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Judiciary cites judge vacancies, staffing and process timing as barriers to timely eviction resolution
Summary
At a Jan. 22 joint hearing, the state court administrator and advocates described rising eviction filings, an aspirational six-month case disposition guideline, and how judge vacancies and process choices by landlords affect how long eviction cases take to resolve.
State court administrators and housing advocates told lawmakers at a Jan. 22 joint hearing that rising eviction filings, judge vacancies and procedural choices are the principal reasons some eviction cases take months to resolve.
Terry Corson, Vermont’s state court administrator, told the joint Senate and House committees that fiscal year 2024 brought 1,634 landlord-tenant cases statewide; 55% of those filings were for nonpayment of rent. Corson described a statutory, expedited procedure for nonpayment cases that includes a shortened notice period and regular rent-escrow hearings.
Corson said the judiciary aspires to a six-month disposition guideline for landlord-tenant cases and noted that staffing — including recent judicial appointments that restored full staffing after vacancies — materially affects how quickly courts can schedule merits hearings. Witnesses told lawmakers the single greatest obstacle to timely disposition in recent years was judge vacancies and limited calendar days in rural courthouses.
Advocates and committee members also flagged how choices by landlords and litigants lengthen timelines: landlords may delay filing to negotiate with tenants or wait to serve cases, and some filings result in default judgments when defendants do not respond. Jean Murray of Vermont Legal Aid said court disposition data do not reliably label case outcomes in a way that makes statewide “landlord win” vs “tenant win” tallies available without manual review of individual dockets.
Why it matters: Court timelines shape the real-world consequences of eviction proceedings. Shorter, more predictable dispositions reduce uncertainty for landlords and tenants; advocates said court delays can increase homelessness risk and complicate attempts to resolve habitability claims and rent escrow outcomes.
Testimony included several operational details: courts schedule rent-escrow blocks every two weeks for nonpayment matters; if rent is not paid into court as ordered, a landlord may seek a writ of possession. Advocates noted many cases are resolved at rent-escrow or by settlement; Corson and other witnesses said remote participation has increased tenant participation but also raised concerns about equitable access to evidence and video technology in hearings requiring live witness testimony.
No formal change was ordered at the hearing. Committee members requested further information and suggested the report’s recommended follow-up research on timelines and court data be pursued to inform any statutory reforms that aim to speed or alter eviction processes.
