Can I Sue My Landlord in Vermont?
Yes — in many situations. These are the main claims Vermont tenants bring, what the law lets you recover, and where to file. Each rule links to the statute or official source. Most claims under the small claims limit can be filed without a lawyer.
Before you sue
- Write down what happened, with dates, and keep photos, texts, emails and receipts.
- Send your landlord a written demand (templates below) and give a reasonable deadline.
- Check the deadline to sue and the court's dollar limit (below).
- If the amount is over the small claims limit, or you are facing eviction, talk to a lawyer or legal aid first.
Your security deposit wasn't returned
| Penalty for withholding | A landlord who fails to return the deposit and statement within 14 days forfeits the right to withhold any portion; if the failure is willful, the landlord is liable for double the amount wrongfully withheld plus reasonable attorney's fees and costs. Source: 9 V.S.A. 4461(e) |
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| Deposit return deadline | Within 14 days from the date the landlord learns the tenant vacated (or from the move-out date if the tenant gave notice of it); 60 days for seasonal rentals not intended as a primary residence. Statement and refund must be hand-delivered or mailed to the tenant's last known address. Source: 9 V.S.A. 4461(c) |
Free Vermont security deposit demand letter
You were locked out or your utilities were cut off
| Lockouts & utility shutoffs | Landlord may not willfully interrupt or terminate a tenant's utility service (except for temporary emergency repairs), or deny access to the premises or the tenant's property, except by proper judicial process. Tenant may sue for injunctive relief, damages, costs and reasonable attorney's fees. Remedies section: https://legislature.vermont.gov/statutes/section/09/137/04464. No statutory fixed damages amount. Source: 9 V.S.A. 4463; 4464 |
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Your landlord retaliated after you complained
| Landlord retaliation | Landlord may not retaliate (by setting or changing lease terms, or by bringing or threatening an action) because a tenant complained to a government agency about a health/safety violation, complained to the landlord about a chapter 137 violation, or organized/joined a tenants' union. A termination notice (other than for nonpayment) served within 90 days after a state or municipal finding of a health or safety noncompliance is presumed retaliatory (rebuttable). Remedy: damages and reasonable attorney's fees; retaliation is a defense to possession. Source: 9 V.S.A. 4465 |
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Your landlord won't make repairs
| Repair and deduct | Yes, for minor defects: if the landlord fails to repair within 30 days of notice, the tenant may repair and deduct the actual and reasonable cost, not to exceed one-half of one month's rent, giving the landlord actual notice of the cost. Not available if the tenant or someone on the premises with consent caused the defect. Source: 9 V.S.A. 4459 |
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| Withholding rent | Yes. If the landlord fails to make repairs within a reasonable time after actual notice (from the tenant, a government entity, or a qualified independent inspector) of a habitability noncompliance that materially affects health and safety, the tenant may withhold rent for the period of noncompliance, or seek injunctive relief, damages, costs and attorney's fees, or terminate on reasonable notice. Not available if the tenant or someone with the tenant's consent caused the noncompliance. Source: 9 V.S.A. 4458 |
| Mold | No mold-specific statute, but the state Rental Housing Health Code requires every rental unit to be kept free from the regular or periodic appearance of standing water or excessive moisture that may result in visible mold growth, and bars use of humidifiers in ways that raise relative humidity above 60%. The landlord's statutory warranty of habitability requires premises that are safe, clean, fit for habitation and compliant with building, housing and health regulations; the warranty cannot be waived. Statute text: https://legislature.vermont.gov/statutes/fullchapter/09/137. Tenant remedies for habitability violations (including withholding rent after notice and a reasonable time to repair) are in 9 V.S.A. § 4458. |
| Pests & bed bugs | Yes, by health code. The owner must keep common spaces free from infestation (pests or bed bugs) and exterminate there, and must exterminate inside a unit when the infestation is caused by the owner's failure to maintain the building or exists in two or more units. Rooming-house owners are responsible for all rooms. The tenant must keep the unit free from infestation and pay for extermination when the infestation is caused by the tenant's failure to maintain the unit (except where the owner is responsible as above). Extermination must remove harborage and food sources and use treatments such as spraying, fumigating, heat treating or trapping. No bed-bug disclosure statute. |
| Heat | Yes. The landlord must ensure heating facilities capable of safely providing a reasonable amount of heat, and a landlord who provides heat under the lease must supply a reasonable amount at all times (summer rentals and hunting camps excepted). The Rental Housing Health Code requires heating facilities whenever the outside temperature is below 55 degrees F, able to maintain at least 65 degrees F in all habitable rooms, kitchens and bathrooms (measured 3 feet above the floor and 3 feet from an exterior wall) without overheating one room to heat another; unvented fuel-fired space heaters are prohibited. Health code text: https://healthvermont.gov/file/18871. |
Free Vermont repair request letter to landlord
Your landlord entered without notice or invaded your privacy
| Landlord entry notice | With tenant consent (not to be unreasonably withheld), or between 9:00 a.m. and 9:00 p.m. on at least 48 hours' notice for inspections, repairs, services, or showings. No notice needed if the landlord reasonably believes there is imminent danger to a person or property. Source: 9 V.S.A. 4460 |
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| Cameras & privacy | No landlord camera statute, but Vermont's voyeurism law expressly prohibits intentionally conducting surveillance of, or photographing, filming or recording, a person without the person's knowledge and consent while the person is in a place where the person would have a reasonable expectation of privacy within a home or residence. It also bars viewing or recording a person's intimate areas or sexual conduct without consent where privacy is expected. Landlord entry requires consent or at least 48 hours' notice, between 9 a.m. and 9 p.m., for listed purposes, except in an emergency. Audio-recording (eavesdropping) rules were not covered here. |
You were refused or treated differently because of Section 8 or other income
| Statewide ban on refusing Section 8 / source of income | Yes. It is unlawful to refuse to rent, set discriminatory terms, harass, or advertise a preference because a person receives public assistance, defined to include any federal, state, or local government assistance, including housing assistance. Definition: https://legislature.vermont.gov/statutes/section/09/139/04501. The statute does not name Section 8 vouchers specifically; voucher-program requirements were not analyzed. Victims of abuse, sexual assault, or stalking are also a protected class. Source: 9 V.S.A. § 4503(a); § 4501(6) |
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Other claims tenants bring in Vermont
| Constructive eviction (conditions forced you out) | No Vermont statute uses the term "constructive eviction," but state law lets a tenant end the lease or stop paying rent over serious habitability problems. If the landlord fails to meet its habitability obligations and, after actual notice from the tenant, a government entity or a qualified independent inspector, does not make repairs within a reasonable time, and the problem materially affects health and safety, the tenant may withhold rent for the period of noncompliance, end the rental agreement on reasonable notice, get a court order, and recover damages, costs and attorney's fees. These remedies are not available if the tenant or someone on the premises with the tenant's consent caused the problem (§ 4458(b)). Whether Vermont courts also apply a common-law constructive-eviction doctrine is not addressed in the statute. Source: 9 V.S.A. § 4458(a) |
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| Injuries on the property | Every Vermont rental carries an implied warranty of habitability: the landlord must deliver and keep the premises safe, clean and fit for human habitation and in compliance with building, housing and health regulations, including adequate heat and hot and cold water. A tenant cannot waive this warranty. A tenant may recover damages, costs and attorney's fees when a habitability failure materially affecting health and safety is not repaired after notice, and a tenant who suffers damage or injury from an illegal eviction (lockout or utility shutoff) may sue for damages and attorney's fees. Whether a landlord is liable for a particular personal injury is decided by the courts under negligence law. Talk to a lawyer about any injury claim — filing deadlines apply. Full chapter: https://legislature.vermont.gov/statutes/fullchapter/09/137. |
Where and when to sue
| Small claims limit | $10,000 for civil money claims (not slander or libel). A larger claim cannot be split into several small claims. Collection of consumer credit debt or medical debt over $5,000 is excluded. Source: 12 V.S.A. 5531 |
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| Small claims filing fee | $65 for claims of $1,000 or less; $90 for claims of $1,001 to $10,000 (consumer credit and medical debt claims: $90 from $1,001 to $5,000). Fee waivers are available by application, and a winning plaintiff can ask to add the fee to the judgment. Source: Vermont Judiciary, Court Fees |
| Deadline to sue on a written lease | 6 years. Vermont's general civil-action limitations period (six years after the cause of action accrues) applies to suits for unpaid rent or damages under both written and oral leases. Source: 12 V.S.A. § 511 |
How small claims court works in Vermont →
Tenant lawyers and free legal aid in Vermont · Vermont tenant rights · Suing a landlord in other states
General legal information, not legal advice. Laws change and local rules can differ; check the linked official source or talk to a lawyer about your situation.