Legal Templates

Vermont Eviction Process

Updated June 11, 2024

Sara Hostelley

Written by Sara Hostelley

Reviewed by Susan Chai, Esq.

When evicting a tenant in Vermont, the landlord must follow strict guidelines for giving notice and honoring the tenant's legal rights. The process typically involves delivering notice, filing a lawsuit, attending a trial, and obtaining a Writ of Possession. The entire process takes between four and seven months.

How to Evict a Tenant in Vermont

Vermont Eviction Process

Step 1 – Serve a Notice

The tenant must receive legal notice of the landlord’s intention to terminate the lease agreement, with or without cause. Check state and local laws to ensure your notice meets the appropriate legal timeframe. Your eviction notice should include the following information:

  • Tenant’s name
  • Rental property address
  • Reason for terminating the rental agreement
  • Deadline to remedy the violation or quit the premises
  • Remedies available to cure the violation
  • Additional legal actions if the tenant fails to vacate

You can deliver the notice by hand to the tenant or send it via first-class mail, per Vt. Stat. tit. 9 § 4451.

Step 2 – Wait for the Allotted Notice Period

Avoid taking any action to remove the tenant until after the notice period is complete. Interrupting utility service or limiting the tenant’s access to the unit could complicate matters and even give the tenant grounds to sue you for damages.

Step 3 – File an Eviction Lawsuit

File a legal complaint with the Civil Division of the Superior Court in the county where the property lies. Per Vt. Stat. tit. 12 § 4852, your complaint must include copies of the lease agreement and the notice to terminate. Attach these documents to the complaint when you file and include them along with the complaint and summons when you serve the documents.

Timeline

The landlord has 60 days from the eviction notice’s expiration to file a complaint.

Per Vt. R. Civ. P. Rule 4, the summons, complaint, and associated documents must be served by the sheriff, sheriff’s deputy, constable, process server, or an indifferent person appointed by the judge. One of these individuals must deliver the summons and complaint to a person of appropriate discretion and age at the tenant’s residence.

The tenant may choose to vacate the property, try to arrange an agreement with the landlord, or file an answer to the eviction lawsuit. If they ignore the lawsuit or fail to obey the summons, the tenant may be held in contempt, evicted from the property, and ordered to pay court costs, damages, and attorneys’ fees.

Timeline

The tenant has 21 days to respond to act in response to the eviction lawsuit.

Step 4 – Gather Evidence and Attend the Eviction Trial

If your eviction case goes to trial, you must be able to prove the tenant violated the lease agreement. Gather evidence to support your case, including:

  • Witness statements
  • Police reports
  • Photos and videos of lease violations
  • Account statements showing rent nonpayment
  • Late payment notices and notices to quit
  • Any communication, including written warnings, text messages, and notes
  • Call log for phone conversations about the lease violation

The tenant has a legal right to respond to the eviction and present evidence to support their claim to remain on the premises. During the eviction trial, the judge will hear both sides and determine who receives possession of the premises. If you or the tenant are unhappy with the judge’s ruling, you may appeal the ruling.

A judgment in your favor will include an order for the tenant to vacate the premises by a specific date.

Step 5 – Request a Writ of Possession

If the judge declares that you’re in the right, they will use a Writ of Possession to order the tenant to leave the rental property by a specific date, per Vt. R. Civ. P. Rule 69. The Writ of Possession typically gives the tenant 14 days to leave. If the tenant does not leave the property by the date indicated on the Writ, the sheriff may remove them from the property forcibly.

Eviction Reasons

To evict a tenant in Vermont, the landlord must have just cause. Common reasons landlords end lease agreements and evict tenants include:

  • Nonpayment of rent
  • Breach of lease agreement terms
  • Illegal or drug-related activity
  • Sale of the property
  • No cause with a month-to-month or week-to-week tenancy

Remember that tenants are protected from eviction on retaliatory and discriminatory grounds. The federal Fair Housing Act establishes protections to prevent housing discrimination, including evictions, based on the following:

  • Religious affiliation
  • Race
  • Color
  • National origin
  • Sex or gender
  • Familial status
  • Disability

Vt. Stat. tit. 9 § 4465 also prohibits landlords from changing the lease agreement, evicting, or threatening to evict a tenant for complaining to authorities or the landlord about conditions on the property. Additionally, landlords cannot retaliate if the tenant creates or joins a tenant’s union or similar organization.

Evictions in Vermont typically fall under two classifications: at-fault and no-fault.

At-Fault Evictions

At-fault evictions occur when the tenant violates the lease terms and therefore faces eviction from the rental property. Nonpayment of rent is one of the most common reasons for at-fault evictions, but a tenant can face eviction for any lease violations. For example, a tenant who keeps a pet in violation of the rental agreement may face eviction for breaching the agreement terms.

Notice requirements for at-fault evictions vary depending on the reason for the eviction. Below are the most common notices and timelines for at-fault evictions in Vermont.

1. Notice for Nonpayment of Rent

Overview:

  • Use it when the tenant fails to pay rent on time.
  • It gives the tenant 14 days’ notice to pay rent in full or quit the property.
  • The notice to quit must list a deadline date.
  • The tenant must pay the full amount owed through the end of the rental period to continue the lease.
  • Termination terms are outlined under Vt. Stat. tit. 9 § 4467(a).

2. Notice for Breach of Rental Agreement

Overview:

  • Use it when the tenant doesn’t comply with the rental agreement’s material terms.
  • It gives the tenant 30 days’ notice to resolve a lease violation or quit the rental property.
  • It doesn’t require the landlord to offer an option to cure the violation.
  • The notice to terminate should include the specific termination date.
  • Termination terms are outlined under Vt. Stat. tit. 9 § 4467(b)(1).

3. Notice for Criminal Activity, Violence, or Illegal Drugs

Overview:

  • Use it when the tenant engages in illegal drug activity, criminal activity, or violent acts that endanger other residents.
  • It terminates the lease agreement with 14 days’ notice.
  • The notice must indicate the termination date.
  • Termination terms are outlined under Vt. Stat. tit. 9 § 4467(b)(2).

No-Fault Evictions

A no-fault eviction occurs when the tenant does not violate lease terms. Typically, a landlord cannot terminate a lease without cause until the end of the lease or unless they sell the property. Termination following a property purchase applies to month-to-month or week-to-week leases.

Tenants with a fixed-term lease, such as a traditional one-year lease, have the right to remain on the property through the end of their lease term.

1. Notice to Terminate a Week-to-Week Tenancy

Overview:

  • Use it to discontinue a written week-to-week lease agreement with a tenant.
    • It terminates a week-to-week rental agreement with seven days’ notice.
    • Termination terms are outlined under Vt. Stat. tit. 9 § 4467(e).
  • Use it to discontinue a verbal week-to-week rental arrangement with no written lease agreement.
  • The termination date must be indicated on the notice.

2. 30-Day Notice to Terminate a Month-to-Month or Fixed-Term Tenancy

Overview:

  • Use it when the landlord sells a property to terminate a verbal rental arrangement with no written lease agreement.
  • Use it to terminate a lease agreement for a written month-to-month lease.
  • Use it to end a fixed-term tenancy 30 days before the expiration of the stated term of the rental agreement.
    • This only applies to a fixed-term tenancy when the tenancy has continued for two years or less.
    • Termination terms are outlined under Vt. Stat. tit. 9 § 4467(e).
  • The notice must indicate the termination date.

3. 60-Day Notice to Terminate a Month-to-Month or Fixed-Term Tenancy

Overview:

  • Use it when there is no written agreement for a month-to-month tenancy.
  • Issue it when the tenant is on a fixed-term lease.
  • It terminates the tenancy with 60 days’ notice.
  • The notice should clearly indicate the termination date.

4. Notice to Terminate a Two-Year Continuous Tenancy

Overview:

  • Use it to terminate a month-to-month tenancy when the tenant has resided on the property for more than two years.
  • It terminates the tenancy with 90 days’ notice.
  • The notice should clearly state the termination date.
  • Termination terms are outlined under Vt. Stat. tit. 9 § 4467(c)(1)(B).

Local Regulations in Burlington

In Burlington, a landlord terminating for no cause with no written lease must provide 90 days’ notice for tenants who have lived in the home for less than two years and 120 days’ notice for tenants who have been in the home for longer than two years (Ch. 18. Art. II § 18-29a).

These rules for Burlington landlords don’t apply if the landlord and tenant have a written lease.

Eviction Timeline

ReasonCurableLease TypeDurationNotice Period
End of LeaseNoNo LeaseWeekly21 days
End of LeaseNoNo LeaseMonthly60 days for a continuous tenancy of less than two years; 90 days for a continuous tenancy of more than two years
End of LeaseNoFixed TermOne Year30 days for continuous tenancy of less than two years; 60 days for continuous tenancy of more than two years
End of LeaseNoMonthlyMonth-to-Month30 days for continuous tenancy of less than two years; 60 days for continuous tenancy of more than two years
End of LeaseNoWeeklyWeek-to-Week7 days
Overdue RentYesAnyAny14 days
Lease ViolationAt the landlord's discretionAnyAny30 days
Illegal ActivityNoAnyAny14 days

Tenant Rights in Vermont

Self-Help Evictions

Vermont law makes self-help evictions illegal. A self-help eviction happens when the landlord tries to remove the tenant or their belongings from the rental property without going through the eviction process. It is also considered a self-help eviction when the landlord interferes with the tenant’s utilities or critical services, such as electricity, gas, water, and sewer.

Vt. Stat. tit. 9 § 4463 prohibits landlords from willfully interrupting or terminating the resident’s utility service, denying access to the property, or interfering with the tenant’s access to their property.

You must take the appropriate legal steps to evict a tenant. If you fail to follow the proper eviction procedures, the tenant may have grounds to sue for damages.

Abandoned Property

The tenant must remove their belongings within 15 days of receipt of the Writ of Possession, per Vt. Stat. tit. 12 § 4854a. If the tenant fails to take their items, the landlord can remove them from the premises without liability to the tenant.

Do not try to remove the tenant’s belongings before the 15-day deadline or during the eviction trial. Attempts to remove the tenant or their belongings from the premises before the eviction process is complete could create serious legal issues for the landlord, including fines, penalties, and payment of damages to the tenant.

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