Vermont S 91: An act relating to competency to stand trial and insanity as a defense

Bill Text

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VT LEG #380516 v.1
S.91 1
Introduced by Senator Vyhovsky 2
Referred to Committee on 3
Date: 4
Subject: Commerce and trade; housing; residential rental agreements; tenant 5
rights 6
Statement of purpose of bill as introduced: This bill proposes to provide 7
protections to tenants by making the charging of a rental application fee an 8
unfair commercial practice, requiring certain rental agreements to be in 9
writing, limiting no-cause evictions and annual rent increases, creating a rental 10
registry, creating the Office of Tenant’s Rights Advocate, providing for the 11
right to counsel in eviction proceedings and the expungement of eviction 12
records, and affording tenants the right to receive notice of a landlord’s intent 13
to sell an apartment building and to negotiate in good faith and purchase the 14
building with a down payment revolving fund administered by the Vermont 15
Housing and Conservation Board. The bill also proposes to add citizenship 16
and immigration status to the existing discrimination prohibitions in public 17
accommodations and unfair housing practices. 18
An act relating to tenant rights 19

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VT LEG #380516 v.1
It is hereby enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Vermont: 1
Sec. 1. 9 V.S.A. chapter 137 is amended to read: 2
CHAPTER 137. RESIDENTIAL RENTAL AGREEMENTS 3
* * * 4
§ 4454. ATTEMPT TO CIRCUMVENT REQUIRED RENTAL 5
AGREEMENT TERMS 6
(a) A landlord shall ensure that a rental agreement with a duration of 12 7
months or longer is in writing and includes: 8
(1) identification of the parties involved, including contact information 9
for the owner and any party responsible for managing the property on the 10
owner’s behalf; 11
(2) a description of the property subject to the agreement; 12
(3) the duration of the agreement, including whether the agreement is 13
periodic or for a fixed term, with clearly specified start and end dates; 14
(4) the financial obligations of the tenant, including the amount of rent, 15
the due date, and the method of payment; 16
(5) whether there are penalties for late payment of rent, including the 17
date the penalty becomes effective and the calculation of the penalty amount; 18
(6) the amount of any security deposit and the conditions under which 19
part or all of the security deposit may be withheld, in compliance with section 20
4461 of this title; 21

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VT LEG #380516 v.1
(7) a description of the responsibility of the parties for maintenance and 1
repair of the property; 2
(8) a description of the responsibilities of the parties for the provision of, 3
and payment for, utilities for the rental unit; 4
(9) a statement of the rights and responsibilities of the parties to the 5
agreement; 6
(10) an accurate statement of the protections against retaliation in 7
section 4465 of this title; 8
(11) a statement that a tenant may not be evicted without cause; and 9
(12) any other disclosure required by law. 10
(b) No rental agreement shall contain any provision that attempts to 11
circumvent or circumvents obligations and remedies established by this chapter 12
and any such provision shall be unenforceable and void. 13
Subchapter 2. Residential Rental Agreements 14
* * * 15
§ 4456a. RESIDENTIAL RENTAL APPLICATION FEES; PROHIBITED 16
ACTS 17
(a) A landlord or a landlord’s agent shall not: 18
(1) charge an application fee to any individual in order to apply to enter 19
into a rental agreement for a residential dwelling unit; or 20

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VT LEG #380516 v.1
(2) request the Social Security number of an individual or a member of 1
an individual’s household in order to apply to enter into a rental agreement for 2
a residential dwelling unit or to conduct a criminal background or credit check. 3
(b) As used in this section, an “application fee” includes any fee or charge 4
associated with a credit check, background check, or third-party processing 5
payment or any other costs associated with a rental agreement application. 6
(c) If required during the application process, a landlord or a landlord’s 7
agent shall accept an original or a copy of any form of government-issued 8
identification. 9
(d) This section shall not be construed to prohibit a person from charging a 10
fee to a person in order to apply to rent commercial or nonresidential property. 11
(e) A person who violates this section commits an unfair practice in 12
commerce in violation of section 2453 of this title. 13
* * * 14
§ 4467. TERMINATION OF TENANCY; NOTICE 15
(a) Termination for nonpayment of rent. The landlord may terminate a 16
tenancy for nonpayment of rent by providing actual notice to the tenant of the 17
date on which the tenancy will terminate, which shall be at least 14 days after 18
the date of the actual notice. The rental agreement shall not terminate if the 19
tenant pays or tenders rent due through the end of th