Information & Research Guides

• Housing Forms (Including Eviction)

• Housing Matters - Where to File

• Landlord/Tenant Frequently Asked Questions

• A Landlord's Guide to Summary Process (Eviction) - (Spanish Version)

• Procedures to Follow to Represent Yourself in an Entry and Detainer (Lockout) Case

• Rights and Responsibilities of Landlords and Tenants in Connecticut (pdf) - (Spanish Version)

• A Tenants Guide to Summary Process Eviction (pdf) - (Spanish Version)

• A Guide to Housing Matters (pdf)

• What Happens When You Go To Housing Court? (pdf)

Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection:

• Tenants in Foreclosed Properties: Best Practices for Owners Taking Title after Foreclosure (Produced by the Legal Assistance Resource Center of Connecticut) This document provides a basic summary of the laws regarding tenants rights in Connecticut after a foreclosure, as well as recommendations for how owners, mortgage loan servicers, and REO property managers should interact with tenants after a foreclosure.

Publication from the Citizens Advisory Council for Housing Matters:

• Fair Housing Laws

OLR Research Reports - Office of Legislative Research:

• Summary of Federal and State Fair Housing Laws - 2013-R-0430
  You asked for a summary of the federal Fair Housing Act (FHA) (42 USC § 3601 et seq.). You also asked for a brief description of (1) how the FHA affects municipal land use regulation and (2) the state's Discriminatory Housing Practices Act (DHPA) (CGS § 46a-64c, see also §§ 8-37ee and 46a-81e).

• Eviction Process and Time Frame - 2011-R-0350
  You asked for a description of the eviction process, including how long it takes to evict someone and a legislative history of changes affecting the eviction time frame.

• Towns Storing Evicted Tenants' Possessions - 2010-R-0515
  A landlord who obtains a court judgment to evict a tenant may execute the order by having a state marshal serve notice of the eviction on the tenant. After doing so, the marshal gives the town's chief executive officer 24 hours notice of the time and place of the eviction and the property to be removed. On eviction day, the marshal physically removes the tenant's possessions and delivers them to a town-designated storage facility. If the tenant does not reclaim his or her possessions and pay their storage expenses within 15 days, the town can sell the possessions at a public auction after (1) using reasonable efforts to locate and notify the tenant and (2) posting notice for one week on a public signpost near the eviction location, if any, or at some exterior place near the town clerk's office.

• Rights of a Long-Term Guest at a Residence - 2010-R-0069
  You asked about the rights of a person staying at the home of another person on a long-term, but informal, basis. Specifically, you asked (1) when and how such a guest may gain legal protections equivalent to those afforded to official tenants and (2) how the primary resident may have a person who began staying with them as a guest, but refuses to leave, removed.

• Options Regarding Unhealthy Apartments - 2008-R-0618
  You asked: (1) whether a tenant can obtain a second opinion from a state agency as to extent of and risks posed by the mold and (2) if this opinion shows that the apartment is unhealthy, whether the tenant can obtain relief in the form of spray painting the apartment or relocation assistance. We understand you have a constituent who has been issued an eviction notice for nonpayment of rent. She asserts that there is mold in her apartment, which her town has inspected at her request.

• Collection of Past Due Rent And Payment of Attorneys' Fees - 2008-R-0290
  You asked (1) why landlords cannot receive a monetary judgment in housing court, presumably for back rent or property damages and (2) whether a court can award attorneys' fees to tenants represented in housing cases by Legal Services attorneys.

• Landlord and Tenant Process for Collecting Overdue Rent - 2007-R-0480

• Removal Process When the Rental Unit Is Within the Landlord's Home - 2007-R-0381
  You wanted to know the process for removing a tenant who rents a room in the landlord's home but is in arrears on the rent.

• State Funded Housing for the Elderly and Evictions - 2006-R-0186
  You asked (1) for information on the eviction process in state housing for elderly and non-elderly disabled people, (2) about eligibility for tenancy in this type of housing, and (3) what the legislature has done recently to address conflicts between younger and older tenants in this type of housing.

• State Laws on Landlords' Treatment of Abandoned Property 2006-R-0164
  You asked for a summary of laws in the 50 states regulating how landlords must handle personal property that tenants leave in their dwelling unit after an eviction.

• Landlord and Tenant 2005-R-0593
  You asked if any state bans winter evictions and for a comparison of Massachusetts eviction laws to Connecticuts.

• Evicting Service Members and State Marshal Liability 2005-R-0095
  You wanted to know the process for evicting military personnel living in private housing, especially whether a military affidavit is required to evict. You also wanted to know whether state marshals are personally liable for service of process in eviction cases.

• Process for Evicting a Handicapped Tenant 2004-R-0459
  You asked if special rules apply to the eviction of a handicapped tenant.

• Uniform Relocation Assistance Act - 2004-R-0383
  You asked us to summarize the Uniform Relocation Assistance Act (URAA) and provide its legislative history (including original intent). You also asked what (1) is the process by which a tenant would qualify for assistance and (2) are the obligations of municipalities, housing authorities, and landlords under the act.

• Legal Information Institutes Law About Landlord-Tenant Law

• Connecticut Landlord and Tenant Law with Forms, by Noble F. Allen (2008).

• The Connecticut Summary Process Manual, by Paul J. Marzinotto (2002).

The above treatises are available at each of your local law libraries.

 

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