Ending Tenancy and Moving Out

1. If you want to move out, you must give notice.

• If your rental agreement says how much notice you must give and how you must give it, you must do what the agreement says.
• The notice must be in writing. Keep a copy for yourself. Mail or hand deliver the notice to your landlord. 9 V.S.A. § 4451(1).
• If your rental agreement doesn’t cover how long the tenancy is, or how much notice you have to give before you move out, the Residential Rental Agreements Act (RRAA) says you have to give a full rental period’s notice. 9 V.S.A. § 4456(d).This means you must give the landlord the same amount of notice as there are days between rent payments. So, if you pay rent monthly, you must give your landlord notice at least one month before you move. If you pay rent every week, you must give the landlord notice at least seven days before you move.
• It’s always best to give your landlord written notice of action you plan to take. It can help avoid misunderstandings. Keep a copy for yourself. If you want to leave before a landlord's termination date or leave at the end of your rental agreement, give the landlord notice.
• Special rule for Burlington: If your rental agreement doesn’t cover how much notice you have to give before you move out, you need to give two full rental periods for notice. This means if you pay for rent each month, you must give your landlord notice at least two months before you move. Ch. 18. Art. II § 18-29a.

2. Move out before the end of the month.

The reason you give written notice of your move-out date is so you do not have to be legally responsible for paying another month’s rent. That is why you have to give notice a month in advance, and move out before the last day of the month. If you are still there on the first day of the next month, the landlord could say you are responsible to pay rent for the entire next month.

No matter who gives notice, you owe rent for the last month you live there, even if you don’t stay until the end of the month.

3. Are you responsible for rent until the end of the lease term?

If it is your choice to leave, and your rental agreement is for a period of time, and it does not cover you leaving earlier, you have agreed to be responsible for the rent for all those months. Some possible exceptions:

• If the landlord fails to keep your unit safe, clean and fit for human habitation, you may be able to move out sooner and not be responsible for rent. 9 V.S.A. § 4458. See our page about repairs.
• If you moved in with a roommate, both of you are responsible for the rent until the end of the lease term. See our Roommates, Guests and Sublettors page.
• If you decided to have a roommate or sublettor move in later, you may be responsible for the rent until the end of the lease. You may have a special situation that makes it so you can’t stay in your unit for the whole time in the rental agreement. For example, you may become disabled and be unable to access your apartment, a member of your household dies, or you are a victim of stalking. Contact a lawyer to discuss your options. Contact us at Legal Services Vermont and Vermont Legal Aid. Fill out our form and someone will call you back. Or call 1-800-889-2047.
• If you have to move during the term of your written rental agreement, tell your landlord. Your landlord is legally responsible to “mitigate” or reduce your rent obligation by re-renting as quickly as possible. If the landlord rents your place to someone new, you are no longer responsible for the rent.

Your landlord must give you advance notice when they want to end your tenancy. Different numbers of days of advance notice are required for different reasons for ending the tenancy. See our Notice to Terminate Tenancy page.

A rental agreement can be ended by a landlord, if the landlord has a legal reason. Ending a rental agreement is the first legal step in an eviction. There are five legal reasons a landlord can end a tenancy. 9 V.S.A. § 4467: Non-payment of rent, violation of rental agreement, sale of the building, expiration of rental agreement and “no cause.” The notice has to follow the law for notices, or the tenancy is not legally ended.

If your rental agreement is for a certain period of time, the landlord cannot end it for “no cause,” but can terminate it when the rental agreement expires.

1. Move out on time, meaning by the end of the rental period which is the day before the new rental period would start. If you (or sometimes, your stuff) are there during a new rental period, you may owe rent for the entire new rental period. 9 V.S.A. § 4456(d).
2. If you are moving out at the end of a rental agreement, take all of your belongings. The law allows the landlord to dispose of any of your belongings after you vacate. 9 V.S.A. § 4462(d)(2).
3. Walk through your unit with your landlord and point out normal wear and tear, and ask if the landlord sees damage. Schedule this a day or two before you move out. That way, if the landlord finds any problems, you will still have time to deal with them. Follow this link for an inspection checklist to guide you. If you made an inspection notes when you moved into your rental, have your copy of it with you when your landlord does your move-out inspection.

Example: Suppose your landlord does a move-out inspection and finds that there are some cigarette burns on a window sill, the carpet is worn out on the stairs, the windows need to be cleaned, a door has been heavily chewed by your dog, and the yard has a significant amount of dog waste in it. If you have a move-in inspection that showed that the cigarette burns were already there when you took possession of your rental, you can show your landlord the move-in inspection checklist to remind your landlord that you are not responsible for that damage.

Wear to the carpet is normal wear and tear and you are not responsible for it. Window cleaning is also part of normal wear and tear and is a landlord’s responsibility. Your landlord would be likely to withhold part of your security deposit for repair or replacement of the door. Clean up of dog waste is not normal wear and tear, so you would be better off cleaning that up before vacating your rental. If you don’t you may have to pay the reasonable costs of cleaning it up.

4. If your landlord won’t walk through with you, do the checklist yourself. Make sure to date it. Send a copy, along with your move-in notes, to the landlord. Make sure to keep a copy for yourself.
5. Take pictures or a video of each room in the unit. If possible, include a date stamp on the photos. Keep these until you have your security deposit back or for six years. Six years is the deadline for your landlord to sue you. 12 V.S.A. § 511.
6. Remember, if there is damage beyond normal wear and tear the landlord can:
   
   1. Keep as much of your security deposit as it takes to fix the damage. 9 V.S.A. § 4461(b)(2).
   2. Take you to court to pay for damage. 9 V.S.A. § 4456(e).
7. Take all of your trash away. The landlord can charge you or keep you security deposit to cover the cost of taking out trash. 9 V.S.A. § 4461(b)(4).
8. Make sure balances on utilities are paid off, and if the utility is in your name, tell the utility company to shut off the utility. Keep copies of final billing statements.
9. The same day that you are moved out, let your landlord know. Hand the keys to the landlord or leave them in an agreed upon place. Once you do that, you no longer have possession. That means you no longer have the right to be there and will not be responsible for anything that happens there.
10. Follow up by sending notice in writing stating the date and time that you vacated the unit.
    
    1. If you leave any of your belongings in the unit after you have given notice that you have moved out, the landlord can keep or dispose of them. 9 V.S.A. § 4462(d)(1).
11. Give the landlord your new address and ask that your security deposit be sent there within 14 days, as required by Vermont law.

See our Security Deposits page to learn more.