VT · Researched October 7, 2026
Vermont is tenant protective on timing: 60 days' notice for rent increases, 14 days to return deposits, and 48 hours' notice to enter between 9 a.m. and 9 p.m. Application fees are banned. No license is needed to lease or manage rentals for others, because leasing is excluded from the real estate license law.
Vermont's license law excludes anyone who leases real estate, negotiates leases, or advertises as being in the leasing business. A real estate license is needed only for selling, buying, or exchanging real estate for others.
The leasing exclusion covers rental management for others. Owners and their regular employees, attorneys, court appointees, and trustees are also excluded.
No state trust account rule specific to rents. Licensed brokers must deposit earnest money and contract deposits in a Vermont trust or escrow account within five banking days.
State law does not cap deposits. Towns may adopt supplemental deposit ordinances, so check local rules (Burlington has its own ordinance).
Hand deliver or mail the deposit and an itemized statement to the tenant's last known address. Miss the deadline and you lose the right to keep any of it; willful failure means double the amount wrongfully withheld plus attorney's fees.
Towns may require interest by ordinance but may not dictate how deposits are held. On sale, transfer deposits to the new landlord, who must notify the tenant.
Chapter 137 has no late fee section. Put any late fee in the written lease and keep it reasonable, and check local ordinances.
You must accept any unexpired government ID, an ITIN, or a Social Security number for background and credit checks, and cannot require a Social Security number (Act 69, effective July 1, 2025).
The increase takes effect on the first day of the rental period after the 60 days run. Age-restricted housing has its own notice rules.
Chapter 137 neither sets nor bans rent control. Check local ordinances and proposals.
The tenancy does not end if the tenant pays all rent due through the end of the rental period before the termination date. Taking partial payment does not waive the eviction.
No cure period is required by statute. The notice must state a specific termination date, and you must file within 60 days after that date.
Weekly tenancies need 21 days without a written lease, 7 days with one. Shared occupancy in the owner's home needs 15 days (monthly). Sale of the building allows 30 days if there is no written lease.
The landlord can ask the court to order rent paid into court, heard on 14 days' notice. Act 13 (2025) lets any sheriff serve the writ, not only the county sheriff.
For abandonment, the tenant can reclaim within 60 days by describing the property and paying reasonable storage costs; after that it becomes yours. Trash can be discarded right away.
Entry is allowed to inspect, repair, supply services, or show the unit. Enter without notice only if you reasonably believe there is imminent danger to people or property.
If the landlord fails to fix a health or safety problem within a reasonable time after notice, the tenant may withhold rent, sue, or end the lease. For minor defects not fixed in 30 days, the tenant may repair and deduct up to half a month's rent.
Give the flood notice in a separate written document at or before lease signing, using the state model form. Vermont also requires lead-safe Essential Maintenance Practices for pre-1978 rentals (18 V.S.A. ch. 38).
Also protected: having minor children and being a victim of abuse, sexual assault, or stalking. Public assistance includes housing assistance, so refusing voucher holders is covered.
Landlords must accept government ID, ITIN, or SSN for screening and cannot require an SSN. Fair housing and harassment definitions were amended and list citizenship and immigration status.
Any sheriff may now serve a writ of possession, not only the sheriff of the county where the property sits.
Landlords must disclose before lease signing whether the rental is in a FEMA special flood hazard area, using the state model form.
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Compare with other states: security deposit limit, deposit return deadline, deposit interest and holding rules, late fees, application and screening fees, rent increase notice, rent control, notice for unpaid rent, notice for lease violations, ending a month-to-month, eviction timeline, abandoned property, landlord entry, repairs and habitability, required disclosures, state fair housing protections.