If the tenant filed a counterclaim, the landlord must file a written response with the court within 21 days and get a copy of their response to the tenant. If the landlord does not file a written response to the counterclaim, the tenant can ask for a default judgment on their counterclaim.
Responding to a Motion for Rent Escrow
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 the landlord. The court will hold the payments until the case is done. 12 V.S.A. § 4853a.
See Motion for Rent Escrow / Responding to a Motion for Rent Escrow earlier on this page for more information.
Eviction trial
Going to trial can be complicated. Consider talking to an attorney. See the Finding Legal Help web page for information about the ways to get the help of an attorney.
The VTLawHelp website has information about eviction trials on their Court Process: Steps in an Eviction Case web page under Before Trial and Going to Trial.
The Going to Court web page has information about getting ready for a trial.
At the eviction trial, the judge will hear from both parties, consider any evidence presented, and will decide:
Whether the tenant can be evicted.
Whether the tenant owes money to the landlord.
Whether the landlord owes money to the tenant.
Any other issues either party raised.
The judge may make their decision at the end of the trial, or sometime later. The court will send a copy of written decision to the parties.
The parties must notify the court and the other party – in writing – about any changes to their contact information. A party who doesn’t update their information may miss important court notices and other papers.