Vermont Residential 14-Day Notice to Quit for Nonpayment of Rent Packet

No. This Vermont Residential 14-Day Notice to Quit for Nonpayment of Rent is a PublicLegal-authored, counsel-approved form for the pre-suit nonpayment step. The Vermont Judiciary provides court-stage forms, general civil templates, and eviction-process resources — complaint, summons, answer, CARES Act declaration under V.R.C.P. 9.2, sheriff return of service, rent-escrow motion, redemption motion, and notice of appeal — but no statewide official pre-suit landlord notice form.

Use it for ordinary residential nonpayment tied to 9 V.S.A. § 4467(a), when rent remains unpaid and the landlord wants to give actual notice of a termination date at least 14 days after the date of actual notice, with a written proof record before deciding whether an ejectment filing is the next step. Vermont also calls this a "termination notice" or "notice to quit."

V.R.C.P. 6(a) counts every calendar day for periods stated in days, so intermediate Saturdays, Sundays, and legal holidays are counted. If the last day of the 14-day period falls on a Saturday, Sunday, or Vermont legal holiday under 1 V.S.A. § 371, set the termination date on the next non-weekend, non-holiday day. Do not count the date of receipt. For mailed service, § 4451(1) creates a rebuttable 3-day mailing presumption that the tenant received the notice three days after mailing; the 14-day count then begins the day after the presumed receipt date.

Serve under the "actual notice" methods in 9 V.S.A. § 4451(1): deliver it in hand to the tenant, send it by first-class U.S. mail to the tenant's last known address, or send it by certified U.S. mail. Door-posting alone, leaving the notice with a minor or other person, text message, or voicemail is not a permitted sole method. Serve a separate completed copy on each adult tenant named in the notice and keep separate delivery records.

State the rent-only cure amount: the rent due through the end of the rental period in which payment is made or tendered under § 4467(a). Vermont has no state late-fee statute, and a late fee charged as a penalty is unenforceable under Highgate Associates, Ltd. v. Merryfield, 157 Vt. 313 (1991). Keep late fees, utilities, damages, attorney fees, court costs, and other non-rent charges out of the cure amount unless Vermont counsel confirms another amount is legally treated as rent.

Section 4467(a) requires the notice to state the amount of rent due through the end of the rental period and to state that the rental agreement will not terminate if that amount is paid or tendered before the termination date. The termination date must be specifically stated under § 4467(f). Omitting this statutory cure statement or the specific termination date may give the tenant a defense or a basis to move to dismiss in any later ejectment case.

This product includes four editable Microsoft Word files: the Vermont Residential 14-Day Notice to Quit for Nonpayment of Rent, Vermont Notice Instructions, Vermont Notice Service, Payment, and Prefiling Record, and #10 Mailing Envelope. Serve only the completed tenant notice; keep the other files as landlord guidance and records.

No. 9 V.S.A. § 4463 bars self-help, and § 4464 provides tenant remedies and penalties for violations. The notice is not a judgment, Writ of Possession, lockout authorization, utility-shutoff authorization, or property-removal authorization. A landlord may not interrupt utility service or deny the tenant access or possession except through proper judicial process.

If the tenant does not pay or tender the cure amount by the termination date, the landlord must file an ejectment action in the Vermont Superior Court, Civil Division, in the county where the property is located, no later than 60 days after the termination date under § 4467(k). The complaint must attach the rental agreement and the notice to quit under 12 V.S.A. § 4852. The plaintiff must file a CARES Act declaration under V.R.C.P. 9.2 and, before any default judgment, an SCRA military-status affidavit under 50 U.S.C. § 3931(b). Writ of Possession timing is governed by 12 V.S.A. § 4854 (generally 14 days after the writ is served), with a separate rent-escrow-default move-out period under 12 V.S.A. § 4853a(h) (7 days after service, or 30 days for evictions under 10 V.S.A. ch. 153). The tenant also has a separate statutory right to redeem in court under 12 V.S.A. § 4773. Court-stage forms are separate from this notice packet.

Properties covered by the federal CARES Act — generally properties with federally-backed mortgages, certain subsidized programs, and "HOME" properties — require a 30-day nonpayment notice, not 14 days. Serving a 14-day notice on a CARES-Act-covered property is federally defective. Vermont's own 14-day statute does not override the federal 30-day floor for covered properties. Confirm coverage with Vermont counsel before serving, and use a 30-day notice if the property is covered.

Burlington has a local rental-housing overlay under Burlington Code Chapter 18, Article II, including rental registration and Certificate of Compliance requirements, anti-retaliation rules under § 18-29, and longer no-cause notice periods under § 18-29a for certain tenancies without a written rental agreement (90 days if the tenancy has lasted less than two years; 120 days if it has lasted two years or more). Nonpayment terminations in Burlington still follow the statewide 14-day period under 9 V.S.A. § 4467(a), but confirm current Burlington ordinances and any local preconditions with the city before serving or filing. Ejectment for Burlington-located property is filed in the Chittenden Unit of the Superior Court Civil Division.

Before any default judgment, the plaintiff must file a Servicemembers Civil Relief Act military-status affidavit or declaration under 50 U.S.C. § 3931(b). Vermont does not publish a state-specific military-status form; use a self-made affidavit under 4 V.S.A. § 27b containing the SCRA-required certification language. The packet flags SCRA/military-status checks so the landlord preserves records before filing or seeking default relief.

No. ILRG provides self-help legal forms and information, not legal advice. Review the completed notice, lease, rent ledger, service proof, 14-day count, 3-day mailing presumption, rent-only cure amount, statutory cure statement, specific termination date, 60-day filing window, federal CARES Act overlay, Burlington overlay if applicable, SCRA status, and current Vermont court practice before relying on it.