Just Cause Eviction

Friends -
We are experiencing a housing crisis, in Vermont, and across the country. And we are seeking solutions at all levels of government. The Just Cause Eviction Burlington Charter Change, is one way we can begin to address this issue, and provide a model for future policy at a statewide level. Just last week the American Bar Association endorsed Just Cause Eviction as an important housing policy to protect renters.

“In a time when vacancy rates are low and housing costs are soaring, tenant protections are more important than ever before. We heard testimony from people facing no cause eviction and how that had upended their lives, made them homeless and done irreparable harm. Every tool we can use to provide safe and stable housing for Vermonters is of the utmost importance.”  -Rep. Tanya Vyhovsky (Chittenden 8-1)

Under current Vermont law, landlords can use no cause eviction to evict a tenant with no reason. This makes up 20% of evictions. Legal protections exist against housing discrimination based on protected classes such as race and disabillity, but the burden of proving such discrimination is high. Just Cause Eviction helps prevent this kind of discrimination from happening under the guise of no cause eviction.

Burlington is one of the largest rental markets in the state but with a vacancy rate of less than 1% coupled with the soaring cost of living, if someone loses their housing they might face  homelessness because so few housing options exist. With so much demand, there is less incentive for landlords to make repairs, and more incentive to charge high rental rates. We heard from one witness who shared how a no cause eviction forced her and her family to spend their entire summer and fall homeless and desperately searching for housing, and they are a sitting State Representative.

Years of collaboration, work and public input went into this charter at the local city level  before it came  to the legislature for approval. The Burlington City Council approved the Charter Change in 2020, followed by an extensive  public education campaign to educate voters in 2021 leading up to Town Meeting Day. Ballots were mailed to every voter in the city allowing easy voter participation. Over $40,000 in opposition PAC money was spent to defeat Just Cause Eviction, but voters in Burlington overwhelmingly voted yes with nearly 64% voting to approve it.

Members of House Government Operations  proposed an amendment that would have created a loophole exempting landlords with 4 units or less - more than half of the rental units in the City of Burlington. We were glad to see our legislative champions oppose this part of the amendment leading to its defeat before the final bill reached the House floor.

“The 4 unit exemption amendment would have rendered Just Cause Eviction largely meaningless for most tenants as more than half of Burlington’s rental units would have been excluded. Given our extremely low vacancy rate and expensive housing market, Just Cause Eviction will help stabilize housing for many Burlingtonians and make our community stronger.”    
- Rep. Emma Mulvaney-Stanak (Chittenden 6-2)

In addition to protecting thousands of Burlington renters, this could be an important  first step to statewide policy, like H.403, a bill that would prohibit no cause evictions statewide. Housing is a big issue and something we need to address at all levels of government. This is a long process, and we not only need to build more affordable housing, we also need better laws and policies to protect tenants and mediate landlord tenant disputes fairly.

Find out if your representatives voted no and if so, contact them and let them know they need to reverse positions to this important piece of housing policy. This will be especially important if Governor Scott vetoes the bill in the coming weeks. This is an issue of the right to housing, and local control. The bill passed the House on February 18th on a vote of 98-49 (two votes short of the votes needed for a veto override) and will be on to the Senate after third reading this week.

Thank you for your support,

-Jesse
Legislative Assistant
Vermont Progressive Party

Are you experiencing challenges as a renter? Contact Vermont Legal Aid Housing Rights.

Progressives in the Media:
Burlington's Just Cause Eviction Bill Clears House — With Changes

Vermont House bill would simplify amending birth certificates to match gender identity

What if we funded public education differently? | Vermont Public Radio