How to Fire Your Property Manager in Vermont

A step-by-step guide for Vermont landlords switching property managers, covering notice, what to collect, moving tenant deposits under the 14-day rule, and who may manage rentals for pay in Vermont.

Last updated September 23, 2026

Slow repairs, a statement that never adds up, tenants calling you instead of them. Most Vermont landlords wait a season too long to make the change.

Vermont makes the switch a little different from most states. Renting and managing residential property for someone else is carved out of the real estate license law here, so the state agency that regulates brokers has no jurisdiction over most rental managers. Your contract is doing most of the work. Read it closely, and get everything in writing.

Step 1. Read your management agreement

Your contract decides how you exit. Look for four things.

Notice period. Thirty days' written notice is common.
Termination fee. Some agreements have one, some do not.
Leasing fee clawbacks. Check what you owe for tenants the manager placed.
Who "owns" the tenant relationship. Some agreements try to charge you for keeping a tenant they found.

Find the handover language too. Since Vermont does not regulate rental managers through the Real Estate Commission, the contract is your main lever for getting your money and files back on a date certain. If the manager broke the agreement, you may be able to end it sooner. That is a question for a Vermont attorney.

Step 2. Send written notice

Put it in writing, by email and by the method your agreement names. State the end date, ask for a full handover by that date, and list what you expect back (see Step 4).

Keep the tone flat. You want your records, not an argument. Ask for the deposit funds to be transferred by wire or certified check on or before the end date, and name the account.

Step 3. Know which rules apply to your manager

Most rental managers are not licensed brokers in Vermont. The definition of real estate broker in 26 V.S.A. § 2211 excludes any person who leases real estate, offers to lease it, negotiates a lease, or advertises as being in the leasing business. Property owners and their regular employees are outside the definition too, for acts done as part of managing that property. Acting as a broker or salesperson without a license is barred by § 2212, and that bar simply does not reach ordinary rental management.

If your manager is a licensed broker, extra rules apply to their trust money. Earnest money and contract deposits held for clients go into a trust or escrow account at a bank or financial institution licensed in Vermont, kept separate from the broker's own funds, deposited within five banking days, with the Commission notified within 10 days of opening the account. The broker keeps books and records for that account available for inspection (26 V.S.A. § 2214).

Commingling and failing to segregate client property are grounds for discipline. Unprofessional conduct for a licensee includes mixing client money with their own, failing to follow the trust account and recordkeeping rules, and failing to segregate property held for others (§ 2296). If your manager holds a license and your money has gone missing, a complaint to the Vermont Office of Professional Regulation is on the table.

For an unlicensed rental manager, your remedy runs through the contract and the courts rather than a licensing board. Say so in your notice letter, politely, and set a firm date.

Step 4. Collect everything

Ask for all of this before the end date.

Security deposits for every tenant, with the amount held for each one
The ledger showing rents collected, fees taken and what is still owed to you
Signed leases, renewals and addenda
Any move-in condition reports and photos
Tenant contact details and payment history
The flood hazard disclosure given to each tenant under 9 V.S.A. § 4466
Copies of every notice served, including rent increase notices and termination notices, with dates
Open maintenance requests, vendor contacts, invoices and warranties
Keys, fobs and door codes
Year-to-date income and expense reports for your taxes, and the landlord certificates issued to tenants

Notices matter more in Vermont than landlords expect. A rent increase runs on 60 days' actual notice (§ 4455(b)), and a no-cause termination runs on 60 or 90 days depending on the length of the tenancy (§ 4467). Without the file, you cannot prove either one was served.

Step 5. Move the security deposits

Get the deposits back in cash, not as a credit against future fees. Vermont sets no cap on the amount of a deposit and no state rule on where it sits, so the risk is the paperwork, not the bank.

The clock is the thing to protect. You have 14 days from the date a tenant vacates, or from the date you discover the unit was vacated, to return the deposit with a written statement itemizing deductions. Seasonal rentals get 60 days. Miss the deadline and you forfeit the right to withhold anything. Withhold willfully and you owe double the amount wrongfully held plus attorney fees and costs (9 V.S.A. § 4461).

That penalty follows the money. Take over the deposits with a written schedule of who paid what and when, and check whether your town has a deposit ordinance, since § 4461 lets municipalities add supplemental rules, including interest.

Step 6. Tell your tenants

Tenants care about three things. Where to pay rent, who to call for repairs, and whether their deposit is safe. Send one dated message covering all three, with the day the change takes effect and your direct contact details.

Add a line confirming you hold their deposit and the amount. It stops the question before it is asked.

Step 7. Take over the day to day

Line up your vendors, set up rent collection, and get a maintenance line that answers at 2 A.M. Remember the entry rule once you are doing your own inspections, at least 48 hours' notice and entry between 9 A.M. and 9 P.M. (§ 4460). Repairs that affect health and safety get fixed in a reasonable time, and the habitability warranty cannot be waived by the lease (§ 4457, § 4458).

This is where most landlords end up back where they started, holding a phone that never stops ringing.

Who can manage property for pay in Vermont

Almost anyone. Leasing and rental management sit outside the broker definition in 26 V.S.A. § 2211(b), and owners managing their own property are excluded as well. There is no state rental manager license to check, no license number to verify, and no Real Estate Commission complaint process for a manager who only handles rentals.

That cuts both ways. Screen a new manager yourself. Ask for references from current owners, proof of insurance, a sample owner statement, and the name of the bank where tenant deposits are held. A manager who does sales work alongside rentals holds a broker license, and that license you can verify with the Office of Professional Regulation.

Your switching checklist

Read the agreement for notice, fees and clawbacks
Send written notice with an end date and a handover list
Get deposits back in cash, with a per-tenant schedule
Collect ledgers, leases, notices served, disclosures and keys
Calendar the 14-day deposit deadline for every move-out
Tell tenants where to pay, who to call, and that their deposit is safe

Switch to Taz

Taz is an AI property manager built for landlords who have been let down before. It answers tenants day and night, routes repairs to vendors, sends rent reminders and keeps every notice and receipt in one place, for a flat monthly price per door instead of a cut of your rent. See how Taz works.

Where this guide says a state has no rule on something, that means we found no statute setting one, which is not the same as none existing. Local ordinances and court practice can add requirements. Confirm anything you plan to rely on.

This guide is general information, not legal advice. Your management agreement and your specific facts matter. Talk to a Vermont attorney before ending a contract. Last checked September 2026.