How to Evict a Tenant in Vermont: Laws, Process, and Timeline
Vermont Eviction Timeline 2026: The No-Cause Notice Depends on Tenancy Length, Not Who’s Giving It
Vermont’s Residential Rental Agreements Act, 9 V.S.A. ch. 137, sets the termination notices; the eviction lawsuit itself is an ejectment action under 12 V.S.A. ch. 169, where the process to restore a landlord to possession comes from the Superior Court (12 V.S.A. § 4851).
Grounds and Notice Periods
| Ground | Notice Period | Statute | Curable? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Non-payment of rent | Termination date at least 14 days after actual notice | 9 V.S.A. § 4467(a) | Yes — the agreement doesn’t terminate if the tenant pays or tenders the rent due through the end of the rental period in which payment is made or tendered (accepting a partial payment doesn’t waive the landlord’s remedies for nonpayment); once an ejectment case for nonpayment is filed, paying into court all rent due through the end of the current rental period, with interest and costs of suit, before the writ of possession is executed discontinues the case, but a tenant can use that payoff only once in 12 months (12 V.S.A. § 4773) |
| Failure to comply with a material term of the rental agreement or with the tenant’s obligations under ch. 137 | At least 30 days before the termination date in the notice | 9 V.S.A. § 4467(b)(1) | No — § 4467(b)(1) has no cure clause; the notice simply names the termination date |
| Criminal activity, illegal drug activity, or acts of violence that threaten other residents’ health or safety | Termination date at least 14 days after actual notice | 9 V.S.A. § 4467(b)(2) | No — no cure clause |
| No-cause, no written lease, rent paid monthly, tenant in the unit 2 years or less | 60 days | 9 V.S.A. § 4467(c)(1)(A) | N/A |
| No-cause, no written lease, rent paid monthly, tenant in the unit more than 2 years | 90 days | 9 V.S.A. § 4467(c)(1)(B) | N/A |
| No-cause, no written lease, rent paid weekly | 21 days | 9 V.S.A. § 4467(c)(2) | N/A |
| Landlord has contracted to sell the building, no written lease | 30 days | 9 V.S.A. § 4467(d) | N/A |
| Non-renewal, written lease, tenancy of 2 years or less | 30 days before the lease term ends | 9 V.S.A. § 4467(e) | N/A |
| Non-renewal, written lease, tenancy over 2 years | 60 days before the lease term ends | 9 V.S.A. § 4467(e) | N/A |
| No-cause, written week-to-week agreement | 7 days | 9 V.S.A. § 4467(e) | N/A |
Vermont’s no-cause notice periods split along two axes — whether there’s a written lease, and how long the tenant has lived there continuously — not along who’s giving the notice. For monthly rent, a tenancy of more than 2 years gets a longer notice than one of 2 years or less, and a tenancy with no written lease gets a longer notice than a written lease reaching its natural end. Someone renting a room inside the owner’s own home, with shared kitchen, bathroom or living space, is on a separate and much shorter track: 15 days if rent is monthly, 7 if weekly (§ 4467(h)). Every notice must state the termination date specifically (§ 4467(f)), and there’s a filing deadline: a notice can’t support a judgment of eviction unless the case is started within 60 days of the termination date it names (§ 4467(k)).
The Court Process
- File. Once the termination date has passed, and no later than 60 days after it, the landlord files the ejectment complaint. A copy of the rental agreement, if there is one, and the termination notice must be attached (12 V.S.A. § 4852).
- Serve. The summons requires the tenant to appear and answer the complaint, and either side has the right to a jury trial (12 V.S.A. § 4852).
- Rent into court. The landlord can ask for an order that the tenant pay rent into court while the case is pending; the hearing on that motion can be held any time after 14 days’ notice. A tenant who misses a court-ordered payment faces judgment for immediate possession, with the sheriff able to put the landlord in possession no earlier than 7 days after serving the writ (12 V.S.A. § 4853a(b), (h)).
- Judgment. A landlord who prevails gets judgment for possession, rents due, damages and costs — plus attorney’s fees if a written rental agreement provides for them — and the writ of possession issues on the date judgment is entered unless the court stays it for good cause (12 V.S.A. § 4854).
- Removal. The sheriff serves the writ and puts the landlord into possession no earlier than 14 days after service (12 V.S.A. § 4854). In a nonpayment case, the tenant can still end the case up to the moment the writ is executed by paying into court all rent due through the end of the current rental period plus interest and costs, once in any 12-month period (12 V.S.A. § 4773).
What This Costs
Confirm the current filing and service fees with the clerk of the Superior Court civil division before filing.
What a Landlord Cannot Do
Section 4463 lists three illegal evictions: willfully causing the interruption or termination of any utility service to the tenant (temporary interruptions for emergency repairs excepted), denying the tenant access to and possession of the rented premises, and denying the tenant access to and possession of the tenant’s own property — the last two “except through proper judicial process.” Section 4465 bars retaliation against a tenant who complained to a code-enforcement agency, complained to the landlord about a ch. 137 violation, or joined a tenants’ union, and gives the tenant damages, attorney’s fees and a defense to the possession case. Its presumption is limited to one situation: it arises when the landlord serves a termination notice on any ground other than nonpayment within 90 days after a municipal or State governmental entity has given notice that the premises don’t comply with health or safety regulations.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does a Vermont landlord always need to give 60 days’ notice for a no-cause termination, while a tenant only needs 30? No — the length depends on how long the tenancy has run, whether there’s a written lease, and whether rent is paid monthly or weekly, not on which party is giving notice. With monthly rent and no written lease, it’s 60 days for a tenancy of 2 years or less and 90 days beyond that; with weekly rent and no written lease, 21 days. A written lease reaching its natural end gets 30 days if the tenancy is 2 years or less, 60 days if longer.
Does a Vermont tenant get a chance to fix a lease violation or a criminal-activity violation? Not under the statute. Neither § 4467(b)(1), the 30-day notice for breaching a material term, nor § 4467(b)(2), the 14-day notice for criminal activity, illegal drug activity or violence, contains a cure clause. Payment only rescues a nonpayment case, and it does so in two ways: under § 4467(a), the rental agreement doesn’t terminate if the tenant pays or tenders the rent due through the end of the rental period in which the payment is made or tendered — a partial payment doesn’t do this, and the landlord can accept one without waiving the remedies for nonpayment; after the landlord has filed an ejectment case for nonpayment, paying into court all rent due through the end of the current rental period, with interest and costs, before the writ is executed discontinues the case — once in 12 months, counted from the day of payment (12 V.S.A. § 4773). And once a tenancy has ended for a reason other than nonpayment, accepting rent afterward doesn’t waive the landlord’s right to go ahead with the eviction (§ 4467(j)).
Is there a deadline for a Vermont landlord to actually file suit after the notice period ends? Yes — under § 4467(k), a termination notice can’t support a judgment of eviction unless the case is started within 60 days of the termination date stated in the notice. A landlord who misses that window needs a fresh notice.