Community Mausoleums and Columbaria

V.S.A. tit. 18, ch. 121, subch. 6

in effect

18 V.S.A. § 5571 Location

5571. Location A community mausoleum, as defined in section 5302 of this title, other than structures containing crypts erected or controlled by churches and religious societies and used only as a repository for the remains of the clergy or dignitaries of such churches or religious societies, and every columbarium or other structure intended to hold or contain the bodies or remains of the dead, the spaces, crypts, or niches of which are available to the public, shall be located only within the confines of an established cemetery, containing not less than five acres, and which shall have been in existence and operation for a period of at least five years immediately preceding the time of the erection thereof. Amended 2023, No. 6, § 190, eff. July 1, 2023.

18 V.S.A. § 5572 Plats

5572. Plats Before commencing the building, construction, or erection of any such building, the agency constructing the same shall make and file a plat of such structure in accordance with the provisions of sections 5310 and 5311 of this title.

18 V.S.A. § 5573 Construction requirements

5573. Construction requirements (a) A community mausoleum or columbarium, the crypts or niches of which are available to the public, shall be constructed and erected only with the consent and approval of the legislative body of the municipality and local board of health. (b) Before commencing the building, construction, or erection of any such structure, full detailed plans and specifications shall be presented to the Department of Health. The approval of plans and specifications shall be evidenced by a certificate in writing, signed by the legislative body of the municipality and the local board of health. (c) A community mausoleum, columbarium, or any structure intended to hold or contain permanently the bodies of the dead, and to which the public shall have access, shall not be constructed or erected without the approvals required by this section. A building not used for the permanent disposition of the human dead shall not be altered or changed to be used for the permanent disposition of the human dead, and an addition shall not be made to any existing community mausoleum or columbarium, unless constructed of material and workmanship as will ensure its durability and permanence as well as the safety, convenience, comfort, and health of the community in which it is located, as dictated and determined at the time by modern mausoleum construction and engineering science. (d) Construction shall be managed and supervised by a person with experience in modern mausoleum construction and engineering. Amended 1959, No. 329 (Adj. Sess.), § 27, eff. March 1, 1961; 2017, No. 113 (Adj. Sess.), § 95; 2021, No. 15, § 5; 2023, No. 53, § 123, eff. June 8, 2023.

18 V.S.A. § 5574 Repealed. 2021, No. 15, § 9(1), eff. July 1, 2021.

18 V.S.A. § 5575 Use before completion prohibited

5575. Use before completion prohibited A community mausoleum, columbarium, crypt, niche, or structure so erected as aforesaid shall not be used for the purpose of depositing therein the remains of any dead body until the same is finally completed and the maintenance fund required by this chapter has been provided for in accordance with the provisions hereof.

18 V.S.A. § 5576 Sales before the completion of building; bond

5576. Sales before the completion of building; bond A crypt or room in a community mausoleum, or niche in a columbarium, shall not be sold or offered for sale before such structure is entirely completed, unless and until the agency selling such crypts or niches enters into an agreement in which it agrees to refund to each and every purchaser of crypts, rooms, and niches all sums of money paid by each, together with legal interest thereon, in the event it fails to complete such mausoleum or columbarium within a reasonable time thereafter, which agreement shall be entered into with a bank or trust company as trustee for the purchasers of crypts, rooms, and niches. The agency shall also deposit with the trustee a good and sufficient bond or other security that shall guarantee the faithful performance of the agreement. The selection of the bank or trust company, the trust agreement, and the bond or other security herein provided for shall be submitted to and be subject to the approval of the Probate Division of the Superior Court of the district where such community mausoleum or columbarium is located. Amended 2009, No. 154 (Adj. Sess.), § 238a, eff. Feb. 1, 2011; 2023, No. 6, § 191, eff. July 1, 2023.

18 V.S.A. § 5577 Mausoleum becoming untenable

5577. Mausoleum becoming untenable If a mausoleum, vault, crypt, or structure containing one or more deceased human bodies becomes a hazard to public health, and the owner or owners of the structure fail to remedy or remove the same to the satisfaction of the Department of Health, a court of competent jurisdiction may order the person, firm, or corporation owning the structure to remove the body or bodies for interment in some suitable cemetery at the expense of the person, firm, or corporation owning the mausoleum, vault, or crypt. When the person, firm, or corporation cannot be found in the county where the mausoleum, vault, or crypt is located, then the removal and interment shall be at the expense of the cemetery, cemetery association, city, or town where the mausoleum, vault, or crypt is situated. Amended 1959, No. 329 (Adj. Sess.), § 27, eff. March 1, 1961; 2021, No. 15, § 5.

18 V.S.A. § 5578 Perpetual care funds

5578. Perpetual care funds There shall be established and maintained a fund for the perpetual care and maintenance of such community mausoleum and columbarium by applying in the case of a community mausoleum not less than the sum of $100.00 from the proceeds received from the sale of each crypt and 10 percent of the proceeds received from the sale of each room; and in case of niches in a community mausoleum or columbarium, used as a repository for the remains of deceased persons after cremation, a sum which shall be equivalent to 10 percent of the sale price of each niche. In event sales of crypts or rooms in a community mausoleum, or sales of niches in a community mausoleum or columbarium are made upon partial payments, there shall be set apart and applied to such fund from each partial payment the percentage that the amount of the partial payment bears to the total purchase price of the crypt, room, or niche. Amended 2017, No. 113 (Adj. Sess.), § 96.

18 V.S.A. § 5579 Penalties

5579. Penalties A person who violates a provision of sections 5571-5578 of this title shall be fined not less than $100.00 nor more than $500.00 or be imprisoned in the State correctional facility not less than 10 days nor more than three months, or both, for each offense. Amended 1967, No. 345 (Adj. Sess.), § 30, eff. April 1, 1969.

Source: Vermont General Assembly (legislature.vermont.gov)URL: https://legislature.vermont.gov/statutes/chapter/18/121Fetched: 10/21/2026