Protect Tenant Rights

Most recent signers:

The message:

We all need a safe and secure place to live. But for thousands of our neighbors, access to reliable housing is out of reach. In the midst of 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 fo evictions, and as a result, unsheltered 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:

adds multiple new grounds for eviction;
gives landlords the right to charge fees to applicants;
gives landlords the right to dispose of tenant property immediately after the final stage of the eviction process;
shortens the notice period before eviction and reduces tenants' opportunities to find new housing;
gives landlords a faster court scheduling for non-payment or breach of a lease;
and eliminates a fundamental right for tenants to have privacy in their home by allowing landlords to have former tenants arrested when they visit a friend who still lives in the building.

Despite a litany of expanded benefits to the 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 deposit amounts to 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 give 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. The legislature heard compelling testimony from the judiciary that they are unable to meet the shortened timelines outlined in H.772. If the goal is to make the eviction process more timely overall, the legislature should instead consider providing greater resources to the judiciary to take up landlord-tenant cases and/or by creating landlord-tenant courts before shortening timelines that are already difficult to meet with available resources.

The ACLU of Vermont opposes H. 772 because it undermines tenant rights, eviction prevention, 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 Representative

The message:

Simply put, H. 772 guts tenants' rights in many ways. The bill:

adds multiple new grounds for eviction;
gives landlords the right to charge fees to applicants;
gives landlords the right to dispose of tenant property immediately after the final stage of the eviction process;
shortens the notice period before eviction and reduces tenants' opportunities to find new housing;
gives landlords a faster court scheduling for non-payment or breach of a lease;
and eliminates a fundamental right for tenants to have privacy in their home by allowing landlords to have former tenants arrested when they visit a friend who still lives in the building.

The recipient:

Your State Representative

Protect tenant rights. Tell your legislator to vote "no" on H 772

[The Form Label field is hidden on ACLU message action forms]

Your Message

Subject Housing is a human right – protect tenants

Please reject H. 772, a bill that removes already weak protections for tenants in Vermont and jeopardizes due process rights. This bill will worsen our homelessness crisis by increasing the threshold for evictions and shortening these proceedings.

Instead of providing compassionate solutions that help our neighbors, this bill tilts the balance of landlord-tenant law decisively in favor of landlords, further deepening the imbalance of power across our communities.

Message Body

Proponents of this bill say it is the result of negotiation and compromise, but there was no process or agreement with tenant advocates. In fact, many tenant advocacy organizations, including CVOEO, Vermont Legal Aid, ACLU VT, End Homelessness Vermont, and Rights & Democracy Vermont, oppose the bill in its current form.

H. 772 will also not practically solve the issue it intends to: long eviction processes. The Judiciary testified in 2025 to a legislatively mandated study committee on Landlord Tenant law that the single greatest obstacle to court timeframes is judge vacancy- the courts endured a nearly-year long period of seven vacancies from 2022 to 2023.

If the goal is to make the eviction process more timely overall, the legislature should instead consider providing greater resources to the judiciary to take up landlord-tenant cases and/or creating a  landlord-tenant court, possibly as a pilot in a few counties, before shortening timelines that are currently difficult to meet given available resources.

Please reject H. 772 and instead focus on solutions that advance housing stability, prevent homelessness, and offer opportunities for landlords to work collaboratively with tenants to access back rent assistance and rental subsidies.

Sincerely,

[First Name] [Last Name]

Your Information

All data you enter here will be shared with the message recipient along with your message, per our privacy statement.

Salutation *

(required by some officials)

ABOUT HONORIFIC TITLES

Many public officials use "web mail forms" that this system will send your message to, so you don't have to visit their web sites to communicate with them. The systems that some of these officials use requires that the honorific field be used (Mr., Mrs., Miss, etc.).

Unfortunately, we do not have control of which honorific titles are presented as options. We must adhere to what the officials are using in order for your message to be delivered.

Alternate salutation

Most elected officials’ constituent email systems accept a very limited set of salutations. Please select the one you would most prefer.

First name *

Last name *

E-mail address *

Address *

Address line 2

City *

State *

Zip code *

Phone *

Show my name in a list of action takers.

Sign me up for ACLU emails so I can stay informed and take action to protect people's rights.

I agree to receive calls and texts (including automated recurring text messages) from the ACLU and its state affiliates at the number I provided above about ways to take action and support the ACLU organizations. Message & Data Rates May Apply. Text STOP to quit. Privacy Statement

Leave this field blank

Protect Tenant Rights

Most recent signers:

The message:

The recipient:

The message:

The recipient:

Recent participants