There is a written law, a statute, called the Residential Rental Agreements Act (RRAA), 9 V.S.A. §§ 4451-4469a, that guarantees the rights and obligations of tenants and landlords. Vermont law balances the rights and obligations of tenants and landlords.
No written or spoken agreement can change the rights guaranteed to residential tenants by the RRAA. 9 V.S.A. § 4454.
How to look up the law about renting
The law about renting a place to live in Vermont is the Residential Rental Agreements Act, 9 V.S.A. §§ 4451-4469a. It is called the RRAA for short.
- When we talk about the law, we will tell you where to find the law in case you want to read the law yourself. So, for instance, 9 V.S.A. § 4454 is a cite to a particular part of the law.
- What the cite tells you:
- V.S.A. is short for Vermont Statutes Annotated, which is the name of the set of books of all the Vermont statutes. Statutes are the words of the law passed by the legislature.
- The first number tells you which book, or “Title” the law is in.
- The second number tells you what section of the Title the law is in. § means section; and §§ means sections.
- So, 9 V.S.A. § 4454 means: Title 9 of the Vermont Statutes Annotated, Section 4454.
Also, judges have decided many legal rules about renting in court cases. Rules decided by judges are called the “common law.” In this guide, we sometimes refer to the common law by writing out the case cite, for example, Highgate Associates, Ltd. v. Merryfield, 157 Vt. 313 (1991). There are many, many common law cases, and we do not cite them all.