Eviction Process in Vermont: Notices, Escrow, and Writ of Possession

The eviction process in Vermont runs through the courts from the first written notice to a sheriff physically removing the tenant, and no landlord is allowed to shortcut it by changing locks, cutting utilities, or pressuring the tenant to leave. Expect several months from start to finish, with the length driven by the grounds for eviction, whether the tenant files an answer, and how fast the Superior Court can schedule a hearing.

The sequence is always the same: written termination notice, a waiting period, a complaint filed in the Civil Division of the Superior Court, service on the tenant, a possible rent escrow order, a hearing, a judgment, a writ of possession, and finally the sheriff. Each step has its own rules, and skipping or botching one often sends the landlord back to the beginning.

Step 1: The Written Termination Notice

Every eviction starts with a written notice delivered to the tenant. How many days the notice must give depends on the reason for ending the tenancy and how long the tenant has lived there.¹

Nonpayment of rent: at least 14 days, with the notice stating the exact amount owed through the end of the current rental period.
Lease violation: at least 30 days, with the specific violation described (damage, unauthorized pets, and so on).
No-cause termination with no written lease: at least 60 days if the tenant has been there two years or less, or at least 90 days after more than two years.
No-cause termination with a written lease: at least 30 days before the lease ends if the tenancy has lasted two years or less, or at least 60 days before it ends after more than two years.
Sale of the property with no written lease: at least 30 days once the landlord has signed a contract to sell.

Courts enforce these day counts strictly. A notice short by a single day can get the whole case thrown out. Hand delivery and certified mail are the usual methods because both create proof the tenant received it. One trap for landlords: the eviction complaint has to be filed within 60 days of the termination date on the notice. Wait longer and the notice expires, and a new one has to be served.

Step 2: The Tenant’s Chance to Cure

For nonpayment cases, Vermont law lets the tenant stop the eviction by paying everything owed before the termination date, and the notice itself has to tell the tenant about this right. Pay in full and the landlord cannot proceed, even if the complaint is already drafted.¹

The cure amount covers rent only. Landlords sometimes try to pad the notice with late fees, utility charges, or damage claims, then argue the tenant failed to cure. A court can find that kind of notice defective and dismiss the case. Partial payment doesn’t waive the landlord’s right to keep going after the remaining balance, but the tenant can still cure in full up until the termination date.

Lease-violation cases are different. The statute doesn’t spell out the same right to cure, but a tenant who corrects the problem inside the 30-day window can raise that at the hearing as a defense.

Step 3: Filing the Complaint and Serving the Tenant

If the tenant hasn’t left or cured by the termination date, the landlord files a complaint with the Civil Division of the Superior Court in the county where the property sits. Vermont uses a Summons with Notice of Appearance form available through the Judiciary.²

The complaint has to name every adult occupant, describe the property, state the legal grounds, and spell out what the landlord wants (possession, unpaid rent, or both). The termination notice must be attached, and the written lease too if one exists. Leaving either out gives the tenant a basis to seek dismissal. The filing fee is $295, paid to the court clerk.³

Once filed, the landlord arranges for a sheriff or professional process server to personally hand the summons and complaint to the tenant. The server then files a return of service with the court. The tenant has 21 days from the date of service to file a written answer. If the tenant does nothing, the landlord can ask for a default judgment, and the court can rule without a hearing. Even a default judgment, though, has to be properly served before it can be enforced.

Step 4: Rent Escrow While the Case Is Pending

In nonpayment cases, the landlord can ask the court to order the tenant to pay rent into an escrow account with the clerk while the case moves forward. The motion can go in with the complaint or come later, and the court has to give the tenant at least 14 days’ notice before holding a hearing on it.⁴

If the court finds the tenant owes rent and hasn’t paid, it orders the tenant to deposit rent as it comes due, plus any back rent that has piled up since the complaint was filed. Payments must be made by money order, certified check, or cash.

This is where many tenants lose. Miss a single escrow payment, or pay less than ordered, and the landlord is entitled to an immediate judgment for possession. The writ of possession issues right away, and the sheriff can enforce it within days. Rent escrow puts the tenant on a very short leash for the rest of the case.

Step 5: The Hearing

When the tenant files an answer, the court sets a hearing where both sides present evidence. The landlord has to prove the grounds in the complaint. In a nonpayment case, that means the lease terms, the amount owed, and proper notice. In a lease-violation case, it means proving the specific breach and that the 30-day notice was served correctly.

Hearings are usually scheduled within a few weeks of the answer, though a crowded docket can stretch that out. Both sides can introduce documents, call witnesses, and cross-examine. If the judge rules for the landlord, the court enters a judgment for possession and may also award unpaid rent, damages, and court costs. When the lease includes an attorney’s fees clause, the court can award reasonable fees as well.⁵

Defenses a Tenant Can Raise

A tenant who answers can raise defenses that, if they land, end the case or shift the outcome.

Defective notice: too few days, wrong amount owed, no mention of the right to cure, or non-rent charges mixed into a nonpayment notice.
Full payment: the tenant paid everything due before the termination date, which cancels the termination.
Uninhabitable conditions: the landlord failed to keep the unit livable after being notified. Vermont lets a tenant in that situation withhold rent, seek a repair order, recover damages, or terminate the lease.⁶
Retaliation: the eviction followed a code complaint, a habitability complaint, or involvement in a tenants’ organization.
Discrimination: the eviction was based on race, religion, sex, disability, familial status, or another protected characteristic.
Offset: the landlord owes the tenant money, such as an unreturned security deposit, that should reduce or wipe out the claimed debt.
Missing documents: the landlord didn’t attach the notice or written lease to the complaint.

Habitability is worth flagging because it catches landlords off guard. A tenant living with a broken furnace, mold, or plumbing failures who reported the problem has a real argument that unpaid rent should be reduced by the diminished value of the unit. If the offset erases the debt, the eviction can fail outright.

Step 6: Writ of Possession and the Sheriff

Once the court enters judgment for the landlord, the writ of possession issues the same day unless a judge grants a stay for good cause. This runs against a common misconception: the writ doesn’t sit for 10 or 14 days after judgment on its own. It goes out immediately, and only a specific court order can slow it down.⁵

The writ then goes to the sheriff’s department for service on the tenant. By statute, the sheriff cannot put the landlord into possession until at least 14 days after serving the writ. That window gives the tenant a last chance to move out voluntarily. If the tenant is still there after 14 days, the sheriff physically removes the occupants and oversees a lock change. That is the only lawful route to regaining possession when a tenant refuses to leave. The landlord pays the sheriff’s fees.

What a Landlord Cannot Do

Vermont flatly prohibits self-help eviction. A landlord cannot shut off or interrupt utilities (outside of temporary emergency repairs), lock the tenant out, or block access to the tenant’s belongings. The courts are the only path.⁷

A landlord who breaks these rules faces more than a stalled eviction. The tenant can sue for damages, and the illegal conduct will hurt the landlord’s standing in any later court proceeding. Even months of unpaid rent won’t make a judge sympathetic to a landlord who resorted to lockouts.

Retaliation is a separate prohibition. A landlord cannot file an eviction or change lease terms because a tenant complained to a housing inspector, reported a health or safety problem, or joined a tenants’ union. If the landlord serves a termination notice within 90 days after a government agency has found the property out of compliance with health or safety codes, the court presumes retaliation, and the landlord has to prove a legitimate reason. A tenant who proves retaliation can recover damages and attorney’s fees, and the eviction is dismissed.⁸

Added Protections for Military and Federally Backed Housing

Active-duty military members and their dependents cannot be evicted without a court order. If military service has materially affected the servicemember’s ability to pay rent, the court must stay the proceedings for at least 90 days on request, and can extend that stay if justice requires. The protection applies to rental housing below an annually adjusted rent threshold.⁹

Properties with federally backed financing (FHA, VA, or USDA loans, Section 8, public housing) are permanently subject to the CARES Act’s 30-day notice requirement for nonpayment evictions. For standard Vermont rentals the 14-day notice already applies, but for covered properties the federal 30-day floor controls.

After the Eviction: Credit and Future Rentals

An eviction judgment doesn’t go directly on a credit report. If the landlord sells the unpaid debt to a collection agency, though, that collection account can sit on the tenant’s credit report for seven years. The court filing itself also becomes part of the tenant’s rental history, and tenant-screening services pick it up, which makes future rentals harder to land. A negotiated move-out where the landlord agrees not to pursue a judgment can head off the worst of that fallout.

Housing the Law Doesn’t Cover

Vermont’s Residential Rental Agreements Act leaves out several types of occupancy, including residents of medical or educational institutions, hotel and motel guests subject to the rooms and meals tax, condo owners, and mobile home lot renters (who have their own statute). If a housing arrangement falls outside the Act, the notice periods, defenses, and procedures above may not apply.¹⁰

1
Vermont General Assembly. Vermont Code 9 – 4467 Termination of Tenancy; Notice
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Vermont Judiciary. Eviction Process
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Vermont General Assembly. Vermont Code 32 – 1431 Fees in Superior Court
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Vermont General Assembly. Vermont Code 12 – 4853a Rent Escrow
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Vermont General Assembly. Vermont Code 12 – 4854 Judgment and Writ of Possession
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Vermont General Assembly. Vermont Code 9 – 4458 Habitability; Tenant Remedies
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Vermont General Assembly. Vermont Code 9 – 4463 Illegal Evictions
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Vermont General Assembly. Vermont Code 9 – 4465 Retaliatory Conduct
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Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 50 USC 3951 Evictions and Distress
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Vermont General Assembly. Vermont Code 9 – Chapter 137 Residential Rental Agreements