If the tenant owes the landlord past-due rent, the landlord can ask the court to order the tenant to make rental payments to the court instead of to the landlord. The court will hold the payments until the case is done. 12 V.S.A. § 4853a.
Making the Request for Rent Escrow
The landlord can make the request by filing a Motion for Rent Escrow. This request is sometimes called a motion to pay rent into court, or motion for rent into court. The motion can be filed at the same time as the complaint, or sometime later in the case.
The Vermont Judiciary does not have a motion for rent escrow form. A landlord can use the general Civil Division Motion (form 100-00053).
At a minimum, the motion should include the following information:
A description of the agreement with the tenant about their duty to pay rent.
When and how much rent the tenant has paid.
When the last rent payment was made.
How much the tenant is behind in rent
The court will schedule a hearing on the motion. The landlord must serve a copy of the motion, any supporting documents, and the notice of hearing on the tenant:
If the tenant has not been served with any documents, the motion and notice of hearing must be served by the sheriff along with the complaint and other documents filed with the court to start the case.
If the tenant has been served with the eviction complaint but has not yet filed an answer, the landlord must have the sheriff serve the motion and hearing notice on the tenant.
If the tenant has been served with the eviction complaint and has filed an answer, the landlord may serve the motion by email (if they have consented to be served by email), mail, or hand delivery.
Responding to the Motion for Rent Escrow