Title 27, Title 27: Property

§ 405. Vendor to record title on request When a person sells and conveys lands, or an estate or interest in land, the person shall cause the person’s title deed to be recorded in the land records office within six months after request made in writing by a subsequent purchaser of …

§ 406. Proceedings upon vendor’s refusal When such person, after being so requested and after the expiration of said six months, has not procured the person’s deed to be recorded, a judge, on the complaint of the party whose right or title is liable to be affected by such neglect…

§ 407. Commitment of vendor for refusal When such person does not show sufficient cause for omitting to procure his or her deed to be recorded, the judge shall sentence him or her to jail, there to remain until he or she procures it to be recorded and pays the costs of the compla…

§ 408. Recording subordination of liens An agreement for the subordination of a prior lien or other encumbrance on real property shall be recorded in the land records of the town in which the property is situated, and a reference to the record of the subordination agreement shall…

§ 409. Record of assignment by landlord An assignment of or any agreement affecting the rights or interest of a landlord or owner of real property occupied by a tenant or sharecropper shall be recorded in the land records of the town in which the property is situated. If not so r…

§ 410. Lien priorities (a) Definitions. For purposes of this section, the following definitions shall apply: (1) “Debtor” means a person who owes payment or other performance of an obligation secured, but if the debtor and the owner of real estate are not the same person, the ter…

§ 441. Manner of mortgaging machinery Machinery attached to or used in a shop, mill, quarry, mine, printing office, or factory may be mortgaged by deed executed, acknowledged and recorded as deeds of real estate. Such mortgages may be assigned, discharged, or foreclosed as mortga…

§ 442. Attachment and sale of machinery mortgaged with real estate If machinery is mortgaged with real estate, the equity of redemption in such machinery and real estate may be attached and sold on execution as real estate is sold.

§ 461. By entry on record Mortgages may be discharged by an entry on the margin of the record thereof in the record of deeds, acknowledging satisfaction of the mortgage, signed by the mortgagee or by his or her executor, administrator, assignee, attorney at law, or attorney actin…

§ 462. By acknowledgment of payment Mortgages may also be discharged by the mortgagee or by his or her executor, administrator, assignee, attorney at law, or attorney acting under a duly executed and recorded power of attorney, acknowledging payment thereof by an entry on the mor…

§ 463. By separate instrument (a) Mortgages may be discharged by an acknowledgment of satisfaction, executed by the mortgagee or his or her attorney, executor, administrator, or assigns, which shall be substantially in the following form: I hereby certify that the following descr…

§ 464. Liability of mortgagee for failure to provide payoff statements and refusal to discharge (a) Within five business days after the mortgagee’s receipt of a written request for a statement of the amount of funds or other obligations required to satisfy a note or other obligat…

§ 464a. Discharge by licensed attorney (a) A recorded mortgage may be discharged by an attorney-at-law licensed to practice in this State if: (1) the mortgagee, after receipt of payment of the mortgage in accordance with the payoff statement furnished to the mortgagor by the mort…

§ 465. When mortgagee dead When it appears from the record of a mortgage on real estate that the mortgage is undischarged, and the mortgagee, or the person to whom the mortgage is assigned, is deceased, the owner of the real estate may make written application to the Probate Divi…

§ 466. Notice to parties The application provided in section 465 of this title shall state the names and addresses of all parties in interest, so far as they are known to the applicant, and the Probate Division of the Superior Court shall order such notice by registered mail, pub…

§ 467. When death of mortgagee not established In case the death of a mortgagee or assignee is not established, and the court would have jurisdiction to proceed under 14 V.S.A. §§ 2305 and 2306, the court, upon like petition, hearing, and proof, may appoint a trustee to discharge…

§ 468. Manner of Discharge by Trustee or Administrator The mortgage may be discharged by the administrator or trustee in the manner provided by law for the discharge of a mortgage by a mortgagee. The discharge shall have the same effect as though made by the mortgagee or assignee…

§ 469. Mortgagee corporation whose charter has expired When it appears from the record of a mortgage on real estate that the mortgage is undischarged, and the mortgagee, or the assignee of the mortgage, is a private corporation whose charter has expired by its own limitation, or …

§ 470. Validation of mortgage discharge on one- to four-family residential property (a) Subject to the provisions of subsection (b) of this section, a mortgage discharge executed on behalf of a banking or lending institution with respect to a mortgage encumbering a one- to four-f…

§ 501. Reformation of interests violating rule against perpetuities Any interest in real or personal property which would violate the rule against perpetuities shall be reformed, within the limits of that rule, to approximate most closely the intention of the creator of the inter…

§ 502. Application of subchapter This subchapter shall apply only to inter vivos instruments and wills taking effect after the subchapter becomes operative and to appointments made after the subchapter becomes operative including appointments by inter vivos instrument or will und…

§ 503. Effect on prior interests This subchapter shall not be construed to invalidate or modify the terms of any interest which would have been valid prior to its enactment.

§ 541. Deeds of lands held adversely Deeds, leases, and other conveyances of lands, duly executed, acknowledged, and recorded, shall have the effect to convey such title therein as the grantor or lessor may have, notwithstanding any actual possession of the lands by any other per…

§ 542. Fraudulent deeds Fraudulent and deceitful deeds, conveyances, and alienations of lands, or of an estate or interest therein, and charges upon lands or upon the rents and profits thereof, procured, made, or suffered with intent to avoid a right, debt, or duty of a person, s…

§ 543. Highways as encumbrances When real estate is conveyed by deed, the existence of a highway over or upon any part of such estate shall not be treated as a breach of the covenant of seisin or warranty or any covenant against encumbrances contained in such deed unless the part…

§ 544. Energy devices based on renewable resources (a) No deed restrictions, covenants, or similar binding agreements running with the land shall prohibit or have the effect of prohibiting solar collectors, clotheslines, or other energy devices based on renewable resources from b…

§ 545. Covenants, conditions, and restrictions of substantial public interest (a) Deed restrictions, covenants, or similar binding agreements added after March 1, 2021 that prohibit or have the effect of prohibiting land development allowed under 24 V.S.A. § 4412(1)(E) and (2)(A)…

§ 546. Racially and religiously restrictive covenants in deeds prohibited (a) A deed, mortgage, plat, or other recorded device recorded on or after July 1, 2022 shall not contain a covenant, easement, or any other restrictive or reversionary interest purporting to restrict the ow…

§ 601. Requirements (a) Any person who holds an unbroken chain of title of record to any interest in real estate for 40 years shall at the end of that period be deemed to have a marketable record title to the interest, subject only to such claims to the interest and such defects …

§ 602. Unbroken chain; conditions and suspension (a) A person shall be deemed to hold an unbroken chain of title to an interest in real estate for purposes of this subchapter when the official public records disclose: (1) a conveyance not less than 40 years in the past, properly …

§ 603. Successors in interest; notices of claim; filing for record A person holding a marketable title under this subchapter shall hold the same, and it shall be taken by his or her successors in interest, free and clear of any and all interests, liens, claims, and charges the ex…

§ 604. Failure to file notice (a) This subchapter shall not bar or extinguish any of the following interests by reason of failure to file the notice provided for in section 605 of this title: (1) the interest of any lessor or his or her successor as reversioner of the right to po…

§ 605. Contents of notice of claim; recording (a) To be effective, the notice referred to in section 603 of this title shall contain a full and accurate description of the land affected by the notice, set forth in particular terms, shall be recorded at length in the land records …

§ 606. Limitation of actions Nothing in this subchapter shall extend the periods for the bringing of an action or suit or for the doing of any act required under existing statutes of limitation nor affect the operation of existing statutes governing the effect of the recording of…

§ 607. Time-shares; right to cancel (a) For the purposes of this section a “time-share” means an interest in a project involving real property acquired by means of a time-share estate or a time-share license. A “time-share estate” is a right to occupy a unit or any of several uni…

§ 609. Conveyance of standing timber If standing timber is conveyed by deed or other instrument, with a clause limiting the time for removal, title to any uncut timber remaining on the land at the expiration of the time for removal shall revert to the owner of the fee. (Added 198…

§ 610. Housing subsidy covenants; enforceability (a) Definition. As used in this section, “housing subsidy covenant” means a covenant the purpose of which is to encourage the development and continued availability of affordable rental and owner-occupied housing for low and modera…

§ 611. Remediation certificates A remediation certificate issued under the provisions of 18 V.S.A. § 1221a, and duly recorded under the provisions of 18 V.S.A. § 1221b, shall correct any title deficiencies under this subchapter that were caused by the absence of a subdivision per…

§ 612. Municipal permits (a) Notwithstanding the majority decision in Bianchi v. Lorenz (1997), for land development, as defined in 24 V.S.A. § 4303(10), no encumbrance on record title to real estate or effect on marketability shall be created by the failure to obtain or comply w…

§ 614. Transfer of stormwater discharge permits to a municipality (a) The failure of the residential subdivision to obtain, renew, or comply with the terms of a pretransition stormwater discharge permit shall not create an encumbrance on record title to real property within the r…

§ 615. Wetland permit No encumbrance on record title to real estate or effect on marketability shall be created by failure to obtain or comply with a permit of the Secretary of Natural Resources pursuant to 10 V.S.A. chapter 37. (Added 2009, No. 31, § 10.)

§ 616. Groundwater source testing; disclosure of informational material (a) Disclosure of potable water supply informational material. For a contract for the conveyance of real property with a potable water supply, as that term is defined in 10 V.S.A. § 1972(6), that is not serve…

§ 617. Disclosure of class 4 road (a) Disclosure of maintenance on class 4 highway. Any property owner who sells property located on a class 4 highway or legal trail shall disclose to the buyer that the municipality is not required to maintain the highway or trail as described in…

§ 621. Short title This subchapter may be cited as the Uniform Real Property Electronic Recording Act. (Added 2021, No. 171 (Adj. Sess.), § 2, eff. July 1, 2022.)

§ 622. Definitions For the purposes of this subchapter: (1) “Document” means information that is: (A) inscribed on a tangible medium or that is stored in an electronic or other medium and is retrievable in perceivable form; and (B) eligible to be recorded in the land records main…

§ 623. Validity of electronic documents (a) If a law requires, as a condition for recording, that a document be an original, be on paper or another tangible medium, or be in writing, the requirement is satisfied by an electronic document satisfying this subchapter. (b) If a law r…