A petition seeks to do away with what are known as “no-cause evictions” in a March 7 vote to amend the Town Charter.
The Reformer quotes Marta Gossage, who submitted the petition and makes sweeping unsubstantiated statements that tenants are getting evicted without cause at a greater rate than in the past. Even if she’s accurate, what does that statistic say? She gives an emotional description of the experience of a single friend who received a 60-day notice to vacate for no cause. She never says why the notice was actually given.
Vermont law allows evictions for both cause (non-payment of rent, breach of the lease, etc.) and for no cause. Speaking from my experience as a property owner and from speaking with other property owners, property managers, tenants, and attorneys, there are three primary reasons a no-cause notice of termination is given.
The first is when one tenant is endangering the peace and safety of other tenants but the other tenants do not want to have to testify for fear of retribution while they all live under the same roof during the lengthy eviction process. By pursuing a no-cause eviction, the property owner is able to protect the other tenants.
The premise of Brandie Starr's piece is that landlords don't have the best interests of their community if they don't support a proposal to limit up-front rental costs. I disagree with that premise. My husband and I are landlords of a three-unit building in town and have been renting...