No Cause Eviction in Vermont: Notice Periods and Defenses

A Vermont landlord can end a residential tenancy without giving a reason, but a no-cause eviction in Vermont requires substantial advance written notice and, if you stay past the termination date, a court case. The notice period runs anywhere from 30 to 120 days depending on whether you have a written lease, how long you’ve lived in the unit, and whether the property sits inside Burlington city limits.¹

How Much Notice the Landlord Must Give

The required notice depends on your lease and how long you’ve been there.

Month-to-Month With No Written Lease

If rent is paid monthly and there’s no written agreement, the landlord must give at least 60 days of actual notice when you’ve lived in the unit for two years or less. Once your tenancy passes the two-year mark, the minimum jumps to 90 days.¹ The notice has to state the specific date the tenancy ends.

Written Lease With a Fixed Term

If you have a one-year lease or another fixed-term agreement, the landlord can decline to renew by giving at least 30 days’ notice before the lease expires when the tenancy has lasted two years or less, or at least 60 days when it has lasted longer.¹ If the landlord lets that deadline pass without giving notice, the tenancy usually rolls into a month-to-month arrangement, and the longer no-lease timelines kick in from that point forward.

Written Lease With a Shorter Notice Clause

A written agreement can shorten the no-cause notice window, but only so far. The statutory floor is 30 days for monthly tenants and seven days for weekly tenants. A lease clause that tries to go below that floor is unenforceable.

Burlington’s Longer Windows

Property inside Burlington city limits is subject to longer no-cause notice periods when there is no written lease: at least 90 days’ written notice if the tenancy has lasted less than two years, and at least 120 days if it has lasted two years or more.² When a written lease is in place, Burlington landlords follow the state timelines. Burlington has also pursued broader just-cause eviction protections through charter amendments, so tenants in the city should check the current status of those rules before relying on no-cause as the default.

When the Building Is Being Sold

If the landlord has a signed contract to sell the property and there’s no written lease, the notice period shrinks to 30 days of actual notice. The termination date still has to appear in the notice, and the landlord has to file any eviction action within 60 days of that date.¹ This shortcut applies only when a sale is actually under contract.

What the Notice Must Say and How It Must Be Delivered

Vermont doesn’t require a specific template, but the law does require the notice to be in writing and to state the specific termination date.¹ The Vermont Judiciary’s guidance also calls for the notice to include the reason for the eviction, which in a no-cause situation is stated simply as termination for no cause.³ A proper notice identifies the rental property by address and names the tenants. Vague wording or a missing date gives a tenant grounds to challenge the case.

“Actual notice” means a written notice that is hand-delivered or mailed to the tenant’s last known address. If the landlord uses first-class or certified mail and can prove it was sent, the law presumes you received it three days after mailing, though you can rebut that presumption.⁴ The Vermont Judiciary lists three acceptable methods: hand-delivery, first-class mail, and certified mail.³ The notice period counts from the day after you actually receive the document, not the date typed on the letter.

Rent During the Notice Period

A no-cause notice doesn’t end your obligation to pay rent. You owe rent for every day you occupy the unit, straight through the termination date. If you want to leave early, you can generally do so by giving the landlord one full rental period’s notice, meaning one month for monthly tenants. Walking out without that notice can expose you to a claim for the balance of rent through the termination date.

If you stay past the termination date and the landlord files in court, the judge can order you to pay rent into court while the case is pending. The landlord can also sue for unpaid rent whether or not you leave on time.

If You Stay Past the Termination Date

The landlord’s only lawful option when a tenant doesn’t leave is to file an eviction case. Vermont bans self-help evictions: a landlord cannot change the locks, shut off utilities, or remove your belongings without a court order.

Filing the Case

The landlord files in the Civil Division of the Superior Court in the county where the property sits. The filing has to happen after the termination date has passed but no later than 60 days after. Miss that window and the landlord has to issue a new notice and start the clock over.³ The filing fee is $295.⁵ The complaint must include a copy of the termination notice and the written lease if one exists, along with a Declaration of Compliance with the CARES Act.

Service and Response

A sheriff or constable serves the summons and complaint, either in person or by leaving the papers at the unit with someone of suitable age. You should also receive a blank Answer form and a blank Notice of Appearance for Self-Represented Litigant. You have 21 days from service to file a written Answer. Miss the deadline and the court can enter a default judgment for the landlord. Filing a Motion to Dismiss first extends your response time to 14 days after the court rules on the motion.

Judgment and the Writ of Possession

If you contest the eviction, the case goes to trial. The landlord has the burden of proving that the notice was properly given and that every statutory requirement was met. If the court rules for the landlord, it issues a Writ of Possession. A sheriff serves the writ, and you then have 14 days to move out. If you still haven’t left after those 14 days, the sheriff can physically remove you.³ A writ expires if not served within 60 days of issuance.

Defenses That Can Defeat a No-Cause Eviction

No-cause doesn’t mean no defense. The most effective challenges attack whether the landlord actually followed the rules, because courts enforce the procedural requirements strictly. Common defenses include:

Insufficient notice period for your length of occupancy and lease type.
Improper delivery, or delivery too close to the termination date to give you the full statutory window.
Filing the court case before the termination date in the notice.
Filing more than 60 days after the termination date.
Failure to attach the termination notice or the written lease to the complaint.
Retaliation for exercising a legal right.
Discrimination based on a protected characteristic.
Habitability problems that reduced the value of what you received.

Vermont’s anti-retaliation statute bars a landlord from terminating a tenancy because you complained to a government agency about health or safety violations, reported a landlord-tenant law violation to the landlord, or joined a tenant organization. If the termination notice goes out within 90 days of a government agency flagging the property for a health or safety violation, the law presumes the termination is retaliatory, and the landlord has to prove otherwise. A tenant who wins on this defense can recover damages and reasonable attorney’s fees.⁶

Burlington layers on its own retaliation protection. The city’s code prohibits eviction for lodging a code complaint with an inspector or giving public testimony to a government body on landlord-tenant issues, and any eviction filed within 90 days of a certified code violation correction or such testimony is presumed retaliatory.²

Vermont’s Fair Housing Act makes it illegal to end a tenancy based on race, color, national origin, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability, family status, marital status, age, receipt of public assistance (including Section 8 vouchers), or status as a survivor of domestic violence or sexual assault. A “no-cause” label on the notice is no shield if the actual motivation falls into one of those categories.

Getting Your Security Deposit Back

Once you move out, the landlord has 14 days to return your security deposit. Allowed deductions cover unpaid rent, damage beyond normal wear and tear, removal of abandoned property, and unpaid utilities, and the landlord has to account for whatever is withheld. If no deposit and no accounting arrive within 14 days, you can sue for the balance.

Photograph or video the unit before you hand back the keys, and leave the landlord a forwarding address. Those two steps head off most of the disputes that come up after move-out.

1
Vermont General Assembly. Vermont Statutes Title 9 Chapter 137 4467 – Termination of Tenancy; Notice
2
Burlington Code Publishing. Burlington Code of Ordinances Article 18-2 – Administration and Enforcement
3
Vermont Judiciary. Eviction Process
4
Vermont General Assembly. Vermont Statutes Title 9 Chapter 137 – Residential Rental Agreements
5
Vermont Judiciary. Fees
6
Vermont General Assembly. Vermont Statutes Title 9 Chapter 137 4465 – Retaliatory Conduct Prohibited