| LEGAL RIGHTS OF TENANTS
In Connecticut, all tenants have
certain legally protected rights, including special protections for individuals who are 62
or older.
What types of protections do I have as a
tenant in Connecticut?
For a general overview of tenant rights,
please read our booklet on "Tenant Rights:
General Information".
What are my rights if I am disabled?
A tenant who has a disability that may
interfere with properly using the apartment may have the right to have the landlord make
changes in policy to allow the tenant to use the apartment. See legal services’
brochure called "What You Should
Know about Housing Discrimination".
Leases
Landlords must make repairs to keep a
place clean and safe, while a tenant must pay the rent on time (within ten days of the due
date, if the rent is payable by the month,) keep the place clean and not disturb
neighbors. A lease is a contract binding both parties to follow its terms. The
lease may be for a year, or it could be month-to-month or even week-to-week. The
lease does not have to be in writing.
Security Deposits
There are limits on the amount of
security deposit a landlord can ask for, before you move into an apartment. For a
tenant aged 62 or older, a landlord may get up to one month’s rent as security, along
with the first month’s rent. For a tenant under 62, a landlord may get up to
two months’ rent as security. A tenant is also entitled to interest on his or
her security deposit, paid annually, and each year the rate of interest may be adjusted. A
landlord must also return the security deposit or provide an itemized statement of any
security deposit withheld within certain time periods after a tenant vacates the
apartment. See our booklet on "Security Deposits".
Rental Increases
Landlords sometimes demand unreasonable
rental increases. A tenant has certain options in that case and tenants aged 62 or
over may have special protection from unfair increases. It is important to remember
that the amount of the rent is an essential term of the lease, a contract, and therefore,
both parties must agree on those terms. See our brochures on "Rent Increases"
and "Fair Rent
Commissions" for a discussion of your options.
Safe, decent housing
Landlords are required to maintain their
property in decent, safe condition, including complying with the building, housing, health
and fire codes and supplying essential services or equipment in working order that will
provide the services, if the tenant has to pay for them. Our brochures on "Repairs: How to Use the
Housing Code Enforcement Law", and "Lead Poisoning"
explain your rights in these areas.
Evictions
Tenants cannot be removed from their apartment without
being provided basic notice and an opportunity to defend the eviction in court. A
tenant may not be evicted during the term of the lease without good cause, usually
misconduct. At the end of a term, a landlord may evict a tenant just because the
lease has expired, but in certain cases, tenants aged 62 or over may not be evicted even
at the end of the lease without good cause.
See our brochures:
Helping Yourself Through the Eviction Process
Tenants' Rights: Eviction
Tenants' Rights: Good Cause Eviction
Tenants' Rights: Lockouts
Foreclosure: Is Your Landlord Going through Foreclosure? A
Tenant's Guide
Miscellaneous
Other Issues that legal services has
brochures on: "Looking for An
Apartment" and, if you live in public housing, "A Guide to the Housing
Authority Grievance Procedure".
For a complete listing of all of our
brochures iin English and Spanish click "Legal Pamphlets"
on the left.
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