What to know about fair rent commissions in CT

Compiled by Henry Fernandez .

The state is facing a housing crisis, with the Connecticut Housing Finance Authority estimating that the state lacks about 92,500 units that are considered affordable. Rents have also increased statewide, alongside homelessness. The inventory of homes for sale has hit historic lows. Thousands are paying more than the recommended third of their income on housing costs. Issues with landlords have spurred Connecticut tenants to form tenant unions .

Legislators and residents across the state have thought up several solutions to this crisis, with varying levels of success in getting those ideas out of legislative committees and outside the busy halls of the state capitol. One proposed solution that has gotten off the ground is the emphasis on creating and empowering more fair rent commissions.

Here is a look at the history behind these local boards and their purpose.

What is a fair rent commission?

Fair rent commissions are municipal boards that hear the complaints and concerns of tenants in their municipality. Those complaints can range from things like unjustified rent increases to low quality of housing. Fair rent commissions have the power to conduct investigations, issue subpoenas and issue orders regarding landlord-tenant disputes.

If a fair rent commission finds that a complainant’s issues are valid, the commission is able to halt the tenant’s rent payment or lower the cost of rent while an issue is being addressed by the landlord or corporate owner(s) of the property.

What is the legislative history behind these commissions?

While fair rent commissions were established in Connecticut law before 2022, the passage of House Bill 5205 revised the statute in that year’s legislative session.

Prior to 2022, only 25 cities and towns in Connecticut had fair rent commissions. These municipalities formed their own fair rent commissions, like New Haven, whose fair rent commission was “enacted by the New Haven Board of Alderman in December 1970,” according to the commission’s website .

H.B. 5205 mandated that all cities and towns in Connecticut with over 25,000 residents form their own fair rent commissions to combat the affordable housing crisis. The bill shot up the number of fair rent commissions by 27, more than double the original 25. All previously established fair rent commissions were to also update their ordinances to align with this new bill.

What can fair rent commissions do?

According to the Connecticut general statutes, fair rent commissions “shall make studies and investigations, conduct hearings and receive complaints relative to rental charges on housing accommodations, control and eliminate excessive rental charges.”

Fair rent commissions also have the legal power to “compel” landlords and other persons of interest to attend hearings held by the commission. “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,” the statute says.

Connecticut law also allows for non-mandated cities and towns to create their own fair rent commissions through their respective legislative bodies.

What can these commissions do to enforce their rulings?

Fair rent commissions across the state have different techniques they can utilize for this. In Bloomfield, the town ordinance says fines can be issued through the health department for poor housing conditions.

But the Bloomfield fair rent commission has been criticized by residents of an apartment complex there, the Wedgewood Apartments, as the tenants say there are persistent housing code and other issues despite the commission’s involvement.

City and health department records don’t show any fines to UpRealty, which manages the complex.

New Haven’s fair rent commission has been lauded by housing experts as effective due to their community outreach and fining structure.

Wildaliz Bermudez, director of the city’s Fair Rent Commission, said their ordinance is structured in a way that the city fines landlords $100 per day if the ruling isn’t followed.

“To date we haven’t had that problem,” Bermudez said. “Every time we’ve had a ruling, we’ve had landlords who are in compliance and follow through.”

How does someone appeal to a fair rent commission?

If a tenant’s city or town has a fair rent commission, they may seek out the commission’s website to file a complaint. Depending upon the commission, tenants may also submit a paper form and/or attend meetings and discuss their complaints there.

Since the passage of H.B. 5205, there have been significant difficulties for tenants and fair rent commissions due to the lack of statewide standards. The law doesn’t include the specific details of how meetings ought to be run, but it does give 13 factors commissioners should use .

Luke Melonakos-Harrison, vice president of the Connecticut Tenants Union, said that tenant experiences with fair rent commissions vary widely from town to town. In addition to the various stages of implementation across the state, there are also significant differences in how commissions operate, Melonakos-Harrison added.

These differences can range from what complaints they consider to how much time they allow tenants to speak about their complaints during a meeting.

“It really depends on how a given municipality is running it,” he said.