Willard v. PARSONS HILL PARTNERSHIP, 2005 VT 69 (2005)

Citation: Willard v. PARSONS HILL PARTNERSHIP, 2005 VT 69 (2005)
Parent Document: Willard v. PARSONS HILL PARTNERSHIP, 2005 VT 69 (2005)
Jurisdiction: Vermont (state)
Effective Date: 2005-08-05
Original Source: https://www.courtlistener.com/opinion/2081593/willard-v-parsons-hill-partnership/ ↗

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¶ 27. In sum, at common law, the warranty of habitability covered all patent and latent defects. The statute cannot be applied to this case involving a latent defect because its enforcement provisions appear tailored only for cases based on patent defects. Specifically, the notice provision, which serves an obvious and important purpose of protecting landlord rights in patent habitability defect cases, has no discernible purpose in latent defect cases where landlords already have actual written *1222 notice of a habitability problem from someone other than a tenant. In light of this disparity, and of the fact that the RRAA contains no express language signifying that it was meant to apply to latent habitability defect cases, we conclude that the RRAA's enactment did not preempt common-law warranty of habitability actions involving latent defects of which a landlord already had actual knowledge. The common-law warranty of habitability against latent defects remained viable at the time that plaintiffs filed this case; thus, Hilder v. St. Peter, and not § 4458, controls.

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