BURLINGTON, Vt. (WCAX) – A Burlington ballot question going to voters this spring would allow the City Council to decide Burlington’s rules on notifications of lease terminations in the city.
Vermont law requires landlords to give a 60 notice for a rent increase and anywhere between a 30 to 120-day notice for evictions. The proposed charter change would take that decision out of the hands of the Legislature and allow the council to enact its own time periods.
“Burlington is carrying the state a lot with building rental housing, and so we need to be able to potentially have longer periods and more runway for folks so that they can make other plans if they are caught off guard by a rental increase that they simply can’t afford or don’t want to take a third job to pay for it,” said City Councilor Evan Litwin, D-Ward 7.
The council voted Tuesday to put the question to voters on Town Meeting Day. Even if voters approve the measure, it would still need legislative approval.