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Willard v. Parsons Hill Partnership8/5/2005
d suddenly hears about the fact that the tenant hasn't had hot water for seven months and the landlord hasn't heard this.
REP. STOKES: Then it doesn't apply, even according to the court, the Hilder v. St. Peter case. Notification is part of the process.
REP. BATTEN: So, what is the process of notification?
REP. STOKES: It just says that the tenant must notify the landlord and if the landlord does not respond in a reasonable amount of time, that's what the case says, reasonable amount of time, then the tenant may withhold rent.
Hearing on H.339 Before House Judiciary Comm. 40-41, 1985-1986 Bien. Sess. (Vt. Aug. 21, 1985). Later in the discussion, Representative Davenport, a principal author of the original version of H.339 and a member of the Judiciary Committee, added additional comments that are consistent with our appraisal of the Legislature's intent:
REP. DAVENPORT: I have to say on the issues of repair and deduction and rent withholding I have somewhat ambivalent feelings. On the one hand the same feelings that I had about the security deposit that it is important to have a process that people know about and understand about and somehow if you put that in statute that's somehow easier for people to get at and have access to then it's in the case law, which was Anne's point about people now they hear about [Hilder v. St. Peter] and they think it is something they could apply to their situation but they don't have access to this case. The notice provision isn't something they know about. So, that's one of the reasons why it seemed to me initially when we were drafting this bill that there was a real value to putting some of this into statute. My feeling on the other hand is that putting it into statute does make this bill very long and does make it very cumbersome. And, that there may also be value to leave it alone in the case law having a finding that we are not dealing with that one way or the other. . . .
Id. at 43.
23. Ultimately, the Legislature did adopt a warranty of habitability provision that was, in virtually all respects, consistent with that part of Hilder that deals with patent defects known to the tenant. In fact, since the statute's enactment we have cited to Hilder as a guide to the statute's proper interpretation in cases involving patent habitability defects. Favreau v. Miller, 156 Vt. 222, 229, 591 A.2d 68, 72-73 (1991) (citing Hilder); Nepveu v. Rau, 155 Vt. 373, 375, 583 A.2d 1273, 1274 (1990) (citing Hilder). The committee's focus was not, however, on the aspect of Hilder allowing for tenant remedies in cases involving latent defects already known to the landlord. This oversight is understandable because, while the latent defect language in the case was important to the common law that we were promulgating, Hilder itself was a case involving patent defects.
24. We note that, in 2000, the Legislature amended 9 V.S.A. § 4458(a). 1999, No. 115 (Adj. Sess.), § 6. The statute now provides that a tenant can pursue his habitability remedies if the landlord fails to remedy a habitability defect within a reasonable time "after receiving actual notice of the noncompliance from the tenant, a governmental entity or a qualified independent inspector." 9 V.S.A. § 4458(a). With this amendment, the Legislature has now brought cases like plaintiffs' within the ambit of the statute, thus supporting our view that the former § 4458(a) did not cover the entire range of habitability claims.
25. We are not persuaded by defendants' argument that the statutory notice provision's "obvious purpose" is to "assure that the landlord is aware that the tenant considers a condition in the premises
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