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General Assembly Raised Bill No. 874
January Session, 2021
LCO No. 2770
Referred to Committee on HOUSING
Introduced by:
(HSG)
AN ACT CONCERNING TH E PERMITTING AND SAFETY OF RENTAL
UNITS.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General
Assembly convened:
Section 1. Section 29-261 of the general statutes is repealed and the 1
following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 1, 2021): 2
(a) The building official, to be eligible for appointment, shall have had 3
at least five years' experience in construction, design or supervision and 4
any assistant building [officials] official shall have had at least three 5
years' experience in construction, design or supervision, or equivalent 6
experience as determined by the Commissioner of Administrative 7
Services. They shall be generally informed on the quality and strength 8
of building materials, on the accepted requirements of building 9
construction, on the accepted requirements of design and construction 10
relating to accessibility to and use of buildings by the physically 11
disabled, on good practice in fire prevention, on the accepted 12
requirements regarding light and ventilation, on the accepted 13
requirements for safe exit facilities and on other items of equipment 14
essential for the safety, comfort and convenience of occupants and shall 15 Raised Bill No. 874
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be certified under the provisions of section 29-262. 16
(b) The building official or assistant building official shall pass upon 17
any question relative to the mode, manner of construction or materials 18
to be used in the erection or alteration of buildings or structures, 19
pursuant to applicable provisions of the State Building Code and in 20
accordance with rules and regulations adopted by the Department of 21
Administrative Services. They shall require compliance with the 22
provisions of the State Building Code, of all rules lawfully adopted and 23
promulgated thereunder and of laws relating to the construction, 24
alteration, repair, removal, demolition and integral equipment and 25
location, use, accessibility, occupancy and maintenance of buildings and 26
structures, except as may be otherwise provided for. 27
(c) [A] The building official may request proof of licensure from any 28
person at a construction site for which a building permit was issued. If 29
such official finds any person engaging in or practicing work in an 30
occupation for which a license is required under chapters 393 and 393a, 31
without first having obtained an apprentice permit or a license for such 32
work or occupation, the building official may notify the Commissioner 33
of Consumer Protection of such violation and may issue a written order 34
and personally deliver such order or send such order by certified mail 35
to the person holding such building permit. Such order may require that 36
any person working at such site without the required permit or license 37
shall cease work at the site immediately. The unlicensed person may 38
perform such work or occupation at the construction site upon 39
submission of documentation satisfactory to the building official of 40
compliance under said chapters 393 and 393a. 41
(d) The building official may request proof of a building permit from 42
any person at a construction site of a rental unit. If such official finds any 43
person engaging in the construction or alteration of a rental unit without 44
first having obtained a building permit as required under this chapter, 45
the building official may issue a written order and personally deliver 46
such order or send such order by certified mail to the person conducting 47
such alteration or construction. Such order may (1) require that all work 48 Raised Bill No. 874
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at such site without the required permit cease immediately, and (2) 49
impose a penalty in accordance with section 29-254a. 50
[(d)] (e) The building official or [his assistant] an assistant building 51
official shall have the right of entry to such buildings or structures, 52
except single-family residences, for the proper performance of [his] such 53
official's duties between the hours of nine a.m. and five p.m., except that 54
in the case of an emergency [he] the building official or assistant 55
building official shall have the right of entry at any time, if such entry is 56
necessary in the interest of public safety. 57
[(e)] (f) Notwithstanding any provision of the Freedom of 58
Information Act, as defined in section 1-200, or the State Building Code, 59
upon receipt of a written request signed by the owner of plans and 60
specifications on file for a single-family dwelling or out-building, the 61
building official shall immediately return the original plans and 62
specifications to the owner after a certificate of occupancy is issued with 63
respect to the plans and specifications. 64
Sec. 2. Subsection (b) of section 29-266 of the general statutes is 65
repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 66
1, 2021): 67
(b) When the building official rejects or refuses to approve the mode 68
or manner of construction proposed to be followed or the materials to 69
be used in the erection or alteration of a building or structure, or when 70
it is claimed that the provisions of the code do not apply or that an 71
equally good or more desirable form of construction can be employed 72
in a specific case, or when it is claimed that the true intent and meaning 73
of the code and regulations have been misconstrued or wrongly 74
interpreted, or when the building official issues a written order under 75
subsection (c) or (d) of section 29-261, as amended by this act, the owner 76
of such building or structure, whether already erected or to be erected, 77
or [his] an authorized agent of such owner may appeal in writing from 78
the decision of the building official to the board of appeals. When a 79
person other than such owner claims to be aggrieved by any decision of 80 Raised Bill No. 874
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the building official, such person or his or her authorized agent may 81
appeal, in writing, from the decision of the building official to the board 82
of appeals, and before determining the merits of such appeal the board 83
of appeals shall first determine whether such person has a right to 84
appeal. Upon receipt of an appeal from an owner or his or her 85
representative or approval of an appeal by a person other than the 86
owner, the chairman of the board of appeals shall appoint a panel of not 87
less than three members of such board to hear such appeal. Such appeal 88
shall be heard in the municipality for which the building official serves 89
within five days, exclusive of Saturdays, Sundays and legal holidays, 90
after the date of receipt of such appeal. Such panel shall render a 91
decision upon the appeal and file the same with the building official 92
from whom such appeal has been taken not later than five days, 93
exclusive of Saturdays, Sundays and legal holidays, following the day 94
of the hearing thereon. A copy of such decision shall be mailed, prior to 95
such filing, to the party taking such appeal. Any person aggrieved by 96
the decision of a panel may appeal to the Codes and Standards 97
Committee within fourteen days after the filing of the decision with the 98
building official. Any determination made by the local panel shall be 99
subject to review de novo by said committee. 100
Sec. 3. Section 8-12a of the general statutes is repealed and the 101
following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 1, 2021): 102
(a) Any municipality may, by ordinance adopted by its legislative 103
body, establish penalties for (1) violations of zoning regulations adopted 104
under section 8-2 or by special act, or (2) noncompliance with any 105
program for licensing residential rental properties established by such 106
municipality. The ordinance shall establish the types of violations for 107
which a citation may be issued and the amount of any fine to be imposed 108
thereby and shall specify the time period for uncontested payment of 109
fines for any alleged violation under any such regulation. No fine 110
imposed under the authority of this section may exceed one hundred 111
fifty dollars for each day a violation continues. Any fine shall be payable 112
to the treasurer of the municipality. 113 Raised Bill No. 874
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(b) The hearing procedure for any citation issued pursuant to this 114
section shall be in accordance with section 7-152c except that no zoning 115
enforcement officer, building inspector or employee of the municipal 116
body exercising zoning authority may be appointed to be a hearing 117
officer. 118
Sec. 4. Section 19a-111c of the general statutes is repealed and the 119
following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 1, 2021): 120
(a) The owner of any dwelling in which the paint, plaster or other 121
material is found to contain toxic levels of lead and in which children 122
under the age of six reside, shall abate, remediate or manage such 123
dangerous materials consistent with regulations adopted pursuant to 124
this section. The Commissioner of Public Health shall adopt regulations, 125
in accordance with chapter 54, to establish requirements and procedures 126
for testing, remediation, abatement and management of materials 127
containing toxic levels of lead. For the purposes of this section, 128
"remediation" means the use of interim controls, including, but not 129
limited to, paint stabilization, spot point repair, dust control, specialized 130
cleaning and covering of soil with mulch. 131
(b) The commissioner shall authorize the use of any liquid, 132
cementitious or flexible lead encapsulant product which complies with 133
an appropriate standard for such products developed by the American 134
Society for Testing and Materials or similar testing organization 135
acceptable to the commissioner for the abatement and remediation of 136
lead hazards. The commissioner shall maintain a list of all such 137
approved lead encapsulant products that may be used in this state for 138
the abatement and remediation of lead hazards. 139
(c) (1) The Commissioner of Public Health may adopt regulations, in 140
accordance with chapter 54, to regulate paint removal from the exterior 141
of any building or structure where the paint removal project may 142
present a health hazard to neighboring premises. The regulations may 143
establish: (A) Definitions, (B) applicability and exemption criteria, (C) 144
procedures for submission of notifications, (D) appropriate work 145 Raised Bill No. 874
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practices, and (E) penalties for noncompliance. 146
(2) The Commissioner of Public Health may adopt regulations, in 147
accordance with chapter 54, to regulate the standards and procedures 148
for testing, remediation, as defined in this section, abatement and 149
management of materials containing toxic levels of lead in any premises. 150
(d) Any person whose act or omission constitutes a violation of this 151
section shall be strictly liable for damages for the injury or death of 152
another person resulting from such act or omission. 153
Sec. 5. Subsection (b) of section 47a-54f of the general statutes is 154
repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 155
1, 2021): 156
(b) Paint on the exposed surfaces of the interior of a tenement house 157
shall not be cracked, chipped, blistered, flaking, loose, or peeling so as 158
to constitute a health hazard. Testing, remediation, abatement and 159
management of lead-based paint at a tenement house or its premises 160
shall be as defined in, and in accordance with, the regulations, if any, 161
adopted pursuant to section 19a-111c, as amended by this act. Any 162
person who violates the provisions of this subsection shall be liable in 163
accordance with subsection (d) of section 19a-111c, as amended by this 164
act. 165
This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following
sections:
Section 1 October 1, 2021 29-261
Sec. 2 October 1, 2021 29-266(b)
Sec. 3 October 1, 2021 8-12a
Sec. 4 October 1, 2021 19a-111c
Sec. 5 October 1, 2021 47a-54f(b)
Statement of Purpose:
To authorize building officials to request proof of a building permit for
rental unit construction and impose a penalty for construction without
a permit and to impose strict liability against rental property owners for
dwellings containing toxic levels of lead. Raised Bill No. 874
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[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.]