Compiledand Produced by

The HereticMedia Collective

2015

RENTER'SRIGHTS

A guide forVERMONTRenters

Chapter 1

PRIVACY

You have the right to privacy. Yourlandlord must respect your privacy asa renter. Vermont State Law says:

- A landlord may enter with thetenant's permission at a time youagree upon.

-To enter without permission, yourlandlord MUST give you 48 HOURSNOTICE, and may only enter between9am and 9pm. They may only enterforthe following reasons:

- to inspect your apartment

- to make necessary or agreed repairs,

alterations, or improvements

-to supply agreed services

- to exhibit your apartment toprospective or actual purchasers,mortgages, tenants, workers, orcontractors

If your landlord complies with theserules it is illegal to deny them access toyour apartment.

If your landlord is ILLEGALLYENTERING your apartment you can:

Send a written notice to your landlordreferring to the law and informingthem that by accessing your apartmentproper notification they are breaking

the law.

ALWAYS KEEP A COPY OF ANYCOMMUNICATIONSWITH YOURLANDLORD.

If they continue to break the law, youcan then:

- Send a notice of “No Trespassing” toyour landlord. Bring a copy to yourlocal authorities to keep on record andpost a copy on your front door sayingthat if your landlord enters withoutproper notice, they are trespassing.

- You can also call the police if youchoose.

- You can also obtain legal advice

(Vermont Legal Aid is a great place toget free advice).

Chapter 2RENT INCREASES

Your landlord must give you at least60 DAYS WRITTEN NOTICE (OR ATLEAST 90 DAYS IN BURLINGTON)before the increased rent is due.

Also, your landlord can't raise the rentuntil the end of the lease period,unless the lease allows it. When thelease is up, the landlord can tell youthat your rent is going up but muststill give you at least 60 days (or 90 inBurlington).

If your landlord gives verbal notice or

if the notice time is too short you can:

1 . Talk to your landlord and explain tohim/her what proper legal notice is.2. Follow that up with a letterexplaining the law.3. If renting month-to-month: do notpay the rent increase until 60 dayshave passed.4. If renting under a lease: do not paythe increase until the lease ends, and60 days have passed since you receivednotice.

Your landlord can't use a rent increase(or evict you) in retaliation against youfor knowing your rights underVermont Landlord/Tenant law. If youare in subsidized housing, your rentcan be increased with less notice if you

start making more money.

Chapter 3LATE FEES

Most rental agreements specify theamount of rent, when it's due andwhere it's to be paid. As a tenant, it isyour responsibility to pay rent ontime, because your landlord relies onyour payment to meet his/her owncosts. Your landlord may charge a latefee if you fall behind on rent, butONLY if it is stated in the lease.

There is a very special case in Vermontcourt history: It is called HighgateAssociates, Ltd. v. Lorna Merryfield,Supreme Court Docket No.90-032.Because of this court case your

landlord can only charge you late feesto cover expenses ACTUALLYINCURRED as the result of payingrent late.

A LATE FEE CAN'T BE USED TOJUST PUNISH YOU.

A late fee which is not reasonablyrelated to your landlord's expenses, isinvalid and you do not have to pay it.

If your landlord tries to charge a latefee you should send a letter requestingto see documentation that the late feeis equal to your landlord's expenses.Once again, ALWAYS keep a copy ofany letters/e-mails you send or receivefrom your landlord.

If your landlord can't or won't showthe documents you can refuse to paythe late fee.

CHAPTER 4SECURITY DEPOSITS

Your landlord must return the securitydeposit within 14 days from the dayyour landlord knows you have movedout of your apartment/house. Thesecurity deposit return should includea written statement itemizing anydeductions taken out by your landlord.If your landlord fails to give back yoursecurity deposit and statement withinthe 14-day period, the landlord mustreturn your deposit!

If you do not receive your deposit back

or if you disagree with the deductionsyour landlord has made you may go toSmall Claims court to try to recoveryour deposit. If you live in anapartment in Burlington or Barre youcan go to your local Housing Board ofReview. If your landlord willfullywithholds or fails to return yoursecurity deposit and written statement,THE LANDLORD MAY (at a judge'schoice) BE ORDERED TO PAYYOUTWICE THE AMOUNT OF THEDEPOSIT PLUS REASONABLELAWYER FEES AND COSTS IF YOUGO TO COURT.

NORMALWEAR & TEAR: Yourlandlord CAN'T deduct from a securitydeposit the costs of repairing normalwear and tear on the apartment/house.

This includes: routine maintenance,painting (unless careless, negligent,accidental or destructive activity havemade repainting necessary when itnormally wouldn't be), re-advertisingthe apartment (except if you break thelease), or renovation of theapartment/house.

RETURN OF YOUR SECURITYDEPOSIT- IF THE BUILDING ISSOLD: If your landlord sells thebuilding, they must transfer allsecurity deposits to the new owner,and the new owner MUST give youtheir name and address, and the statethat your deposit has been transferredto. Your new landlord is responsiblefor returning security deposits, EVENIF THE TRANSFER OF DEPOSITS

NEVER HAPPENED.

BURLINGTON'S SECURITYDEPOSIT LAW: Burlington has itsown ordinance regulating securitydeposits. This law limits the totalamount of deposit your landlord canask for NO MORE THAN ONEMONTH OF RENT, regardless ofwhat your landlord decides to call it. Asecurity deposit, a damage deposit or apet deposit, or last month's rent... it'sall the same thing.

However, the law does allow yourlandlord to require an additionalpayment equal to one half the amountof a month's rent for allowing orhaving pets. This additional paymentcan't be charged if you have a service

animal of any kind. This law alsorequires your landlord to put thedeposit into an interest-bearingaccount, with an interest rate at leastequivalent to a current Vermont bankpassbook savings account, and toGIVE YOUTHE INTERESTWHENYOU MOVE (unless you use it to payowed money to your landlord).

This law also requires you and yourlandlord to fill out an inspectionchecklist at the beginning of yourtenancy listing the damages thatalready exist. Also, this law says thatyou can't use your deposit aas lastmonth's rent unless your landlordagrees. Disputes can go the theHousing Board of Review within 30days.

THE BARRE SECURITYDEPOSIT

LAW: Barre City has a security depositlaw similar to the one in Burlington.Under this law, deposits are limited toone month's rent, and tenants areentitled to the interest. Barre has aHousing Board of Review which issimilar to Burlington's.

TIPS FOR GETTING YOURSECURITY DEPOSIT BACK

BEFOREYOUMOVE IN:

You and your landlord should walkthrough the empty apartment togetherand write down any damage orproblems that need to be fixed. This isimportant so it is clear that you are

not responsible for this damage whenyou move out. You should keep a copyofwhat you have written.If your landlord will not do a walk-through or write these things down,you should:

Take pictures before you move in!Place a copy of that day's newspaperin full view in each picture and/orhave a time stamp on your digitalcamera.

Make a list of all the damages andthings that need to be fixed, copy thelist, and sent it to your landlord in aletter asking that all items be repaired.

DURINGYOURTENANCY:

Vermont Statute – 9 V.S.A. Chapter137 §4451(5) says: “negligence,carelessness, accident or abuse of thepremises or equipment or chattels bythe tenant or members of his or herhousehold or their invitees or guests”are damages you can be heldresponsible for!

- Don't break your lease!

- Give proper notice to move out –Burlington law requires to full rentalperiods of notice. If you don't givenotice or move out before the end ofthe lease, your landlord can make youpay rent for all of the times they can'tget a new tenant into thehouse/apartment.

BEFORE YOU MOVE OUT:

- Ask your landlord to do a walk-through with the 2-3 weeks before youmove.- Ask your landlord to point outanything you should correct beforeyou move.- Once you move out all of yourproperty, take pictures.Do a walk-through of your emptyapartment after you move out. Use theoriginal checklist from when youmoved in.Let you landlord know in writingwhen you are completely out of theapartment. Give your landlord anaddress to send your deposit to.

Chapter 5MAJOR CODE VIOLATIONS

Under both Vermont law, you have theright to safe and decent housing. Ifyou have problems in your apartmentthat are definitely health and safetythreats then those problems violateVermont's Warranty ofHabitabilitylaw. If you have such problems withyour apartment and your landlordwon't fix them you can:

1 . Talk to your landlord. Tell themwhat's wrong and why it matters. Beassertive. If they don't care, you canthen:

2. Contact a Health Officer or rentalhousing inspector for your town (their

numbers are on Google, simply searchfor “rental housing inspector” and thename of your town). You can alsocontact Code Enforcement for yourtown (again, it's all on Google). Do thisas quick as you can! An inspector canORDER your landlord to fix theproblem. If the inspector finds seriouscode violations in your apartment youcan use their documents as proof incourt.

IT IS ILLEGAL FORYOURLANDLORD TO RETALIATE ORPUNISH YOU FOR MAKING ACOMPLAINT TO ANENFORCEMENT OFFICER!

ALWAYS send a written notice toyour landlord and/or property

manager informing him or her ofwhat's happening and what you intendto do. You must do this even if thelandlord already knows about theproblem. Remember to date the letter,send by certified mail, and keep a copyin a safe place. Again, this can be usedto your advantage in court.

If your landlord does not make repairsin a reasonable amount of time(depending on the problem, this maybe longer than usual) you can:

3. Begin withholding rent until theproblem is fixed.If you withhold rent you must put therent money into a separate account ata bank each time it is due. DO NOTSPENDWITHHELD RENT

MONEY. You will need to prove incourt that you are witholding rent fora legal reason and not just becauseyou couldn't or wouldn't pay rent foranother reason.

You can also:

4. Terminate the rental agreementafter giving the landlord reasonablenotice

5. Get an order from a judge forcingthe landlord to fix the problems (GETA LAWYER)

6. Sue for damages and lawyer fees(DEFINITELYGET A LAWYER).

You can do more than one of these

things at the same time. Doing onething does not prevent you from doinganother in this case.

Chapter 6USING “REPAIR AND DEDUCT”FOR MINOR REPAIR PROBLEMS

If your apartment has minor problemsthat need fixing (leaky sinks, brokenwindows, faulty appliances, oranything on the lease that isn't beingtaken care of) you can:

- Notify the landlord of the problem(preferably in writing).

- Wait for 30 days. During this 30 dayperiod it might be a good idea to getan estimate to see how much the

problem will cost to fix.

-After 30 days AND if the cost is nomore than half of one month's rent:a- have the problem taken care ofb- deduct the cost from your rentc- send notice of the cost (copies ofbills and receipts) with what's left ofthe rent for the next rental period.

You can also fix the problem yourselfand deduct from the rent the cost ofmaterials and a reasonable amount oflabor cost.

You can't fix things that require alicensed technician. Don't try to fixanything structural, electrical, oranything to do with heating.

“Repair and Deduct” is not an option ifthe problem is your fault.

Chapter 7USEFUL RESOURCES

Vermont Legal AidBurlington, VT(800) 889-2047

Vermont Law Line(802) 863-7153www.lawlinevt.org

Vermont Tenants802-864-00991-800-287-7971

Tenant Defenses to Evictions in Vermonthttp://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/tenant-defenses-evictions-vermont.html

Burlington Code Enforcement:(802) 863-0442www.burlingtonvt.gov/CodeEnforcement