Free Vermont Landlord Forms
Every Vermont landlord form we publish, organised by the stage of the tenancy it belongs to, each one paired with the statute behind it — and all eleven of Vermont’s notice periods kept separate, because merging them is how most Vermont notices go wrong.
Every form linked on this page is free, fillable in your browser, and downloadable as a PDF with no account, no membership and no paywall. Vermont’s residential rental law is 9 V.S.A. chapter 137, with ejectment procedure in 12 V.S.A. chapter 169. Vermont’s difficulty is not that the rules are harsh — it is that there are more of them than anywhere else, and almost every published summary flattens them into two or three numbers.
The short version
- Nonpayment — fourteen days, and the tenant defeats it by paying rent through the end of the rental period.
- Breach of lease — thirty days, with no statutory cure right.
- Criminal activity threatening health or safety — fourteen days.
- No-cause is tiered at two years, TWICE, with different numbers. Oral month-to-month: 60 or 90 days. Written agreement: 30 or 60 days.
- Rent increase — sixty days, effective only on the first day of a rental period.
- You must sue within sixty days of the termination date, or the notice will not support a judgment.
- Entry — forty-eight hours, and only between 9 a.m. and 9 p.m.
- Deposit — no cap, fourteen days to return with an itemised statement, and missing it forfeits the lot.
- Application fees are banned outright since July 2025.
All Eleven Notice Periods, Kept Separate
This is the table most Vermont pages do not print, because printing it makes clear how many distinctions there are. Every row below is a separate rule in 9 V.S.A. § 4467.
| Ground | Notice | Where |
|---|---|---|
| Nonpayment of rent | At least 14 days after the date of the actual notice | § 4467(a) |
| Breach of a material lease term or of a chapter 137 obligation | At least 30 days before the termination date specified | § 4467(b)(1) |
| Criminal activity, illegal drug activity or acts of violence threatening the health or safety of other residents | At least 14 days | § 4467(b)(2) |
| No cause — NO written agreement, monthly rent, 2 years or less | At least 60 days | § 4467(c)(1)(A) |
| No cause — NO written agreement, monthly rent, MORE than 2 years | At least 90 days | § 4467(c)(1)(B) |
| No cause — NO written agreement, weekly rent | At least 21 days | § 4467(c)(2) |
| No cause — WRITTEN agreement, 2 years or less | At least 30 days before the end of the stated term | § 4467(e) |
| No cause — WRITTEN agreement, MORE than 2 years | At least 60 days before the end of the term | § 4467(e) |
| No cause — WRITTEN week-to-week agreement | At least 7 days | § 4467(e) |
| Building under contract to be sold (oral tenancies only) | At least 30 days | § 4467(d) |
| Shared occupancy with the owner | 15 days if rent is monthly, 7 days if weekly — either party | § 4467(h) |
The two-year tiering appears twice, with different numbers, and that is the trap. An oral month-to-month tenancy splits 60 / 90. A written agreement splits 30 / 60. Any source giving “Vermont: 60 or 90 days” without saying “in the absence of a written rental agreement” has silently dropped subsection (e) — and a landlord relying on it will give a written-lease tenant twice the notice the statute requires, or an oral tenant half of it.
Three rules that apply to every notice
- State the date. § 4467(f): “In all cases, the termination date shall be specifically stated in the notice.”
- Sue within sixty days. § 4467(k): “A notice to terminate a tenancy shall be insufficient to support a judgment of eviction unless the proceeding is commenced not later than 60 days from the termination date set forth in the notice.” Let a notice sit and it dies.
- Notices do not cancel each other out. § 4467(i): all compliant notices “shall not invalidate any other actual notice and shall be a valid basis for commencing and maintaining an action for possession… notwithstanding that the notices may be based on different or unrelated grounds, dates of termination, or that the notices are sent at different times”.
See our Vermont eviction notice laws guide.
Nonpayment: Two Cure Rights, Not One
Before you file, § 4467(a) gives the tenant an unlimited cure: “The rental agreement shall not terminate if the tenant pays or tenders rent due through the end of the rental period in which payment is made or tendered.” Helpfully for landlords, the same subsection adds that “Acceptance of partial payment of rent shall not constitute a waiver of the landlord’s remedies for nonpayment of rent or an accord and satisfaction”.
In court the cure right is different and it IS limited. 12 V.S.A. § 4773: “Before a writ of possession is executed, if the defendant pays into court all rent due through the end of the current rental period, including interest and the costs of suit, the action shall be discontinued. A defendant may not defeat an ejectment action by payment of all rent in arrears, interest, and court costs more than one time in 12 months.” The twelve months “shall begin on the day the payment is made”.
The same section also removes an old pleading burden: the landlord “shall not be required to prove a demand of the rent in arrear or a stipulation for reentry on nonpayment of rent or a reentry on the premises”.
Breach of lease has no cure right at all
Section 4467(b) contains no right-to-cure language. The only statutory cure right in the section is the nonpayment one. And § 4467(j)(1) makes clear that accepting rent after a non-nonpayment termination does not rescue the tenancy — it “shall not result in the dismissal of an ejectment action or constitute a waiver of the landlord’s remedies” where the ground is the tenant’s breach of the rental agreement.
Every Vermont Landlord Form, by Stage of the Tenancy
An alphabetical index is the least useful arrangement, because a landlord arrives knowing what has happened, not what the document is called. These are ordered by where you are in the tenancy.
Starting the tenancy
- Vermont residential lease agreement — and note that having a written agreement changes your notice periods, generally shortening them. It is worth doing for that reason alone.
- Lead-based paint notice — required by federal law for any dwelling built before 1978. Vermont also runs its own lead programme, which is outside this page.
- Move-in / move-out condition checklist — not statutory, but the only way to separate damage from normal wear and tear, which § 4461(b) expressly excludes from deductions.
During the tenancy
- Notice to enter the property — forty-eight hours, between 9 a.m. and 9 p.m., for one of four listed purposes.
- Rent increase notice — sixty days, taking effect only on the first day of a rental period.
- Late rent notice — Vermont’s rental statute sets no late fee cap, so what your agreement says governs.
When the tenant breaches
- Fourteen-day notice for nonpayment — with the termination date stated, and remember the sixty-day filing window.
- Notice for breach of the agreement — thirty days. Vermont gives no statutory cure right here, so this is really a notice of termination.
- Unconditional quit notice — fourteen days for criminal activity, illegal drug activity or acts of violence threatening health or safety.
Ending the tenancy without fault
- Notice of non-renewal — check the table above before you fill in a number. Written or oral, monthly or weekly, and above or below two years all change the answer.
- Tenant notice to vacate — § 4456(d) gives the tenant one rental payment period, unless the written agreement says otherwise.
After the tenant moves out
- Security deposit itemisation — the written statement that must travel with the refund, inside fourteen days.
- Security deposit return letter — hand-delivered or mailed to the tenant’s last known address.
Service: What “Actual Notice” Means
Vermont does not list service methods the way most states do. It defines the concept instead. Section 4451(1): “‘Actual notice’ means receipt of written notice hand-delivered or mailed to the last known address.”
Every § 4467 clock runs from RECEIPT, not from posting. That is what “the date of the actual notice” means.
The three-day rule is a presumption of receipt, not an extension. Section 4451(1): “A rebuttable presumption that the notice was received three days after mailing is created if the sending party proves that the notice was sent by first-class or certified U.S. mail.”
Two consequences. It is rebuttable — a tenant who shows late delivery moves the start date. And it is conditional on you proving the mailing, which is the practical argument for certified mail even though the statute does not require it. Describing this as “Vermont adds three days for mailing” overstates it in the landlord’s favour and understates what you have to prove.
The Deposit: Fourteen Days, and Forfeiture If You Miss
There is no cap. Section 4461 contains no dollar figure and no months-of-rent limit. But its scope is broad: “A security deposit is any advance, deposit, or prepaid rent, however named, which is refundable to the tenant at the termination or expiration of the tenancy.” Renaming it does not take it outside the section.
| Rule | Detail |
|---|---|
| Return — 14 days | “A landlord shall return the security deposit along with a written statement itemizing any deductions to a tenant within 14 days from the date on which the landlord discovers that the tenant vacated or abandoned the dwelling unit or the date the tenant vacated…, provided the landlord received notice from the tenant of that date.” |
| Seasonal — 60 days | “In the case of the seasonal occupancy and rental of a dwelling unit not intended as a primary residence, the security deposit and written statement shall be returned within 60 days.” |
| Delivery | “by hand-delivering or mailing the statement and any payment required to the last known address of the tenant” |
| Penalty — forfeiture, then double | “If a landlord fails to return the security deposit with a statement within 14 days, the landlord forfeits the right to withhold any portion of the security deposit. If the failure is willful, the landlord shall be liable for double the amount wrongfully withheld, plus reasonable attorney’s fees and costs.” |
| Permitted deductions — four, exclusive | (1) nonpayment of rent; (2) damage to the landlord’s property, “unless the damage is the result of normal wear and tear or the result of actions or events beyond the control of the tenant”; (3) unpaid utility or other charges payable directly to the landlord or a utility; (4) “expenses required to remove from the rental unit articles abandoned by the tenant” |
| Normal wear and tear | Defined at § 4451(5) as “the deterioration that occurs, based upon the reasonable use for which the rental unit is intended, without negligence, carelessness, accident, or abuse” |
| Sale of the property | “Upon termination of the landlord’s interest… the security deposit shall be transferred to the new landlord”, who must give the tenant actual notice of the new name and address with a statement that the deposit has been transferred |
| Municipal ordinances allowed | § 4461(g) permits a town or municipality to adopt a deposit ordinance “supplemental to and not inconsistent with the minimum protections” of the section, and it “may authorize the payment of interest on a security deposit” and route disputes to a housing board of review |
Note what the fourteen-day clock hangs on. It runs from the landlord discovering the tenant vacated or abandoned, or from the vacating date provided the landlord received notice of that date from the tenant. A tenant who leaves silently does not start the clock on the day they leave — they start it on the day you find out.
See our Vermont security deposit laws guide.
Entry: Forty-Eight Hours, Nine to Nine
Vermont is one of the few states that puts hours in the statute. Section 4460(b): a landlord may enter “for the following purposes between the hours of 9:00 A.M. and 9:00 P.M. on no less than 48 hours’ notice”.
The four purposes are: “(1) when necessary to inspect the premises; (2) to make necessary or agreed repairs, alterations, or improvements; (3) to supply agreed services; or (4) to exhibit the dwelling unit to prospective or actual purchasers, mortgagees, tenants, workers, or contractors.”
Consent is a separate route — § 4460(a) allows entry “with the tenant’s consent, which shall not be unreasonably withheld”. And the emergency exception is narrow: entry without consent or notice is permitted only “when the landlord has a reasonable belief that there is imminent danger to any person or to property”.
Section 4460 states the duty but prescribes no remedy. There is no damages figure, penalty or injunctive relief inside the section. We are not going to invent one. What a tenant’s route would be — the illegal-eviction section, general contract principles, or case law — is unresolved on our sources, so we publish no number. Comply with the forty-eight hours and the hours of the day, and the question does not arise.
See our Vermont landlord entry laws guide.
Habitability: Two Remedies With Different Triggers
The warranty is unusually plainly stated. Section 4457(a): the landlord “shall be deemed to covenant and warrant to deliver over and maintain, throughout the period of the tenancy, premises that are safe, clean, and fit for human habitation and that comply with the requirements of applicable building, housing, and health regulations”. It cannot be waived — any waiver is “contrary to public policy and shall be unenforceable and void”.
On heat and water, § 4457(c) requires “heating facilities that are capable of safely providing a reasonable amount of heat”, a reasonable amount of heat supplied at all times where the landlord provides it, and “an adequate amount of water to each dwelling unit properly connected with hot and cold water lines” — excluding a unit intended and rented for summer occupancy or as a hunting camp.
| Remedy | Trigger | What the tenant may do |
|---|---|---|
| Withholding and damages — § 4458 | Three cumulative conditions: actual notice from the tenant, a governmental entity or a qualified independent inspector; failure to repair “within a reasonable time”; and the noncompliance “materially affects health and safety” | “(1) withhold the payment of rent for the period of the noncompliance; (2) obtain injunctive relief; (3) recover damages, costs, and reasonable attorney’s fees; and (4) terminate the rental agreement on reasonable notice” |
| Repair and deduct — § 4459 | 30 days’ notice, and the defect must be minor | Repair it and deduct “the actual and reasonable cost of the work, not to exceed one-half of one month’s rent”, giving the landlord actual notice of the cost |
Both are barred where the problem “was caused by the negligent or deliberate act or omission of the tenant or a person on the premises with the tenant’s consent”. See our Vermont habitability laws guide.
Retaliation, and the Ninety-Day Presumption
The presumption is triggered by the GOVERNMENT, not by the tenant. Section 4465(c): “If a landlord serves notice of termination of tenancy on any grounds other than for nonpayment of rent within 90 days after notice by any municipal or State governmental entity that the premises are not in compliance with applicable health or safety regulations, there is a rebuttable presumption that any termination by the landlord is in retaliation for the tenant having reported the noncompliance.”
Two limits worth knowing: it runs from a code notice, not from the tenant complaining, and it excludes nonpayment terminations entirely.
The underlying ban is broader. Section 4465(a) prohibits retaliating “by establishing or changing terms of a rental agreement or by bringing or threatening to bring an action” against a tenant who has complained to a governmental agency, complained to the landlord of a chapter 137 violation, or “has organized or become a member of a tenant’s union or similar organization”. The tenant “is entitled to recover damages and reasonable attorney’s fees and has a defense in any retaliatory action for possession”.
Self-help: three separate bans
Section 4463 prohibits, in three separate subsections: willfully causing “directly or indirectly, the interruption or termination of any utility service… except for temporary interruptions for emergency repairs”; denying a tenant “access to and possession of the tenant’s rented or leased premises, except through proper judicial process”; and denying a tenant access to and possession of the tenant’s own property, again except through proper judicial process.
The remedy under § 4464 is “injunctive relief, damages, costs, and reasonable attorney’s fees”. There is no statutory multiplier and no fixed penalty figure — and the section cuts both ways, allowing a fee award to the landlord if the action “was not brought in good faith and was frivolous or intended for harassment only”.
Court: Rent Into Court, and Three Different Writ Timelines
Ejectment begins with a summons that must carry two attachments. 12 V.S.A. § 4852: “A copy of the rental agreement, if any, and any notice to terminate the defendant’s tenancy shall be attached to the complaint.” Either party has a right to a jury trial.
The rent-into-court motion
This is Vermont’s most useful landlord tool and it is easy to miss. Under § 4853a a landlord may move for an order that the tenant pay rent into court, “filed and served with the complaint or at any time after”, supported by affidavit. A hearing is held “any time after 14 days’ notice to the parties”.
If the court finds rent is owed and unpaid, it “shall order full or partial payment into court of rent as it accrues while the proceeding is pending and rent accrued from the date of filing… or the date the summons and complaint were served… whichever occurs first”. Payment must be by “money order, certified check, cash, or any other means that guarantees the availability of the funds”.
| Route | Writ timing |
|---|---|
| Ordinary judgment — § 4854 | The writ “shall issue on the date judgment is entered, unless the court for good cause orders a stay”, directing any sheriff to serve it and, “not earlier than 14 days after the writ is served”, to put the landlord into possession |
| Tenant defaults on a rent-escrow order — § 4853a(h) | The landlord “shall be entitled to judgment for immediate possession” and the court “shall forthwith issue a writ” to be executed “not earlier than seven days after the writ is served” |
| Unlawful occupant — § 4853b | Hearing after ten days’ notice; writ issued on the date judgment is entered, executed “not sooner than five days after the writ is served” |
All three run from service of the writ, not from judgment. That is the detail people get wrong. The writ issues the day judgment enters; the clock starts when the sheriff serves it.
And do not confuse the two property clocks. After eviction, 12 V.S.A. § 4854a lets a landlord dispose of remaining belongings fifteen days after the writ is served or on being legally restored to possession, whichever is later. Before eviction, an abandonment under 9 V.S.A. § 4462 requires written notice to the tenant’s last known address that the landlord intends to dispose of the property after sixty days, with the goods placed “in a safe, dry, secured location”. Fifteen days and sixty days, for two different situations.
See our Vermont lease termination laws guide.
What Changed: the 2025 Application Fee Ban
Vermont banned rental application fees outright, effective 1 July 2025. Section 4456a(a): “A landlord or a landlord’s agent shall not charge an application fee to any individual in order to apply to enter into a rental agreement for a residential dwelling unit.”
The same section governs identification. For a background or credit check the landlord “shall accept any of the following: (A) an original or a copy of any unexpired form of government-issued identification; (B) an Individual Taxpayer Identification Number; or (C) a Social Security number”. And: “A landlord or a landlord’s agent shall not require a Social Security number for the completion of a residential rental application or refuse to accept an application due to the lack of a Social Security number.”
Two other recent additions matter. A flood-hazard notice under § 4466(a) must be given “in advance of entering a rental agreement”, stating whether any portion of the premises is in a FEMA-mapped special flood hazard area, “in a separate written document substantially in the form prescribed by the Department of Housing and Community Development”.
And for privately owned age-restricted housing, § 4468a requires written notification of any rent increase on a State-provided form, to residents AND to the Department, not later than sixty days before the effective date, stating the amount, the effective date, a copy of resident rights, and the percentage increase from the current base rent. The sanction is total: “If the owner fails to notify either the residents or the Department…, the proposed rent increase shall be ineffective and unenforceable.”
See our Vermont tenant screening laws and Vermont rent increase laws guides.
Which Vermont Form Do I Need?
- The tenant has not paid rent. Fourteen days, date stated — and file inside sixty days of that date.
- The tenant has broken the agreement. Thirty days. There is no cure right, so this ends the tenancy.
- There is criminal activity or violence threatening health or safety. Fourteen days.
- No fault, no written agreement, monthly rent. Sixty days — or ninety if they have been there more than two years.
- No fault, written agreement. Thirty days before the end of the term, or sixty if the tenancy has run more than two years.
- No fault, weekly. Twenty-one days if oral, seven if written.
- You are selling and there is no written agreement. Thirty days.
- You want to raise the rent. Sixty days, effective on the first day of a rental period.
- You need to get into the property. Forty-eight hours, between nine and nine, for one of the four purposes.
- The tenant has moved out. Fourteen days for the deposit and the itemised statement — sixty for a genuine seasonal letting.
How to Fill Out a Vermont Notice
- Work out which of the eleven periods applies. Written or oral, monthly or weekly, above or below two years, and the ground.
- State the termination date explicitly. That is a statutory requirement for every notice.
- Count from receipt, not from posting.
- If you mail it, use first-class or certified and keep the proof. The three-day presumption of receipt only arises if you can prove the mailing.
- Diary the sixty-day filing deadline from the termination date you stated.
- Do not promise a cure right you do not have to give — but if you offer one, honour it.
- Attach the agreement and the notice to the complaint when you file. The statute requires both.
- Consider the rent-into-court motion at the same time as the complaint, since it may be filed with it.
What Happens If the Form Is Wrong
The distinctively Vermont failure is using the oral-tenancy numbers on a written lease, or the reverse. Both directions are wrong, and the two-year split appears in both, which is exactly why it is so easy to conflate.
The second is letting a good notice expire. Sixty days from the termination date, and then it will not support a judgment.
The third is the deposit. Fourteen days is short, the statement must travel with the money, and missing it forfeits the right to withhold anything at all — with double damages plus fees if the failure is willful.
And the fourth is an application fee, which has been unlawful since July 2025 and is the kind of thing a stale online lease template still asks for.
What This Page Does Not Have
We would rather scope this honestly than promise documents we do not host. Vermont landlords also commonly want a rental application, a sublease, a roommate agreement, a commercial lease, a pet addendum, a lease amendment and an adverse action notice. Those are not published here as Vermont-specific forms.
Four limits we want to state plainly rather than paper over.
Burlington’s ordinance is not covered, at all. Section 4461(g) expressly authorises municipal deposit ordinances, and Vermont law contemplates local housing boards of review — but every host serving Vermont municipal codes was unreachable on this pass. We publish no Burlington notice period, deposit interest rate, just-cause list or minimum housing standard, and we will not repeat the common claim that Burlington requires just cause without having read the ordinance. If your property is in Burlington, read the city’s rules.
No remedy figure for an unlawful entry. Section 4460 creates the duty and states no consequence, and we could not resolve where the remedy runs.
No Vermont bounced-cheque figure. Nothing in chapter 137 addresses it and we could not verify the general provision.
On late fees, we say only what we checked. There is no cap in Vermont’s residential rental statute — we read the chapter’s section index and the full text of the rent section. That is not the same as saying Vermont has no late fee law anywhere, and a municipal ordinance could differ.
Common Vermont Landlord Form Mistakes
- Using 60 or 90 days on a written lease. Those are the oral-tenancy tiers.
- Using 30 or 60 days on an oral month-to-month. Those are the written-agreement tiers.
- Forgetting the two-year split entirely.
- Omitting the termination date. Required in all cases.
- Counting from the day you posted the notice rather than from receipt.
- Treating the three-day mailing presumption as an automatic extension.
- Mailing without proof, which is what the presumption depends on.
- Missing the sixty-day filing window after the termination date.
- Offering a cure right on a lease breach and then ignoring it.
- Assuming a second courtroom redemption is available. Once in twelve months.
- Filing without attaching the agreement and the notice.
- Entering on twenty-four hours, or outside nine to nine.
- Returning the deposit without the itemised statement, or after fourteen days.
- Deducting for normal wear and tear, or for events beyond the tenant’s control.
- Keeping the deposit on a sale instead of transferring it with notice.
- Charging an application fee. Banned since July 2025.
- Requiring a Social Security number, or refusing an application without one.
- Serving a non-nonpayment termination within ninety days of a code notice without independent documentation.
- Shutting off utilities or changing locks. Three separate statutory bans.
- Counting the writ period from judgment rather than from service of the writ.
Free Fillable Forms Versus the Paid Vermont Form Sites
Vermont’s results page runs to about two thousand words at its deepest, and it has a characteristic weakness: it treats Vermont as if it had two or three notice periods. It has eleven, plus a filing deadline, plus three writ timelines, plus two property-disposal clocks.
A form that says “Notice to Terminate” with a blank for the number of days is not much help if you do not know which of eleven numbers goes in the blank. That is why this page leads with the table rather than the file list.
Every form linked from this page is free, fills in the browser, and downloads as a finished PDF. There is no account, no trial and no upsell attached to the documents themselves. What we ask in return is straightforward: if you are about to hand keys to someone, run the screening first, because nearly every dispute described on this page is cheaper to prevent than to litigate.
Vermont Landlord Forms: FAQ
How many days is a Vermont notice for nonpayment of rent?
Fourteen days. 9 V.S.A. § 4467(a): the landlord may terminate “by providing actual notice to the tenant of the date on which the tenancy will terminate, which shall be at least 14 days after the date of the actual notice”. The tenancy does not terminate if the tenant “pays or tenders rent due through the end of the rental period in which payment is made or tendered”, and accepting a partial payment is not a waiver.
How much notice ends a Vermont month-to-month tenancy with no cause?
It depends on whether there is a written agreement and how long the tenant has lived there. No written agreement: at least 60 days for two years or less, at least 90 days for more than two years, and at least 21 days where rent is weekly. With a written agreement: at least 30 days before the end of the term for two years or less, at least 60 days for more than two years, and at least 7 days for a written week-to-week.
How long does a Vermont landlord have to file after serving a notice?
Sixty days. § 4467(k): “A notice to terminate a tenancy shall be insufficient to support a judgment of eviction unless the proceeding is commenced not later than 60 days from the termination date set forth in the notice.” A notice left to sit past that window will not carry a judgment.
Does Vermont add three days for mailing a notice?
Not exactly. Vermont creates a rebuttable presumption of receipt, not an extension. Section 4451(1) defines actual notice as “receipt of written notice hand-delivered or mailed to the last known address” and adds that “a rebuttable presumption that the notice was received three days after mailing is created if the sending party proves that the notice was sent by first-class or certified U.S. mail”. Every notice period runs from receipt.
Is there a security deposit limit in Vermont?
No. 9 V.S.A. § 4461 contains no dollar figure and no months-of-rent cap. But the definition is broad — “any advance, deposit, or prepaid rent, however named, which is refundable to the tenant at the termination or expiration of the tenancy” — so calling a charge something else does not remove it from the section. A municipality may adopt its own supplemental deposit ordinance.
How long does a Vermont landlord have to return a deposit?
Fourteen days, together with “a written statement itemizing any deductions”, running from when the landlord discovers the tenant vacated or abandoned the unit, or from the vacating date if the tenant gave notice of it. Sixty days for a seasonal rental not intended as a primary residence. Miss it and “the landlord forfeits the right to withhold any portion”; a willful failure means double the amount wrongfully withheld plus fees and costs.
What can a Vermont landlord deduct from a deposit?
Four things, exclusively: nonpayment of rent; damage to the landlord’s property “unless the damage is the result of normal wear and tear or the result of actions or events beyond the control of the tenant”; unpaid utility or other charges payable directly to the landlord or a utility; and “expenses required to remove from the rental unit articles abandoned by the tenant”.
How much notice must a Vermont landlord give before entering?
At least forty-eight hours, and entry only “between the hours of 9:00 A.M. and 9:00 P.M.”, under § 4460(b). The four permitted purposes are to inspect, to make necessary or agreed repairs, alterations or improvements, to supply agreed services, and to show the unit to prospective or actual purchasers, mortgagees, tenants, workers or contractors. No notice is needed where the landlord has “a reasonable belief that there is imminent danger to any person or to property”.
Can a Vermont tenant withhold rent?
Yes, on three cumulative conditions under § 4458: the landlord received actual notice of the noncompliance from the tenant, a governmental entity or a qualified independent inspector; failed to make repairs “within a reasonable time”; and the noncompliance “materially affects health and safety”. The tenant may then withhold rent for the period of noncompliance, obtain injunctive relief, recover damages, costs and fees, or terminate on reasonable notice. Separately, § 4459 allows repair-and-deduct after 30 days’ notice for a minor defect, capped at one-half of one month’s rent.
Can a Vermont landlord charge a rental application fee?
No. Section 4456a(a), amended effective 1 July 2025: “A landlord or a landlord’s agent shall not charge an application fee to any individual in order to apply to enter into a rental agreement for a residential dwelling unit.” The landlord must also accept government-issued identification, an Individual Taxpayer Identification Number or a Social Security number, and may not require a Social Security number or refuse an application for lack of one.
When is a Vermont eviction presumed retaliatory?
Where the landlord serves a termination notice on any ground other than nonpayment of rent within 90 days after a municipal or State governmental entity gives notice that the premises are not in compliance with health or safety regulations. Section 4465(c) creates a rebuttable presumption that the termination is retaliatory. The trigger is the government’s notice, not the tenant’s complaint.
How long after a Vermont judgment before the tenant is put out?
It depends on the route. On an ordinary judgment the writ issues “on the date judgment is entered” and the sheriff acts “not earlier than 14 days after the writ is served”. Where the tenant defaulted on a rent-into-court order it is seven days after service of the writ, and on the unlawful-occupant route five days. All three run from service of the writ, not from judgment.
Related Vermont Guides
- Vermont landlord-tenant laws — the full statutory overview.
- Vermont eviction notice laws — all eleven periods and the filing window.
- Vermont security deposit laws — the fourteen-day rule and forfeiture.
- Vermont rent increase laws — sixty days and the age-restricted housing rule.
- Vermont lease termination laws — ejectment, rent into court and the writ.
- Vermont breaking lease laws — early termination and mitigation.
- Vermont late fee laws — what the statute does and does not say.
- Vermont landlord entry laws — forty-eight hours and the nine-to-nine window.
- Vermont habitability laws — the warranty and the two tenant remedies.
- Vermont pet and ESA laws — pets, deposits and assistance animals.
- Vermont tenant screening laws — the application fee ban and identification rules.
Published by Tenant Screening Background Check · Editorial Team
Established 2004. Our editorial team has spent two decades helping landlords and property managers run lawful tenant screening and follow state landlord-tenant codes across all fifty states. On Vermont the temptation is to simplify, and we deliberately did not: the eleven notice periods are printed as eleven rows because collapsing them is the error that costs landlords a month. Where a rule proved unreadable — Burlington’s ordinance, the remedy for unlawful entry — we say so rather than fill the gap.
Screen Vermont Applicants Before They Sign
Most Vermont landlord-tenant disputes trace back to a tenant a thorough screening would have flagged. Order FCRA-ready credit, criminal and eviction reports and start every tenancy on solid ground.
Last reviewed 2026. This page is general information about Vermont landlord-tenant law, not legal advice. It rests substantially on the Legislature’s own statutory text; municipal code hosts were unreachable on this pass, so no Burlington rule is stated here, and we publish no remedy figure for unlawful entry and no bounced-cheque figure because neither could be verified. Rental application fees have been prohibited since 1 July 2025. Municipalities may adopt supplemental security deposit ordinances. Confirm the current position with the court, your municipality, or a Vermont attorney before serving a notice or filing a case.
