If the tenant disagrees with the landlord’s request for rent escrow, they must file a written response at least 14 days before hearing on the motion. The response to a motion for rent escrow is separate from the written answer to the eviction complaint. The Vermont Judiciary does not have a specific form to respond to a motion for rent escrow. The tenant can use the general Civil Division Response to Motion (form 100-00020).
The tenant must get a copy of their written response to the landlord by the 14-day deadline. They can do that by email (if the other party agreed to service by email), or mail, or hand delivery. The tenant must also file a Certificate of Service (form 600-00264) telling the court how they got a copy to the landlord.
The VTLawHelp website has information about some reasons a tenant may oppose a Motion for Rent Into Court on their Court Process: Steps in an Eviction Case web page under What is “Rent Into Court?” / You can oppose the motion.
Rent Escrow Hearing
Both parties should attend the rent escrow hearing. The Going to Court web page provides information about getting ready for a hearing.
If the tenant doesn’t attend the hearing, the landlord can ask the court to move ahead with the hearing and issue the rent escrow order.
If the landlord doesn’t attend the hearing, the court could dismiss the landlord’s motion. This does not dismiss the entire eviction case – just the motion for rent escrow.
If the tenant received notice of the rent escrow hearing before their deadline to respond to (answer) the eviction complaint and they attend the rent escrow hearing, their new deadline to respond is 14 days after the rent escrow hearing. See the Responding to an eviction complaint section below for information about answering the complaint.