A charter change proposal that impacts tenants and landlords passed on Town Meeting Day. Those in support of the measure view it as a way to prevent tenants from being unfairly removed from their housing units, while those against consider it a hindrance to landlords who want to evict unsavory renters.
Item 5 on Burlington's Town Meeting Day ballot asked voters if the city's charter should be amended to include protections from evictions that don't meet the standards of "just cause." Vermont statutes allow landlords to evict tenants without cause, which occurs in about 20% of filed eviction cases, according to housing discrimination advocates who pulled from Vermont Legal Aid's 2019 report on eviction. Voters approved the measure