Local Rent Control Allowed by Charter in Vermont; None Statewide

Vermont sets no statewide percentage limit on rent increases and has no rent-control statute, but it also has no law expressly preempting local rent control. Vermont is a Dillon's Rule state, so a town's authority comes from its charter, not general home rule. To gain new powers like rent regulation, a municipality must amend its charter: under 17 V.S.A. § 2645, local voters must approve the change, after which it takes effect only upon enactment by the General Assembly, subject to the Governor's veto. Burlington voters approved a tenant-protection charter amendment in 2021 (a just-cause eviction measure, not rent control), but Governor Phil Scott vetoed the enabling bill in 2022 and it never took effect. As of 2026, no Vermont municipality has a binding rent-control or rent-stabilization ordinance in force.

There is no statewide rent cap, so no penalty governs the size of a rent increase. A municipality cannot impose rent control without an approved charter change; an ordinance adopted without that Legislature-enacted authority would be invalid as beyond the town's delegated powers.