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General Assembly Committee Bill No. 5713
January Session, 2019
LCO No. 4761
Referred to Committee on HOUSING
Introduced by:
(HSG)
AN ACT CONCERNING CO NSIDERATION OF CRIMINAL
CONVICTIONS OF A PRO SPECTIVE TENANT.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General
Assembly convened:
Section 1. Section 46a-64b of the general statutes is repealed and the 1
following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 1, 2019): 2
As used in sections 46a-51 to 46a-99, inclusive, and section 2 of this 3
act: 4
(1) "Conviction" means a judgment entered by a court upon a plea of 5
guilty, a plea of nolo contendere or a finding of guilty by a jury or the 6
court notwithstanding any pending appeal or habeas corpus 7
proceeding arising from such judgment. 8
[(1)] (2) "Discriminatory housing practice" means any discriminatory 9
practice specified in section 46a-64c, [or] section 46a-81e or section 2 of 10
this act. 11
[(2)] (3) "Dwelling" means any building, structure, mobile 12
manufactured home park or portion thereof which is occupied as, or 13
designed or intended for occupancy as, a residence by one or more 14 WORKING DRAFT
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families, and any vacant land which is offered for sale or lease for the 15
construction or location thereon of any such building, structure, 16
mobile manufactured home park or portion thereof. 17
[(3)] (4) "Fair Housing Act" means Title VIII of the Civil Rights Act 18
of 1968, as amended, and known as the federal Fair Housing Act (42 19
USC 3600-3620). 20
[(4)] (5) "Family" includes a single individual. 21
[(5)] (6) "Familial status" means one or more individuals who have 22
not attained the age of eighteen years being domiciled with a parent or 23
another person having legal custody of such individual or individuals; 24
or the designee of such parent or other person having such custody 25
with the written permission of such parent or other person; or any 26
person who is pregnant or is in the process of securing legal custody of 27
any individual who has not attained the age of eighteen years. 28
[(6)] (7) "Housing for older persons" means housing: (A) Provided 29
under any state or federal program that the Secretary of the United 30
States Department of Housing and Urban Development determines is 31
specifically designed and operated to assist elderly persons as defined 32
in the state or federal program; or (B) intended for, and solely occupied 33
by, persons sixty-two years of age or older; or (C) intended and 34
operated for occupancy by at least one person fifty-five years of age or 35
older per unit in accordance with the standards set forth in the Fair 36
Housing Act and regulations developed pursuant thereto by the 37
Secretary of the United States Department of Housing and Urban 38
Development. 39
(8) "Housing provider" means a landlord or owner, as those terms 40
are defined in section 47a-1, or an agent of such landlord or owner, a 41
housing authority, as created in section 8-40, a public housing agency 42
or other entity that provides housing opportunities to potential 43
tenants. 44 WORKING DRAFT
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(9) "Landlord" means the owner, lessor or sublessor of the dwelling 45
unit, the building of which it is a part or the premises. 46
[(7)] (10) "Mobile manufactured home park" means a plot of land 47
upon which two or more mobile manufactured homes occupied for 48
residential purposes are located. 49
(11) "Owner" means one or more persons, jointly or severally, in 50
whom is vested (A) all or part of the legal title to property, or (B) all or 51
part of the beneficial ownership and a right to present use and 52
enjoyment of the premises and includes a mortgagee in possession. 53
[(8)] (12) "Physical or mental disability" includes, but is not limited 54
to, intellectual disability, as defined in section 1-1g, and physical 55
disability, as defined in subdivision (15) of section 46a-51, and also 56
includes, but is not limited to, persons who have a handicap as that 57
term is defined in the Fair Housing Act. 58
[(9)] (13) "Residential-real-estate-related transaction" means (A) the 59
making or purchasing of loans or providing other financial assistance 60
for purchasing, constructing, improving, repairing or maintaining a 61
dwelling, or secured by residential real estate; or (B) the selling, 62
brokering or appraising of residential real property. 63
[(10)] (14) "To rent" includes to lease, to sublease, to let and to 64
otherwise grant for a consideration the right to occupy premises not 65
owned by the occupant. 66
Sec. 2. (NEW) (Effective October 1, 2019) (a) It shall be a 67
discriminatory practice in violation of this section: 68
(1) (A) To refuse to rent to, negotiate for the rental of, or otherwise 69
make unavailable or deny a rental unit or deny occupancy in a rental 70
unit to any person based on the applicant's criminal record, except for 71
(i) conviction of a misdemeanor described in subparagraph (B) of this 72
subdivision during the three years immediately preceding the rental 73
application, or (ii) conviction of a felony described in subparagraph (B) 74 WORKING DRAFT
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of this subdivision during the seven years immediately preceding the 75
rental application. 76
(B) Within the three and seven-year periods specified in 77
subparagraph (A) of this subdivision, housing providers may only 78
consider criminal convictions that, if repeated, would adversely affect 79
the health, safety or welfare of other tenants, including, but not limited 80
to, (i) crimes of physical violence to persons or property; (ii) crimes 81
involving the illegal manufacture, sale or distribution of a controlled 82
substance, as defined in section 21a-240 of the general statutes; and (iii) 83
sexual offenses under sections 53a-65 to 53a-90b, inclusive, of the 84
general statutes. 85
(C) In no case may records of arrest not followed by a conviction, or 86
records of convictions that have been erased, be used as a basis to 87
reject an applicant for housing. 88
(D) Prior to denying a rental application pursuant to this section, a 89
housing provider shall provide written notice to the applicant that the 90
application requires further review due to the applicant's criminal 91
conviction. The housing provider shall provide the applicant an 92
opportunity to present relevant mitigating information regarding the 93
conviction and evidence that the applicant would be a good tenant. 94
Such evidence may include the following factors: 95
(i) The nature and severity of the criminal offense; 96
(ii) The facts or circumstances surrounding the criminal conduct; 97
(iii) The age of the applicant at the time of the offense; 98
(iv) The length of time elapsed since the offense; 99
(v) Evidence that the applicant has maintained a good tenant history 100
before or after the offense; 101
(vi) Any information produced by the applicant, or produced on the 102 WORKING DRAFT
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applicant's behalf, in regard to the applicant's rehabilitation or good 103
conduct since the offense; and 104
(vii) Any other evidence that the offense is unlikely to reoccur. 105
(E) If, after consideration of evidence relevant to the factors set forth 106
in subparagraph (D) of this subdivision, the housing provider rejects 107
an applicant for housing based on conviction of a crime, such rejection 108
shall be in writing and specifically state the evidence presented and 109
reasons for rejection. A copy of such rejection shall be sent by 110
registered mail to the applicant at the address provided in the 111
application for housing. 112
(F) No housing provider may request any consumer reporting 113
agency to provide any criminal conviction information except as 114
permitted by this section. 115
(2) To discriminate against any person in the terms, conditions or 116
privileges of rental of a dwelling, or in the provision of services or 117
facilities in connection therewith, because of such person's criminal 118
conviction status. 119
(3) To make, print or publish, or cause to be made, printed or 120
published any notice, statement or advertisement, with respect to the 121
rental of a dwelling that indicates any preference, limitation or 122
discrimination based on criminal conviction status, or an intention to 123
make any such preference, limitation or discrimination. 124
(4) To represent to any person because of criminal conviction status 125
that any dwelling is not available for inspection or rental when such 126
dwelling is in fact so available. 127
(b) The provisions of this section shall not apply to (1) the rental of a 128
room or rooms in a single-family dwelling unit if the owner actually 129
maintains and occupies part of such unit as his or her residence, or (2) 130
a unit in a dwelling containing not more than four units if the owner 131
actually maintains and occupies one of such other units as his or her 132 WORKING DRAFT
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residence. 133
(c) Nothing in this section limits the applicability of any reasonable 134
state statute or municipal ordinance restricting the maximum number 135
of persons permitted to occupy a dwelling. 136
(d) Any person aggrieved by a violation of this section may file a 137
complaint within one hundred eighty days after the alleged act of 138
discrimination, pursuant to section 46a-82 of the general statutes. 139
(e) Notwithstanding any other provision of chapter 814c of the 140
general statutes, complaints alleging a violation of this section shall be 141
investigated within one hundred days of filing and a final 142
administrative disposition shall be made within one year of filing 143
unless it is impracticable to do so. If the Commission on Human Rights 144
and Opportunities is unable to complete its investigation or make a 145
final administrative determination within such time frames, it shall 146
notify the complainant and the respondent in writing of the reasons for 147
not doing so. 148
(f) Any person who violates any provision of this section shall be 149
guilty of a class D misdemeanor. 150
Sec. 3. Subdivision (1) of subsection (a) of section 47a-23c of the 151
general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu 152
thereof (Effective October 1, 2019): 153
(a) (1) Except as provided in subdivision (2) of this subsection, this 154
section applies to any tenant who resides in a building or complex 155
consisting of five or more separate dwelling units or who resides in a 156
mobile manufactured home park and who is either: (A) Sixty-two 157
years of age or older, or whose spouse, sibling, parent or grandparent 158
is sixty-two years of age or older and permanently resides with that 159
tenant, or (B) a person with a physical or mental disability, as defined 160
in subdivision [(8)] (12) of section 46a-64b, as amended by this act, or 161
whose spouse, sibling, child, parent or grandparent is a person with a 162 WORKING DRAFT
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physical or mental disability who permanently resides with that 163
tenant, but only if such disability can be expected to result in death or 164
to last for a continuous period of at least twelve months. 165
Sec. 4. Section 8-45a of the general statutes is repealed and the 166
following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 1, 2019): 167
A housing authority, as defined in subsection (b) of section 8-39, in 168
determining eligibility for the rental of public housing units may 169
establish criteria and consider relevant information concerning (1) an 170
applicant's or any proposed occupant's history of criminal activity, 171
during the time periods established under subsection (a) of section 2 of 172
this act, involving: (A) Crimes of physical violence to persons or 173
property, (B) crimes involving the illegal manufacture, sale, 174
distribution or use of, or possession with intent to manufacture, sell, 175
use or distribute, a controlled substance, as defined in section 21a-240, 176
or (C) other criminal acts which would adversely affect the health, 177
safety or welfare of other tenants, (2) an applicant's or any proposed 178
occupant's abuse, or pattern of abuse, of alcohol when the housing 179
authority has reasonable cause to believe that such applicant's or 180
proposed occupant's abuse, or pattern of abuse, of alcohol may 181
interfere with the health, safety or right to peaceful enjoyment of the 182
premises by other residents, and (3) an applicant or any proposed 183
occupant who is subject to a lifetime registration requirement under 184
section 54-252 on account of being convicted or found not guilty by 185
reason of mental disease or defect of a sexually violent offense. In 186
evaluating any such information, the housing authority shall give 187
consideration to the time, nature and extent of the applicant's or 188
proposed occupant's conduct and to factors which might indicate a 189
reasonable probability of favorable future conduct such as evidence of 190
rehabilitation and evidence of the willingness of the applicant, the 191
applicant's family or the proposed occupant to participate in social 192
service or other appropriate counseling programs and the availability 193
of such programs. 194 WORKING DRAFT
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This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following
sections:
Section 1 October 1, 2019 46a-64b
Sec. 2 October 1, 2019 New section
Sec. 3 October 1, 2019 47a-23c(a)(1)
Sec. 4 October 1, 2019 8-45a
Statement of Purpose:
To prohibit housing providers from considering a prospective tenant's
criminal conviction after certain time periods.
[Proposed deletions are enclosed in brackets. Proposed additions are indicated by underline,
except that when the entire text of a bill or resolution or a section of a bill or resolution is new, it is
not underlined.]
Co-Sponsors: REP. MCGEE, 5th Dist.; REP. GIBSON, 15th Dist.
H.B. 5713