| Rent Increase Facts | Answer |
| Reason Needed? | No |
| Maximum Amount | Must be reasonable |
| Required Notice | No Statute |
Does Connecticut Have Rent Control Laws?
Connecticut does not have statewide rent control laws limiting the amount that landlords may ask for rent. State law prohibits local governments from establishing rent control laws except to establish a fair rent commission that handles complaints and prevents landlords from charging excessive rents.
Since 2022, Connecticut requires all cities with a population over 25,000 to establish a fair rent commission.
When Can a Landlord Raise Rent in Connecticut?
Landlords in Connecticut can raise the rent at any time, as long as they comply with the following:
- Wait until the end of the lease term (unless otherwise specified in the lease)
- Give reasonable notice
- Aren’t raising rent for discriminatory or retaliatory reasons
45 days before the end of a year-long lease, a landlord sends a notice that rent will increase by 5% if they choose to renew the lease.
When Can’t a Landlord Raise Rent in Connecticut?
Landlords in Connecticut may not raise the rent if:
- The increase is applied in a way that discriminates against one of the protected classes specified in the Fair Housing Act
- It is during the middle of a lease’s fixed term (unless stated otherwise in the lease agreement
- It is done as retaliation against a protected tenant action, such as filing a complaint
State law also prohibits discrimination based on a past conviction for possession of cannabis products, or 4 or fewer ounces of cannabis plant material. An unfair rent increase could count as discrimination under this law.
How Often Can Rent Be Increased in Connecticut?
Landlords in Connecticut can increase the rent as often as they wish, as long as sufficient notice is provided each time.
How Much Notice is Needed to Raise Rent in Connecticut?
Connecticut law does not require a specific notice period before raising the rent.
However, it still requires that landlords act in good faith, meaning they should give the tenant reasonable notice when increasing rent. In many states, one month is considered reasonable.
How Much Can a Landlord Raise Rent in Connecticut?
In areas with a fair rent commission, landlords in Connecticut cannot raise the rent by an amount that would be considered “harsh and unconscionable.”
If a tenant thinks a rent increase is unreasonable, they must submit a complaint to their local Fair Housing Commission to contest it.
Fair rent commissions are required to consider these factors:
- Amount and frequency of rent increases
- Landlord’s operating costs
- Number and size of bedrooms
- Repairs necessary to make the accommodations livable
- Number of bathtubs, showers, toilets, and sinks
- Services, furniture, and furnishings
- Availability of utilities
- Comparable rents
- Sanitary conditions
- Compliance with state and local health and safety laws and regulations
- Renter’s income and housing availability
- Tenant damage to the premises, other than ordinary wear and tear
- Potential reinvestment in the property
After a tenant files a complaint, the commission will hold a hearing and may:
- Order a reduction of the rent increase
- Order the rent increase to be phased over time
- Deny the rent increase
- Require the rent increase to be delayed until the landlord complies with health and safety requirements or makes necessary repairs
- Deny the tenant’s claim
Tenants can file a case with Superior Court to contest a rent increase if their local government does not have a fair rent commission and they live in a mobile home or a building or complex with 5 or more dwellings and are disabled or 62 years old or older.
In boroughs and towns without a fair rent commission, landlords can raise the rent by any amount they wish. There is no legal limit or cap on the amount of a rent increase in those areas.
Sources
- 1 Conn. Gen. Stat. § 7-148b(b)
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Any town, city or borough may, and any town, city or borough with a population of twenty-five thousand or more, as determined by the most recent decennial census, shall, through its legislative body, adopt an ordinance that creates a fair rent commission. Any such commission shall make studies and investigations, conduct hearings and receive complaints relative to rental charges on housing accommodations, except those accommodations rented on a seasonal basis, within its jurisdiction, which term shall include mobile manufactured homes and mobile manufactured home park lots, in order to control and eliminate excessive rental charges on such accommodations, and to carry out the provisions of sections 7-148b to 7-148f, inclusive, section 47a-20 and subsection (b) of section 47a-23c. The commission, for such purposes, may compel the attendance of persons at hearings, issue subpoenas and administer oaths, issue orders and continue, review, amend, terminate or suspend any of its orders and decisions. The commission may be empowered to retain legal counsel to advise it.
Source Link - 2 Conn. Gen. Stat. § 47a-20
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A landlord shall not maintain an action or proceeding against a tenant to recover possession of a dwelling unit, demand an increase in rent from the tenant, or decrease the services to which the tenant has been entitled within six months after:
(1) The tenant has in good faith attempted to remedy by any lawful means, including contacting officials of the state or of any town, city or borough or public agency or filing a complaint with a fair rent commission, any condition constituting a violation of any provisions of chapter 368o, or of chapter 412, or of any other state statute or regulation, or of the housing and health ordinances of the municipality wherein the premises which are the subject of the complaint lie;
(2) any municipal agency or official has filed a notice, complaint or order regarding such a violation;
(3) the tenant has in good faith requested the landlord to make repairs;
(4) the tenant has in good faith instituted an action under subsections (a) to (i), inclusive, of section 47a-14h; or
(5) the tenant has organized or become a member of a tenants’ union.
Source Link - 3 Conn. Gen. Stat. § 47a-9a(a)
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As used in this section, “tenant”, “landlord” and dwelling unit” have the same meanings as provided in section 47a-1 of the general statutes. Except as provided in this section, a landlord or property manager may not refuse to rent to a prospective tenant or an existing tenant, or otherwise discriminate against a prospective tenant or an existing tenant, based on a past conviction for possession of a cannabis-type substance under section 21a-279a of the general statutes, or for a past conviction for possession of four or fewer ounces of cannabis plant material, and any equivalencies and combinations thereof, pursuant to subsection (i) of section 21a-279a of the general statutes in any other jurisdiction.
Source Link - 4 Conn. Gen. Stat. § 7-148d
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(a) If a commission determines, after a hearing, that the rental charge or proposed increase in the rental charge for any housing accommodation is so excessive, based on the standards and criteria set forth in section 7-148c, as to be harsh and unconscionable, it may order that the rent be limited to such an amount as it determines to be fair and equitable. If a commission determines, after a hearing, that the housing accommodation in question fails to comply with any municipal ordinance or state statute or regulation relating to health and safety, it may order the suspension of further payment of rent by the tenant until such time as the landlord makes the necessary changes, repairs or installations so as to bring such housing accommodation into compliance with such ordinance, statute or regulation. The rent during said period shall be paid to the commission to be held in escrow subject to ordinances or provisions adopted by the town, city or borough.
(b) If the commission determines, after a hearing, that a landlord has retaliated in any manner against a tenant because the tenant has complained to the commission, the commission may order the landlord to cease and desist from such conduct.
Source Link - 5 Conn. Gen. Stat. § 7-148c
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In determining whether a rental charge or a proposed increase in a rental charge is so excessive, with due regard to all the circumstances, as to be harsh and unconscionable, a fair rent commission shall consider such of the following circumstances as are applicable to the type of accommodation:(1) The rents charged for the same number of rooms in other housing accommodations in the same and in other areas of the municipality;(2) the sanitary conditions existing in the housing accommodations in question;(3) the number of bathtubs or showers, flush water closets, kitchen sinks and lavatory basins available to the occupants thereof;(4) services, furniture, furnishings and equipment supplied therein;(5) the size and number of bedrooms contained therein;(6) repairs necessary to make such accommodations reasonably livable for the occupants accommodated therein;(7) the amount of taxes and overhead expenses, including debt service, thereof;(8) whether the accommodations are in compliance with the ordinances of the municipality and the general statutes relating to health and safety;(9) the income of the petitioner and the availability of accommodations;(10) the availability of utilities;(11) damages done to the premises by the tenant, caused by other than ordinary wear and tear;(12) the amount and frequency of increases in rental charges;(13) whether, and the extent to which, the income from an increase in rental charges has been or will be reinvested in improvements to the accommodations.
Source Link - 6 Conn. Gen. Stat. § 47a-23c(c)
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(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.
Source Link - 7 Conn. Gen. Stat. § 47a-23c(a)(1)
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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.
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