Landlord group warns Section 3 of H.537 could create conflicts, urges clearer rules on tenant gardens

Angela Zajkowski, director of the Vermont Landlords Association, told the House committee on Agriculture, Food Resiliency, & Forestry that Section 3 of H.537, which addresses tenants' rights to grow vegetables, should be clarified to protect landlords from property damage and to provide alternatives to eviction.

"I think it's important that people have access to food and have the ability to provide food for themselves and their families," Zajkowski said, but she added the bill as drafted "has the potential to create some conflict where it doesn't need to be." She said she would focus her remarks on Section 3 because that portion directly affects the landlord-tenant relationship.

A committee member read aloud the bill language that says a landlord "shall permit a tenant to grow a vegetable garden in portable containers approved by the landlord in the tenant's private area." Zajkowski said the phrase "tenant's private area" is not standard in housing law and suggested rewording to align with tenancy terminology, such as "rented premises." She urged the committee to make explicit whether landlords may require containerized gardens only and how to handle in-ground beds.

Zajkowski highlighted enforcement concerns. "The only tool that's available to a landlord is an eviction," she said, noting that under Vermont law a violation notice is currently a 30-day notice and that, if unresolved, "starting an eviction case in the court" is "about a 6 month process." She warned those timing and procedural realities could worsen landlord-tenant disputes if tenants claim statutory protection to install gardens.

To reduce conflict and give landlords nonlitigation options, Zajkowski recommended language allowing landlords to move or remove dangerous or obstructive planters without liability to the tenant and to collect additional deposits when a tenant installs gardens that pose higher risk of damage. "Landlord having some higher level of protection because of this extra add on, would be helpful and appreciated," she said.

Committee members raised related practical questions. One asked how HOAs and common infrastructure (water lines, septic fields) would be affected; Zajkowski said rental properties in HOAs add complexity and suggested inviting property managers with HOA experience to testify. Representative Lipsky told the committee he supports the right to grow food but underscored that Vermont's laws are "very tenant-friendly" and that landlords face significant challenges when pursuing evictions.

Zajkowski also pointed to community gardens as an alternative for tenants who cannot garden at their units, while a committee member noted accessibility and mobility barriers could limit some residents' ability to use off-site plots. Representative Boston said the potted-container approach in earlier drafts may reduce damage to landscapes and agreed that deposits or remediation requirements warrant consideration.

The committee did not vote on the bill during the hearing. Members said they would follow up by inviting additional witnesses, including HOA or property-management representatives, to advise on how the bill's language would work in common ownership settings.

The Vermont Landlords Association represents a wide range of housing providers and Zajkowski, who has practiced landlord-tenant law since 2003 and focused exclusively on it for roughly 15 years, estimated there are about 75,000 rental units in Vermont based on census-derived estimates because the state lacks a rental registry.