A mobile home park tenant in Milton lost her appeal of an eviction after the Vermont Supreme Court held that the right to end an eviction for unpaid rent by paying up can be used only once in 12 months. Per the order, she had used it in May 2025, fell behind again that October, and the park owner sued in December. The panel affirmed the trial court's judgment of possession for the park owner. A three-justice panel affirmed the judgment in a nonprecedential entry order listed Nov. 6, Case No. 26-AP-159.
The once-a-year rule
Under 12 V.S.A. section 4773, a tenant sued for unpaid rent can end the case by paying the court all rent due through the end of the current rental period, plus interest and court costs, before a writ of possession is executed. A writ of possession is the court paper that directs a sheriff to put the owner back in possession, not earlier than 14 days after the writ is served. The statute adds that a tenant "may not defeat an ejectment action by payment" more than once in 12 months, and the 12 months start on the day of payment.
The dates in the order
May 2025: the tenant stops an earlier eviction case by paying what she owed into court.
October 2025: she misses rent. The lot rent is $436 a month.
Nov. 7, 2025: the owner, The Housing Foundation, Inc., sends a certified-mail notice that the tenancy ends Dec. 12 unless she pays $832.61.
December 2025: the owner files for eviction. In April 2026, after a hearing at which both sides appeared, the civil division awards possession, $1,268.61 in rent and $2,713.93 in attorney's fees and costs.
Those facts are the owner's allegations, as the order recounts them, and the order says the trial court apparently found them established. The fees and costs are more than twice the rent award, and the three amounts together come to $3,982.54, about nine months of lot rent (our calculation). The panel noted that section 15 of the lease entitles the owner to attorney's fees for recovering possession.
Why the appeal failed
The tenant appealed without a lawyer and appeared to argue she should have been allowed to pay the arrears again. The justices wrote that because she had paid to end the earlier case within the past 12 months, she had no right to do it a second time. They also said she did not order a transcript of the hearing, so the court assumes the trial judge's findings are supported by the evidence. Her challenge to the fee award gave no reasons or legal authority, so they did not address it.
What it means for a mobile home owner
For a mobile home owner, losing the right to pay and stay raises a question beyond the lot. Under 10 V.S.A. section 6237, a park owner must first notify the tenant by certified or registered mail that an eviction may start if overdue rent is not paid within 20 days of mailing. A judgment must give the tenant three months after the writ is executed to sell or remove the home, unless the court orders another period, and lot rent keeps accruing until the home is sold or removed. The entry order does not say what period this judgment set, whether the writ has been executed or when the tenant must leave.
Chief Justice Paul L. Reiber and Associate Justices Nancy J. Waples and Christina E. Nolan signed the order. It says three-justice panel decisions are not to be considered as precedent.
