bills.
• The duty to pay a set amount of rent, for a set amount of time, even if the renter chooses to leave early. (The landlord has a duty to re-rent the place as soon as possible, but the renter might owe lease till someone else rents it.)
  
  You can consent to a modification but you don't have to.
  
  If you or the property owner 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 obligations in the RRAA, but other parts of rental agreements can be changed. If the rental arrangement remains in composing, changes ought to be in composing.
  
  Generally for things like family pets, enhancements (redecorating or upgrading devices or fixtures) if a single person asks, and the other agrees, then that regard to the rental contract is altered. But if the proprietor desires something, and you don't desire it, then you can disagree.
  
  The examples below presume that the system is in great repair work, and not being harmed by the occupant:
  
  - Two months after you move in the landlord states, "I wish to take out the bathtub and put in a shower." You state, "No, I like the bathtub." The bathtub is part of what you agreed to lease, and you don't consent to alter it. Landlord can't remodel the bathroom.
• Or, landlord states, "I am altering my mind. You can't have a pet." You don't need to accept get rid of your animal.
• Or you state, "I do not like the gas stove in the house. I desire an electric stove." Landlord does not have to accept a new stove.
  
  Note: There is a difference in between contracts to alter something and repair work required by law. The RRAA does not allow you or your animal to cause damage, 9 V.S.A. § 4456( a), (c), and the RRAA requires the landlord 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 landlord may wish to end the occupancy if one of you wants a change and the other doesn't. If your rental arrangement is not for a particular amount of time, either of you might provide advance notification to end the occupancy. 9 V.S.A. § 4456( d), 9 V.S.A § 4467( c)( e).
  
  Staying longer than a composed agreement
  
  Do you have a written rental agreement that says the rental agreement was for a specific time period, for instance January 1 - December 31? If that time has expired, you may question if there is still a composed rental agreement, or exists no composed rental contract?
  
  It depends on what the composed arrangement states. If it states the dates and does not additional address what happens when it ends, the composed contract ends, but the occupancy does not. That is due to the fact that when you move in with the agreement of a landlord, the landlord should send out a notice to end the occupancy, even if there is a written rental agreement which expires. To put it simply, the expiration of the contract is not sufficient notification to end a tenancy.
  
  A written rental contract that ends on a specific date might consist of a provision that defines the length of the tenancy after that date has actually passed. It could say, for instance, the occupancy continues from month to month. Or it might say if you do not leave, the occupancy continues for another year.
  
  Whatever it says, if the property owner wants you out, they need to give you a termination notice required by the tenancy you have.
  
  Find out more on our Rent Increases page.
  
  A Vermont law that took effect on July 1, 2018, legalized possession of as much as an ounce of cannabis and two mature and four immature plants. If you are a tenant, or if you have a rental aid from a housing authority, or if you have some other kind of federally helped rental aid, take care. 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 system. Your lease may likewise ban smoking cigarettes, consisting of smoking cannabis.
  
  The brand-new Vermont law does not change the terms of your lease. The brand-new law does not alter the program guidelines for occupants with federal rental help. If you are not sure, inspect your lease or program guidelines or speak to your property owner or housing authority. You can also call us for help. Your information will be sent out to Legal Services Vermont, which evaluates demands for aid for both Vermont Legal Aid and Legal Services Vermont.
  
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