Protect Tenant Rights

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We all need a safe and secure place to live. But for thousands of our neighbors, access to reliable housing is out of reach. Amid one of the worst housing crises in the country, Vermont lawmakers are considering changes to landlord tenant law that will increase the speed and volume of evictions, and as a result, homelessness.

H. 772 is proposing significant changes to the Residential Rental Agreements Act (RRAA). This law was enacted 40 years ago to strike a balance between the property rights of landlords and tenants. But this new proposed bill would remove those important protections for tenants in the RRAA. These changes are likely to increase homelessness and erode tenants' rights – and legislators need to hear from you to stop this bill from worsening our statewide crisis.

Simply put, H. 772 guts tenants' rights in many ways. The bill, as approved by the House:

Adds multiple new grounds for eviction;
Expands vague and overly broad grounds for eviction that would receive a fast-tracked process;
Allows landlords to issue criminal no trespass orders for tenants' guests for highly discretionary reasons, such as breaking any lease term. This would allow landlords to put tenants' guests at risk of being charged with a crime for doing nothing other than visiting friends or family;
Shortens the notice period before eviction and reduces tenants' opportunities to find new housing;
Authorizes all eviction proceedings to move forward without reliable notice methods—for example, allowing notice over email;
Creates a faster eviction process for non-payment of rent.

Despite a litany of expanded benefits to landlord, the bill offers no meaningful improvements for tenants. Under this bill, tenants still have no security that rent will not be raised, Termination for no stated reason is still allowed, and measures limiting security deposits amounts at 2-months' rent will impose higher move-in costs than what is the standard practice in most communities (a deposit equaling one month's rent).

This bill also seeks to gives landlords a faster court scheduling for non-payment or breach of lease or law. This is a strategy that ignores the financial reality of our statewide affordability crisis, and its impact on tenants to afford rent, which has increased substantially over the last 7 years. Instead of providing compassionate solutions that help our neighbors in the face of arbitrary rent increases and increased poverty across our state, this bill tilts the balance of landlord-tenant law decisively in favor of landlords.

Lastly, this bill will not practically solve the issue it intends to address, long eviction processes. Legislative studies have found the biggest factor leading to long evictions is the lack of judges, not statutory timelines.

The ACLU of Vermont opposes H. 772 because it undermines tenant rights, eviction preventions, and efforts to reduce homelessness. Please take a moment and contact your legislator today and ask them to oppose bill H. 772. Our policies need to uphold the value that housing is a human right, and we can start today by ensuring that tenants have protections in our laws.

The recipient:

Your State Senator(s)

The message:

Simply put, H. 772 guts tenants' rights in many ways. The bill, as approved by the House:

Adds multiple new grounds for eviction;
Expands vague and overly broad grounds for eviction that would receive a fast-tracked process;
Allows landlords to issue criminal no trespass orders for tenants' guests for highly discretionary reasons, such as breaking any lease term. This would allow landlords to put tenants' guests at risk of being charged with a crime for doing nothing other than visiting friends or family;
Shortens the notice period before eviction and reduces tenants' opportunities to find new housing;
Authorizes all eviction proceedings to move forward without reliable notice methods—for example, allowing notice over email;
Creates a faster eviction process for non-payment of rent.

The recipient:

Your State Senator(s)

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Your Message

Subject Housing is a human right – protect tenants

Oppose H. 772.

Please vote in opposition to H. 772, a bill that removes already weak tenant protections for Vermonters and is likely to increase homelessness and erode tenant rights. This bill will worsen our homelessness crisis by increasing the threshold for evictions and shortening these proceedings.

Notably, this bill would allow landlords to issue criminal no trespass orders for tenants' guests for breaking any lease term. It also expands overly broad grounds for eviction that would receive a fast-tracked process. These are blatant breaches of tenant rights – to due process, to the right to privacy in one's home, and to association.

Message Body

Any abrogation of due process does not streamline the eviction process – it only tilts it more decisively against tenants and weakens long-standing protections designed to ensure fairness. In a state already facing a housing crisis, we should be strengthening due process, not eroding it. Please to reject H. 772 and instead consider exploring the creation of landlord- tenant courts next year.

Sincerely,

[First Name] [Last Name]

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Protect Tenant Rights

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