§ 47a-23c — Prohibition on eviction of certain tenants except for good cause.

Connecticut § 47a-23c

• Jurisdiction: Connecticut
• Title 47a: Landlord and Tenant
• Ch. 832: Summary Process

Text

(a)(1) Except as provided in subdivision (2) of this subsection, this section applies to any tenant who resides in a building or complex consisting of five or more separate dwelling units or who resides in a mobile manufactured home park and who is either: (A) Sixty-two years of age or older, or whose spouse, sibling, parent or grandparent is sixty-two years of age or older and permanently resides with that tenant, or (B) a person with a physical or mental disability, as defined in subdivision (12) of section 46a-64b, or whose spouse, sibling, child, parent or grandparent is a person with a physical or mental disability who permanently resides with that tenant, but only if such disability can be expected to result in death or to last for a continuous period of at least twelve months. (2) With respect to tenants in common interest communities, this section applies only to (A) a conversion tenant, as defined in subsection (3) of section 47-283 , who (i) is described in subdivision (1) of this subsection, or (ii) is not described in subdivision (1) of this subsection but, during a transition period, as defined in subsection (4) of section 47-283 , is residing in a conversion condominium created after May 6, 1980, or in any other conversion common interest community created after December 31, 1982, or (iii) is not described in subdivision (1) of this subsection but is otherwise protected as a conversion tenant by public act 80-370*, and (B) a tenant who is not a conversion tenant but who is described in subdivision (1) of this subsection if his landlord owns five or more dwelling units in the common interest community in which the dwelling unit is located. (3) As used in this section, “tenant” includes each resident of a mobile manufactured home park, as defined in section 21-64 , including a resident who owns his own home, “landlord” includes a “licensee” and an “owner” of a mobile manufactured home park, as defined in section 21-64 , “complex” means two or more buildings on the same or contiguous parcels of real property under the same ownership, and “mobile manufactured home park” means a parcel of real property, or contiguous parcels of real property under the same ownership, upon which five or more mobile manufactured homes occupied for residential purposes are located. (b) (1) No landlord may bring an action of summary process or other action to dispossess a tenant described in subsection (a) of this section except for one or more of the following reasons: (A) Nonpayment of rent; (B) refusal to agree to a fair and equitable rent increase, as defined in subsection (c) of this section; (C) material noncompliance with section 47a-11 or subsection (b) of section 21-82 , which materially affects the health and safety of the other tenants or which materially affects the physical condition of the premises; (D) voiding of the rental agreement pursuant to section 47a-31 , or material noncompliance with the rental agreement; (E) material noncompliance with the rules and regulations of the landlord adopted in accordance with section 47a-9 or 21-70 ; (F) permanent removal by the landlord of the dwelling unit of such tenant from the housing market; or (G) bona fide intention by the landlord to use such dwelling unit as his principal residence. (2) The ground stated in subparagraph (G) of subdivision (1) of this subsection is not available to the owner of a dwelling unit in a common interest community occupied by a conversion tenant. (3) A tenant may not be dispossessed for a reason described in subparagraph (B), (F) or (G) of subdivision (1) of this subsection during the term of any existing rental agreement. (c) (1) The rent of a tenant protected by this section may be increased only to the extent that such increase is fair and equitable, based on the criteria set forth in section 7-148c . (2) Any such tenant aggrieved by a rent increase or proposed rent increase may file a complaint with the fair rent commission, if any, for the town, city or borough where his dwelling unit or mobile manufactured home park lot is located; or, if no such fair rent commission exists, may bring an action in the Superior Court to contest the increase. In any such court proceeding, the court shall determine whether the rent increase is fair and equitable, based on the criteria set forth in section 7-148c . (d) A landlord, to determine whether a tenant is a protected tenant, as described in subdivision (1) of subsection (a) of this section, may request proof of such protected status. On such request, any tenant claiming protection shall provide proof of the protected status within thirty days. The proof shall include a statement of a physician or an advanced practice registered nurse in the case of alleged blindness or other physical disability. (e) (1) On and after January 1, 2024, whenever a dwelling unit located in a building or complex consisting of five or more separate dwelling units or in a mobile manufactured home park is rented to, or a rental agreement is entered into or renewed with, a tenant, the landlord of such dwelling unit or such landlord's agent shall provide such tenant with written notice of the provisions of subsections (b) and (c) of this section in a form as described in subdivision (2) of this subsection. (2) Not later than December 1, 2023, the Commissioner of Housing shall create a notice to be used by landlords, pursuant to subdivision (1) of this subsection, to inform tenants of the rights provided to protected tenants under subsections (b) and (c) of this section. Such notice shall be a one-page, plain-language summary of such rights and shall be available in both English and Spanish. Not later than December 1, 2023, such notice shall be posted on the Department of Housing's Internet web site. (3) Not later than December 1, 2028, the commissioner shall (A) translate the notice required under subdivision (2) of this subsection into the five most commonly spoken languages in the state, as determined by the commissioner, and (B) post such translations on the Department of Housing's Internet web site not later than December 1, 2028. *Note: Public act 80-370 is entitled “An Act Concerning Condominium Conversion and the Encouragement of New Rental Housing”. (See Reference Table captioned “Public Acts of 1980” in Volume 16 which lists the sections amended, created or repealed by the act.)

Legislative History

(P.A. 80-370, S. 1, 9; P.A. 81-319, S. 3, 6; P.A. 82-356, S. 1, 14; 82-472, S. 130, 183; P.A. 83-94; 83-474, S. 95, 96; P.A. 84-546, S. 106, 173; P.A. 87-310; P.A. 89-254, S. 16; P.A. 91-383, S. 19; P.A. 12-41, S. 1; P.A. 16-39, S. 70; P.A. 23-207, S. 10.) History: P.A. 81-319 amended Subsec. (b) to provide that the prohibitions of the subsection do apply to a landlord who intends to use a dwelling unit as his principal residence if the unit is in a conversion condominium and at the time of conversion was occupied by a lessee described in Subdiv. (2), to clarify that a landlord may pass on only legitimate and reasonable rent increases, and to provide that if a fair rent commission does not exist the lessee may bring an action in superior court; P.A. 82-356 amended Subsec. (b) to extend from January 1, 1983, to January 1, 1988, the prohibition on landlords bringing a summary process action except in certain instances, revised the criteria for lessee eligibility, deleted the income limitations for lessee eligibility, added as a reason for eviction a “refusal to agree to a legitimate and reasonable rent increase”, and clarified the permissible reasons for eviction, the applicability of the subsection and the remedies and procedure for an aggrieved lessee; P.A. 82-472 amended Subsec. (a)(4) by changing except as provided in this section and “sections 47-76, 47-88b to 47-88d, inclusive, 47-116 and 47a-39” to “section 47-88d”; P.A. 83-94 deleted the expiration date of January 1, 1988, for the prohibition on landlords bringing a summary process action except in certain instances; P.A. 83-474 deleted Subsec. (a) re the statement of policy, rephrased, revised and reordered former Subsec. (b), specified the applicability of the section to tenants in common interest communities and added Subsec. (d) to authorize a landlord to request proof from tenants claiming protected status; P.A. 84-546 made technical change in Subsec. (a); P.A. 87-310 amended Subsec. (a)(1) to make section applicable to qualified tenants in a building or complex with five or more separate dwelling units, rather than seven or more units, and amended Subsec. (a)(2) to clarify the conversion tenants to which the section is applicable and to make section applicable to an elderly, blind or disabled tenant who is not a conversion tenant if his landlord owns five or more dwelling units in the common interest community; P.A. 89-254 amended Subsec. (a) to make section applicable to qualified tenants who reside in a mobile manufactured home park and to define “mobile manufactured home park” and amended Subsec. (c) to add reference to “mobile manufactured home park lot”; P.A. 91-383 amended Subsec. (a)(1) to add definitions of “tenant” and “landlord” and amended Subsecs. (b)(1)(C) to add reference to Sec. 21-82(b) and (b)(1)(E) to add reference to Sec. 21-70; P.A. 12-41 amended Subsec. (a)(1) by replacing former Subparas. (B) and (C) re tenant who is blind or physically disabled with new Subpara. (B) re tenant who is a person with a physical or mental disability or whose spouse, sibling, child, parent or grandparent is a person with a physical or mental disability who permanently resides with that tenant; P.A. 16-39 amended Subsec. (d) by adding reference to advanced practice registered nurse; P.A. 23-207 made a conforming change in Subsec. (a), added a reference to Subsec. (a)(1) in Subsec. (d) and added Subsec. (e) re certain landlords to provide protected tenants with a notice of such tenants' rights concerning eviction proceedings. Cited. 207 C. 441; 215 C. 367. Section shields tenants who qualify for its protections from executions of judgments of ejectment pursuant to Sec. 49-22. 237 C. 679. Cited. 38 CS 70. Subsec. (b): Cited. 1 CA 439. Statute attempts to balance rights given to protected tenants by giving owner option of removing a rental unit from housing market when it is no longer economically feasible to rent to such tenants or for other reasons. 68 CA 638.