Vermont Tenant Rights: 60-Day Rent Notice and No Application Fees

By Steve Levine · Updated November 3, 2026

Short answer: Vermont tenant rights come from the Residential Rental Agreements chapter, 9 V.S.A. Chapter 137, which requires 60 days’ actual notice before any rent increase, bans rental application fees, and lets you withhold rent when a landlord ignores a serious health or safety problem. Evictions go through the ejectment statute, 12 V.S.A. Chapter 169, and only a court can remove you.

Vermont’s law is short but tenant-friendly in ways that surprise people moving from other states. There is no rent escrow step before withholding, entry is limited to daytime hours, and long-term tenants without a lease get up to 90 days’ notice before a no-cause termination. The details below come straight from the statute. To see how other states compare, visit the tenant rights by state hub.

Vermont Tenant Rights at a Glance

Rule	Vermont	Statute
Deposit cap	No statewide cap	9 V.S.A. § 4461
Deposit return	14 days, with itemized statement (60 days for seasonal non-primary rentals)	§ 4461(c)
Rent increase notice	At least 60 days’ actual notice; effective first day of the next rental period	§ 4455(b)
Entry	48 hours’ notice, 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.	§ 4460
Rent withholding	Allowed for unrepaired problems that materially affect health and safety	§ 4458
Repair and deduct	Minor defects after 30 days; up to half a month’s rent	§ 4459
Application fees	Prohibited	§ 4456a
Nonpayment notice	At least 14 days; paying all rent due before the date stops termination	§ 4467(a)
Retaliation presumption	Termination within 90 days of a government violation notice	§ 4465(c)
Late fees	No statute sets a cap or grace period	9 V.S.A. ch. 137

Who Chapter 137 Protects

The chapter applies to most residential rentals, and § 4452 lists the exceptions: stays at medical, educational, religious or similar institutions; occupancy under a contract to buy the home; fraternal or religious organization housing; taxed transient stays in hotels and motels; owner-occupied condos and co-ops; campground stays; and manufactured home lots, which fall under a separate law (10 V.S.A. chapter 153). An exclusion does not apply if the arrangement was set up to dodge the chapter.

You cannot sign away these protections. Under § 4457(b), any lease clause waiving the warranty of habitability is void. Many notices in the chapter must be “actual notice,” which § 4451(1) defines as receipt of written notice hand-delivered or mailed to the last known address, with mail presumed received three days after sending by first-class or certified mail.

Security Deposits in Brief

Vermont sets no statewide limit on the deposit amount. The landlord must return it with a written itemized statement within 14 days after you vacate, as long as you told the landlord your move-out date, or within 60 days for a seasonal rental that is not a primary residence (§ 4461(c)).

The penalty is unusually strict. A landlord who misses the 14-day deadline forfeits the right to keep any part of the deposit, and a willful failure means double the amount wrongfully withheld plus attorney’s fees and costs (§ 4461(e)). Our Vermont security deposit law guide covers deductions, local ordinances and how to demand your money back.

Habitability: Withholding, Repairs and Termination

Section 4457(a) makes every rental agreement carry a warranty that the home will be safe, clean and fit to live in and will meet building, housing and health rules for the entire tenancy. Subsection (c) adds specific duties: heating capable of safely producing a reasonable amount of heat, a reasonable supply of heat if the landlord provides it, and hot and cold running water. The heat and water rules do not cover summer-only rentals or hunting camps.

Serious problems

Under § 4458(a), when a landlord gets actual notice of a habitability problem and does not repair it within a reasonable time, and the problem materially affects health and safety, you may:

withhold rent for the period of noncompliance;
ask a court for an injunction;
recover damages, costs and reasonable attorney’s fees; or
end the rental agreement on reasonable notice.

The notice can come from you, from a government entity or from a qualified independent inspector. A call to your town health officer can therefore start the clock and create an official record. None of these remedies are available if you, or someone on the premises with your consent, caused the problem through negligence or a deliberate act (§ 4458(b)).

Withholding carries a real risk. If the landlord files for eviction, 12 V.S.A. § 4853a lets the landlord ask the court to order you to pay rent into court while the case is pending, and failing to make an ordered payment entitles the landlord to judgment for immediate possession. Keep the withheld money set aside.

Minor defects

For smaller problems, § 4459 lets you repair a minor defect yourself if the landlord has not fixed it within 30 days of notice, and deduct the actual, reasonable cost from rent, capped at half of one month’s rent. You must give the landlord actual notice of the cost when you deduct it.

Entry: 48 Hours and Daytime Only

A landlord may enter with your consent, which you may not unreasonably withhold. Without consent, § 4460(b) allows entry only between 9:00 a.m. and 9:00 p.m., on at least 48 hours’ notice, to inspect, make repairs, supply agreed services or show the unit to buyers, lenders, tenants or contractors. Entry with neither consent nor notice is allowed only when the landlord reasonably believes there is imminent danger to a person or property (§ 4460(c)).

Vermont Tenant Rights on Rent Increases

Under § 4455(b), a rent increase takes effect on the first day of the rental period following at least 60 days’ actual notice. If you pay on the 1st and receive notice on March 10, the earliest the new rent can start is June 1, because May 9 falls mid-period.

Vermont has no statewide rent cap. We found no provision in Chapter 137 that either authorizes or bans local rent control. For the bigger picture, see rent increase laws by state.

Late Fees and Application Fees

Chapter 137 is silent on late fees. It sets no cap and no grace period, so whatever fee your lease states is not limited by this chapter. Application fees are a different story: § 4456a(a) forbids a landlord or agent from charging any fee to apply for a residential rental. As amended effective July 1, 2025, the same section requires landlords to accept government ID, an ITIN or a Social Security number for screening and bars them from demanding a Social Security number.

Ending a Tenancy and Eviction

Notice periods

Section 4467 sets the landlord’s notices, and every notice must state the exact termination date:

Nonpayment: at least 14 days. The tenancy does not end if you pay or offer all rent due through the end of the rental period before then.
Breach of a material lease term: at least 30 days; 14 days for criminal activity, illegal drug activity or violence that threatens other residents.
No cause, no written lease, monthly rent: 60 days if you have lived there two years or less, 90 days if longer; 21 days for weekly rent.
No cause, written lease: at least 30 days before the term ends (60 days after two years).
Building under contract for sale, no written lease: 30 days.
Room in the owner’s home with shared living space: 15 days for monthly rent, 7 for weekly.

A notice goes stale if the landlord waits too long: it cannot support an eviction judgment unless the case is filed within 60 days after the termination date (§ 4467(k)). As a tenant, you end a periodic tenancy with actual notice at least one rental period ahead unless a written lease says otherwise (§ 4456(d)).

The court case

The landlord files an ejectment action in Superior Court, attaching the lease and the termination notice, and either side may demand a jury (12 V.S.A. § 4852). VTLawHelp.org, run by Vermont Legal Aid and Legal Services Vermont, explains that you generally have 21 days after receiving the summons and complaint to file a written answer. If the landlord wins, a writ of possession issues, and the sheriff cannot put the landlord into possession earlier than 14 days after serving it (§ 4854).

Illegal evictions

Section 4463 bars a landlord from willfully cutting off your utilities (except brief emergency-repair interruptions), and from directly or indirectly denying you access to your home or your belongings without proper judicial process. A tenant harmed by an illegal eviction can sue for an injunction, damages, costs and reasonable attorney’s fees under § 4464.

Retaliation and Discrimination

A landlord may not retaliate by changing lease terms or bringing or threatening an eviction because you complained to a housing or health agency, complained to the landlord about a Chapter 137 violation, or joined or organized a tenants’ union (§ 4465(a)). You can recover damages and attorney’s fees and raise retaliation as a defense. Our landlord retaliation guide covers how to document it. If a no-fault or breach termination notice arrives within 90 days after a town or state agency finds code violations, retaliation is presumed (§ 4465(c)).

Vermont’s fair housing law, 9 V.S.A. § 4503, covers a long list of groups: race, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, marital status, religious creed, color, national origin, citizenship, immigration status, disability, having minor children, receiving public assistance, and being a victim of abuse, sexual assault or stalking. “Public assistance” includes government housing assistance (§ 4501(6)), so refusing a tenant because of a housing voucher is covered. Complaints go to the Vermont Human Rights Commission.

Breaking a Lease Early

Abuse, sexual assault or stalking. Under § 4472, a protected tenant may end a lease without penalty by giving at least 30 days’ written notice plus documentation, which can be a self-certification signed under penalty of perjury on an approved form. Section 4473 lets a protected tenant ask the landlord to change the locks within 48 hours.

Military service. The federal Servicemembers Civil Relief Act allows termination after permanent change of station orders or a deployment of at least 90 days.

Other moves. Vermont’s statute does not spell out a duty to re-rent. Under § 4462(b), a tenant who abandons stays liable for rent until the lease expires, but the lease ends on the date the landlord re-rents. Our guide on how to break a lease explains how to negotiate an exit.

Example: Theo’s Heat in Burlington

Theo pays $1,500 a month on the 1st for a Burlington apartment. On November 18, his boiler stops producing heat. He emails the landlord and, the same day, mails a dated letter describing the problem. He also asks the city’s code enforcement office to inspect; the inspector finds the unit out of compliance on November 21 and notifies the landlord. A week passes with no repair.

Because heat materially affects health and safety and the landlord had actual notice, Theo may withhold rent for the period of noncompliance under § 4458. He keeps December’s $1,500 in a separate account. On December 9, the landlord serves a no-cause termination notice. Because it came within 90 days of the city’s notice, § 4465(c) presumes it is retaliatory, and Theo can raise that defense if the landlord files suit.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can a Vermont landlord charge me to apply for an apartment?

No. Section 4456a(a) bars application fees for residential rentals. A landlord may still screen you, but must accept government ID, an ITIN or a Social Security number for the check.

My landlord gave 30 days’ notice of a rent increase. Is it valid?

Not as written. Section 4455(b) requires at least 60 days’ actual notice, and the increase begins only on the first day of the rental period after that notice runs. Pay your current rent and point the landlord to the statute in writing.

Can my landlord show the apartment at 8 a.m.?

Only with your consent. Entry on notice is limited to 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. with at least 48 hours’ warning, unless there is imminent danger.

Do I get more notice because I’ve lived here four years?

Yes, for no-cause terminations. Without a written lease and with monthly rent, a tenant of more than two years gets at least 90 days. With a written lease, the landlord needs 60 days’ notice before the term ends.

Will paying late rent stop a Vermont nonpayment eviction?

Before the termination date, yes: § 4467(a) says the tenancy does not end if you pay or tender all rent due through the end of that rental period. After that date, the landlord’s acceptance of partial rent does not waive the nonpayment claim.

Where to Get Help in Vermont

Legal Services Vermont and Vermont Legal Aid offer free help and answer forms through VTLawHelp.org, and the Human Rights Commission takes housing discrimination complaints. This page explains the law in general terms and is not legal advice; for a referral, use the Legal Services Corporation’s help finder. If a repair is stalled, your next step is a dated written notice to your landlord, mailed so the three-day receipt presumption applies, followed by a call to your town health officer.

Sources

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