Vermont Lease Agreement

Required Landlord Disclosures (2)

At lease signing, landlords in Vermont must include two additional disclosures to tenants. These disclosures are legally mandated and provide tenants with additional information about the rental property.

1. Lead Paint: Federal law requires landlords to disclose any knowledge of lead-based paint or lead-based paint hazards on all units built before 1978.

2. Flood Zone Notice: Starting in late 2024, Vermont landlords must notify tenants in a separate written document if the unit is in a FEMA-designated “flood zone” (9 VSA § 4466).

Security Deposit Regulations

Maximum Security Deposit Amount: Vermont has no limit on security deposits; however, in Burlington and Barre, VT, they are capped at one month’s rent.

Receipt of Deposit: State law does not require landlords to provide a receipt when they accept a deposit; however, it’s always good practice to keep track of them.

Interest: Vermont stipulates landlords must pay tenants accrued interest on security deposits. However, state law indicates that local jurisdictions are free to enact laws regarding interest payments to tenants (9 VSA § 4461(g)). As such, interest-earning accounts are mandated for any security deposit collected in Burlington and Barre, VT.

Deduction Tracking: Landlords may withhold funds from the security deposit for unpaid rent to repair damage to the property exceeding normal wear and tear. They can also use the funds to cover removal expenses related to a tenant’s abandoned property. The landlord must provide a statement itemizing the deductions in writing (9 VSA § 4461(b-c)).

Returning a Tenant’s Security Deposit: Vermont landlords must return deposits within 14 days after the tenant has left the property (9 VSA § 4461(c)).

Landlord’s Access to Property

Advance Notice: Landlords must give tenants at least 48 hours’ notice before entering the unit and can only do so between 9:00 am and 9:00 pm (9 VSA § 4460(b)).

Immediate Access: Landlords in Vermont can only enter property without proper notice when they believe there is imminent danger to a person or the property (9 VSA § 4460(c)).

Landlord Harassment: Landlords who repeatedly enter a tenant’s unit without cause or notice could be guilty of landlord harassment. Tenants may be able to get a court order to stop the behavior or potentially have the landlord arrested for trespassing.

Rent Payment Laws

Grace Period: Vermont law has no mandatory rent payment grace period.

Late Rent Fees: In Vermont, late fees are not allowed by law. However, landlords can charge a reasonable percentage of any actual costs incurred.

Tenant’s Right to Withhold Rent: If a landlord does not remedy a health or safety risk in a reasonable timeframe, the tenant has the right to withhold rent. They could also repair the issue and deduct the cost from the rent after sending notice to the landlord until the repair has been made. Tenants may also be able to obtain injunctive relief and possibly terminate the lease agreement (9 VSA § 4458).

Breach of Rental Agreement

Missed Rent Payment: Once a tenant misses a rent payment, landlords may issue a 14-day notice to pay or quit (9 VSA § 4467(a)).

Lease Violation: Vermont landlords can issue a 30-day notice to quit if the tenant violates the lease. Landlords in Vermont are not required to give the tenant a chance to cure the violation (9 VSA § 4467(b)(1)).

Self-Help Evictions: Landlords should never attempt self-help evictions by removing the tenant without following the legal eviction process. Self-help evictions are illegal in the state of Vermont.

Lease Abandonment: Tenants who end a lease early and without proper cause could be liable for the remainder of the rent, loss of security deposit, and potential litigation. Landlords in Vermont do have a duty to mitigate, meaning they must make a reasonable effort to re-rent the unit as early as possible (9 VSA § 4462(a)).

Ending a Lease

Month-to-Month: Landlords or tenants can terminate month-to-month leases by providing at least 90 days’ notice if the tenant has been there for over two years. The timeline reduces to 60 days’ notice for tenancies under two years (9 VSA § 4467).

Fixed-Term: Tenants in Vermont may end a lease early and without penalty if they meet a qualifying condition. Legal reasons to break a lease include the tenant entering active military duty, uninhabitable living conditions, landlord harassment, or domestic violence.

Property Abandonment: Vermont landlords must give tenants 60 days’ notice of their intent to dispose of any property left behind by the tenant. They must store it in a safe, clean location at the tenant’s expense. If tenants do not retrieve the property within 60 days, the landlord may dispose of it as they wish (9 VSA § 4462).

Renewing a Lease

Required Renewals: Landlords in Vermont are not legally required to renew a lease once the term ends.

Required Notice: No specific notice timeline is required when a landlord does not intend to renew a fixed-term lease. For month-to-month leases, landlords must give 90 days’ notice for tenancies over 2 years and 60 days’ notice for tenancies under 2 years (9 VSA § 4467).

Rent Control & Stabilization

Vermont has no laws regarding rent control, so landlords are free to raise the rent as they see fit. However, landlords must provide 60 days’ notice when they raise the rent on a tenant (9 VSA § 4455(b)).