Repair Problems and Tenant’s Right to Repairs

Landlords must make sure the unit is “safe, clean, and fit for human habitation.” And the unit must meet building, housing and health regulations and laws. 9 V.S.A. § 4457(a).

“Habitable” means that the unit is built for a human to live in as a home, not a temporary shelter.

No matter the age of the unit you rent, it must be safe, clean and in good repair. It should not have a leaking plumbing or roof, outdated electrical wiring, peeling or chipping paint, or soft or spongy wood in floors, walls or windows, and must meet applicable building, housing, and health regulations.

Under the law, by renting a unit, the landlord promises that the unit is habitable. This is called the “warranty of habitability.” A warranty of habitability is implied in any rental agreement, whether it is in writing or verbal. The warranty of habitability cannot be waived, even if a written rental agreement states otherwise. 9 V.S.A. § 4454. A rental agreement that says you take the unit “as is” or that you are responsible for making repairs is illegal. For example, this clause in a rental agreement is illegal and unenforceable:

“Tenant accepts the premises ‘as is’ and waives any and all liability of landlord for damage arising from any and all known and unknown structural defects in the premises”

The unit must be habitable the whole time you live in it. So, the landlord must repair all the problems that come up. The landlord must also do whatever maintenance is needed. For example, in buildings built before 1978, the landlord must conduct an annual cleaning of painted surfaces in the common areas and make sure that there are no paint chips. 18 V.S.A. § 1759(5), (6).

A landlord cannot evict you because you asked for a repair or called an inspector for help getting a repair, or formed a tenant’s union. 9 V.S.A. § 4465.

Vermont uses nationally recognized safety standards for protect the public from fire and explosion hazards. There are safety standards for construction, fire protection, occupancy features, and general fire safety. Find the standards here.

The standards require: 

• Smoke alarms on each level of the unit and near each bedroom
• Carbon monoxide alarms
• Windows in each bedroom that can be opened and large enough to escape through
• At least two exits from the unit
• All exits free of obstructions and easy to use (no key required)
• Working fire extinguisher
• Handrails that are easy to grasp and securely mounted 

Enforcement: Your Town Health Office or the Department of Public Safety, 800-640-2106, with regional offices throughout the state. Some cities and towns have local inspectors.

The Rental Housing Health Code (RHHC) is the health and safety rules for rental units, rooming houses, and rented mobile homes used as a regular residence. Find the RHHC here.

The RHHC requires:

• Working plumbing, potable (safe to drink) water and hot water in the kitchen and bathrooms
• Working wastewater disposal system
• Working furnace: If the temperature outside is below 55°F, the heating system must be able to maintain room temperatures of at least 65°F in all rooms. For example, if a landlord offers a home for rent as a three bedroom, but the propane heater on the first floor does not heat the bedrooms on the second floor, the landlord has violated the law.
  • If your rental agreement says you pay for heat. The landlord only has provide a working heating system, not the fuel itself.
  • If your rental agreement says heat is included in your rent. Then the landlord must also make sure that the heating system has fuel any time the temperature is below 55°F.
• Ventilation, including a door or window with screens in every room and a vent or window in every bathroom
• The building structure has to be weathertight, watertight, rodent proof, and have no standing water or excess moisture

Enforcement and inspections: After receiving a complaint, the town health officers must inspect and provide a written report to landlord and tenants affected by any violations. The Vermont Department of Health provides support to the town health officers. Here is a list of town health officers. Here is a checklist of what your unit must have to pass inspection. You can also get the contact information for your town health officer by calling your town clerk’s office.

Learn about summer heat, air conditioning and rental units.

Properties built prior to 1978 may contain lead-based paint. If children get into paint chips or dust, they could become lead poisoned. Pregnant women should also avoid lead paint chips or dust. Lead poisoning in young children may cause brain damage, including learning disabilities, reduced intelligence, behavioral problems and impaired memory.

The Vermont Lead Law requires paint to be maintained and repaired so that there are less paint chips and dust.

Some things to know about the lead paint law:

• It only applies to properties built before 1978.
• Landlords must provide you with a pamphlet about how to prevent lead poisoning when you move in.
• Landlords must post a notice asking you to report chipping or damaged paint.
• The landlord or agent must do “essential maintenance practices” at least once per year and at every time the unit is rented. Essential maintenance practices include:
  • repairing any chipping or peeling paint.
  • using safe work practices when doing maintenance to paint. Dry scraping and power sanding are not permitted. People must be kept out of work areas, and dust barriers must be used.
  • Installing “window well inserts” (usually made of vinyl) in all wooden windows.
  • giving you an EMP Compliance Statement. The statement must also be filed with the Department of Health, and the landlord’s insurance carrier at least once per year.
• The landlord or agent doing the maintenance work must have attended a certification class offered by the Vermont Department of Health.

Enforcement: The Vermont Department of Health Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Program, 800-439-8550. Some of the requirements listed above are also federal requirements enforced by the Environmental Protection Agency, Region One, 1-888-372-7341, ext. 1524.

Until the 1970s, asbestos was used in many types of building products and insulation materials. If you breathe in asbestos, its fibers can cause cancer and scarring of the lungs.

The laws set out how any demolition or renovation which might involve asbestos must be done. 18 V.S.A. § Chapter 26 (applies to all rental units); 40 C.F.R. Ch. I, Subpart M (applicable only to rental properties containing more than four units).

Enforcement: The Vermont Department of Health, Environmental Health Division, 800-439-8550.

There are special rules regarding wastewater and water supply. If your septic system is not working or your water is not potable (fit to drink), contact the Agency of Natural Resources, Compliance and Enforcement Division, 802-828-1254.

If the water is shut off because the landlord didn’t pay the bill, you have a right to put water service in your own name. 24 V.S.A. § 5143(c). See our information on what to do if the landlord shuts off your utilities.

The electrical rules require that in a building with three or more units, electrical work must be done by a licensed electrician. (Some towns, such as Burlington, require any electric work on a unit to be done by a licensed electrician, no matter the size of the building.)

Vermont’s plumbing rules require work to be done by a licensed plumber unless the property is on a well.

Contact: The Department of Public Safety, 800-640-2106, with regional offices throughout the state. Some cities and towns have local inspectors.

If you find a problem in your rental, your first step should be to notify your landlord of the issue. Vermont law requires tenants to send notice in writing. 9 V.S.A. § 4451(1).

Use our sample letter and keep a copy of what you send to your landlord.

• Follow this link to a web page with the sample letter.
• Our PDF file does not fully comply with all applicable guidelines for accessible digital documents. For the most accessible experience, use the link above.
• Download a PDF version of the sample letter.

If your landlord does not contact you promptly to inspect the problem and make repairs, move on to Step 2.

Call your local town health officer or other agency (described in the section above). Ask for an inspection of your rental unit. The law requires that an inspection be done. 18 V.S.A. § 602a. If you are not sure which agency to contact, start with your town health officer.

Many inspectors will tell the landlord when the inspection will be, and let the landlord come to the inspection. The law says the landlord can come into your unit any time you give your permission and you cannot deny your permission without a good reason. 9 V.SA. § 4460. When you call an inspector to come look at your unit, there are no good reasons for your landlord not to come in at the same time.

At the inspection, the inspector must identify any problems and provide a time by which they must be corrected. The inspector must give you and the landlord a copy of the inspection report. The landlord cannot rent the unit to a new tenant until the problems have been corrected. 18 V.S.A. § 603.

Give the landlord a reasonable amount of time to make repairs. The amount of time that is considered “reasonable” depends on several things. If you needed to call a town health officer, the inspector will set the time allowed for repair of each item that needs repair.

If the inspector found that the defective condition is a risk to your life and safety, the repair should be done immediately. For example,

• Your drains, including the toilet, do not work.
• Your outlets spark or wiring shorts make the circuit breakers shut off frequently.
• The chimney for the furnace does not extend above the roofline, and it is January.

• If there is no emergency, 30 days is usually a reasonable amount of time. For example:
  • The appliance repair person found that your electric oven element doesn’t work. You promise not to use the oven. The landlord orders the part.
  • Your faucet drips.
  • There is chipping paint on the outside of the property that is discovered after November 1. By law, a landlord does not have to repair it before May 31 of the following year.

The amount of time the inspector gives the landlord on the report is a strong indication of a reasonable amount of time.

If you and your landlord disagree about how soon a repair should be made, you could ask the inspector to set deadlines in the report.

Here we describe your options when the conditions currently affect your health and safety in a significant way.

A. Withhold rent.

1. Figure out if the bad condition threatens your health or safety. Examples of bad conditions that are a material threat to health and safety:
   • There are no smoke detectors in the rental unit.
   • The electrical outlets smoke if the tenant plugs in a lamp.
   • Water test results show that it has e. coli and if you drink it you get sick.
2. In writing, tell your landlord that you plan to withhold rent and the date you will start withholding if repairs are not made by then. Use our sample letter and keep a copy of what you send to your landlord.
   • Follow this link to a web page with the sample letter.
   • Our PDF file does not fully comply with all applicable guidelines for accessible digital documents. For the most accessible experience, use the link above.
   • Download a PDF version of the sample letter.
3. If repairs are not completed in a reasonable period of time, withhold payment of rent.
4. It is best to put the rent in a savings or “escrow” account while you are withholding it. You may need to use some of your rent to cover your expenses related to the defective conditions, like buying bottled water if you can’t drink the water at your home. Make sure to keep receipts of all of those expenses.
5. If your landlord and you end up in court, a court could decide that you owe the landlord some or all of the rent you withheld. So keep the money in a bank account.
6. The purpose of rent withholding is not to save on rent. It is to persuade the landlord to make the repair. Once the repair is made, you must pay rent again.

B. File a Complaint in court.

Courts have the power to do two things: 

1. make orders that the landlord do, stop doing or keep doing something, and
2. order parties to pay money.

Orders to do something are called “injunctive relief.” An order to pay money is called “damages.” If you have a defective condition in your unit that must be repaired because it materially affects your health and safety, Vermont law says you can ask the court for injunctive relief, damages and attorney’s fees. 9 V.S.A. § 4458.

The court can grant your request if you prove you followed all the steps, and the condition materially (significantly) affected health and safety. Figuring out ahead of time whether you can prove those things is hard, so it is a good idea to get a lawyer’s advice before you file a Complaint.

Keep in mind that if you file a Complaint against your landlord, your landlord can counterclaim against you. Your landlord could send a termination notice and counterclaim for eviction. Even if your landlord does ask for eviction, he or she can ask for unpaid rent and money for damages that you, a guest or a pet may have caused.

It is a good idea to seek the advice of a lawyer before you file a Complaint in court.

Your Complaint could ask for:

• Immediate repairs
• The landlord to pay you for your losses such as:

• The difference between what the landlord charges you in rent and what your rental is worth in its defective condition. If you lived there the whole time, despite the defective conditions, the court will usually find that your apartment was worth something, but maybe less than the whole rent.
• The money it cost you because of the defective condition.
  • If there was no drinkable water, your cost to buy water
  • If the oil furnace didn’t work, the cost of electric room heaters and the increase in your electric bill.
• If you also suffered anxiety, embarrassment, or other emotional distress because of the bad conditions, you can ask the court for compensation for that. For instance, if you had to pour buckets of water into your toilet to make it flush because your landlord would not make repairs and if you were embarrassed when family or friends came to visit, you could ask for compensation for that.

• If the unit was rented to you with the defective condition, you may be able to get damages under the Vermont Consumer Protection Act. The court could find that you should get back all or part of the money you paid. 9 V.S.A. § 2461(b).
• If you have to move because of the defective condition, your moving costs and your additional housing costs.

C. You can end your rental agreement.

You can end your rental agreement and move out after giving your landlord reasonable written notice. If you have a rental agreement where you promised to pay for a year, you can end it earlier if there is a defective condition that materially affects your health and safety.

• When you give your landlord written notice that you will move out, write down that you are doing it because the landlord failed to make repairs and what repairs should have been made.
• Also, be sure to give yourself enough time to find a new apartment.

The law allows you to fix minor problems yourself. 9 V.S.A. § 4459.

Here are some examples of bad conditions that are not a material (significant) threat to health and safety: 

• There is only one electrical outlet in the living room and no overhead light.
• The window screens in a bedroom have some tears.

You may be able to repair and deduct. That means, you can make the repair, or hire someone to make the repair, and deduct the cost of the repair from the next month’s rent. You can repair and deduct only if you take all of these steps:

• You gave written notice to the landlord. Use our sample letter and keep a copy of what you send to your landlord.
  • Follow this link to a web page with the sample letter.
  • Our PDF file does not fully comply with all applicable guidelines for accessible digital documents. For the most accessible experience, use the link above.
  • Download a PDF version of the sample letter.
• You waited a reasonable time for the repair.
• The repair costs less than ½ of one month’s rent.
• The cost of the repair is reasonable.
• If the repair needs a permit, or a licensed person, you will have to hire someone.

When you pay your rent, pay your rent less the cost of the repair. With your rent payment, give the landlord the documentation of the actual cost of the repair. Keep a copy for yourself.

Here are examples of good and bad use of repair and deduct: 

• Good — Your rental agreement says that landlord is responsible for trash removal. Landlord fails to pay the trash hauler and they stop coming. You send the landlord a letter stating that the rental agreement says that trash removal is included in the rent, and that if the trash is not picked up within 30 days, you will arrange for trash pick-up and deduct the cost from your rent. Trash is not picked up within 30 days, so you arrange pick up with a hauler, pay the hauler directly, and send a copy of the bill to the landlord along with your monthly rent, minus the cost of trash removal.
• Bad — The linoleum flooring in the kitchen is peeling in the corner and mold or mildew is developing underneath it. You verbally complain to the landlord. You remove the flooring in the kitchen yourself, dump the linoleum and tile underneath it in the trash, buy vinyl plank flooring at Home Depot, and install it yourself. You send the landlord a letter the next month instead of rent, stating the labor costs were $25 per hour for 40 hours and materials were $300. The State of Vermont fines the landlord for unlawful disposal of the kitchen tile, which contained asbestos. Landlord could demand that you pay the rent, the fine and the cost of replacing the floor with the landlord’s choice of flooring.