Vermont 14 Day Notice to Pay or Quit

A Vermont 14 Day Notice To Quit is a letter which complies with state legal requirements to begin eviction against a tenant for nonpayment of rent. The tenant must pay the balance due or move out within fourteen (14) calendar days of receiving notice.

When To Use a Vermont 14 Day Notice To Quit

A Vermont 14 Day Notice To Quit begins the eviction process when the tenant is late on rent. A landlord may deliver this notice when any portion of the rent remains unpaid, beginning the day after it’s normally due.

Some types of Vermont lease termination notice may allow different reasons for termination, or different notice periods. This may also apply to an eviction notice issued because of a lease or legal violation.

warning

Many Vermont properties are entitled to a minimum 30 days of advance notice before a landlord can file eviction for nonpayment of rent or other fees. This applies to residential property that was covered by the federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act. Landlords must file a certification of CARES compliance to evict.

How To Write a Vermont 14 Day Notice To Quit

To help ensure the legal compliance of a Notice To Quit:

Use the full name of the receiving party, and address of record, if known
Specify the termination date of the lease or tenancy
Specify the basis for terminating the tenancy, and payment required to avoid termination
Fill in the full address of the rental premises
Provide updated/current address and phone number information
Print name and sign the notice
Complete the certificate of service by indicating the date and method of notice delivery, along with printed name and signature

It is easy to lose an otherwise justified legal action because of improper notice. Check carefully to ensure enough time after notice is delivered, not when it’s sent.

How To Serve a Vermont 14 Day Notice To Quit

Vermont landlords may deliver a Notice To Quit in writing, using any of these methods:

Hand delivery to the tenant, at the tenant’s last known address
Mailing to the tenant’s last known address, by first-class or certified mail

With mailed notice, Vermont law presumes the receiving party has received it after three (3) calendar days, unless there is evidence to the contrary.

note

In almost all cases, notice is legally served when it is received by the other party, NOT when it’s sent. Check specified date of termination carefully to ensure compliance with the legal requirements for a notice period.

Sources

1 9 V.S.A. § 4467(a): Termination for nonpayment of rent. The landlord may terminate a tenancy for nonpayment of rent by providing actual notice to the tenant of the date on which the tenancy will terminate, which shall be at least 14 days after the date of the actual notice. The rental agreement shall not terminate if the tenant pays or tenders rent due through the end of the rental period in which payment is made or tendered. Acceptance of partial payment of rent shall not constitute a waiver of the landlord’s remedies for nonpayment of rent or an accord and satisfaction for nonpayment of rent.
Source Link
2 Vt. R. Civ. P. 9.2: (a) Applicability. This rule applies to all actions for eviction of a tenant of residential housing based solely or in part on nonpayment of rent.

(b) Notice of Termination of Residential Tenancy.

(1) A complaint in an action to which this rule applies must contain or be accompanied by a declaration showing either compliance with the 30-day notice requirement of the CARES Act, 15 U.S.C. § 9058(c), or that the dwelling from which the plaintiff seeks to evict the tenant is not located on or in a “covered property” as defined in the CARES Act, 15 U.S.C. § 9058(a)(2).

(2) The declaration must be in the form approved by the State Court Administrator and published on the Judiciary website.

(3) The court may dismiss a case filed without the declaration.
Source Link
3 9 Vt. Stat. Ann. § 4451(1): “Actual notice” means receipt of written notice hand-delivered or mailed to the last known address. A rebuttable presumption that the notice was received three days after mailing is created if the sending party proves that the notice was sent by first-class or certified U.S. mail.
Source Link