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OLR Bill Analysis
sHB 6784
AN ACT CONCERNING NONCOMPLIANT LANDLORDS.
SUMMARY
This bill sets up a rent receivership process to oversee rental housing
property developments where landlords or owners (hereafter,
landlords) fail to comply with state or local housing, health, safety,
building, or fire codes. A “rental housing property development” is a
privately owned multifamily development or complex with at least 500
units. A “complex” includes multiple residential buildings on the same
or contiguous parcels that are under the same ownership.
Under the bill, a tenant of a rental housing property development
may give a local code enforcement officer written notice of the
landlord’s failure to comply with state or local housing, health, safety,
building, or fire codes. The notice must specify the acts or omissions that
violate the code. The bill requires the enforcement officer, for each
claimed violation, to (1) investigate, (2) keep written documentation,
and (3) notify other local code enforcement officers for state or local
housing, health, safety, building, or fire code violations.
A local code enforcement officer who receives at least 12 claimed code
violations in one calendar year from a property’s tenants may report the
matter to the attorney general (AG). The AG may apply to Superior
Court for a private receivership alleging conditions that are hazardous
to life, health, or safety. If the AG proves the allegations, the court must
appoint a “receiver” to take possession of and manage the rental
housing property development, including collecting rents and
remedying the conditions that led to receivership. The receiver will be
discharged after the conditions are remedied. (Alternatively, the court
may order the landlord to remedy the conditions if he or she is able to
undertake the required work within a reasonable time and posts 2023HB-06784-R000332-BA.DOCX
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security that the court determines is necessary for the work.)
With respect to rental housing property developments, the bill’s
provisions apply instead of existing law, which authorizes tenants and
municipalities to petition the courts for the appointment of a rent
receiver under certain circumstances (e.g., health or safety violations)
(CGS § 47a-56a et seq.).
EFFECTIVE DATE: October 1, 2023
RENT RECEIVERSHIP PR OCESS
Attorney General
Under the bill the AG may bring an action, on behalf of the tenants
living in a rental housing property development, alleging under oath
the specific code violations. The complaint must identify the property’s
address and describe the conditions alleged to be hazardous to life,
health, or safety.
The AG must (1) file the action in Superior Court for the judicial
district in which the property development is located in the same way
as in a civil process and (2) name all landlords of record as defendants.
The bill specifies that there is no entry fee for these actions. Additionally,
it requires the AG to file a notice of the pending action on the land
records in the town where the property is located.
Superior Court and Hearing Referees
The bill authorizes the Superior Court to refer the AG’s complaint to
a referee (i.e., any retired judge of the Superior Court), who must hold a
hearing on the complaint. However, if the AG’s complaint alleges an
imminent danger to the tenants’ life, health, or safety, the court must
issue an immediate ex parte order granting relief that it deems
appropriate. (An ex parte order grants relief without hearing from all
parties to the action.) In that situation, the referee must hold a full
hearing within three days after issuing the ex parte order.
As part of a hearing, the referee must take testimony that is material
and view the rental housing property development. After the hearing,
the referee must report to the court his or her findings and 2023HB-06784-R000332-BA.DOCX
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recommendations, which the court must review and then enter a
judgement. The court may reject the referee’s report if the referee did his
or her duties in an irregular or improper way, in which case the court
must appoint another referee to make a report.
The bill specifies that there is no right to a jury trial in these
proceedings.
Sufficient Landlord Defense
Under the bill, a landlord can sufficiently defend against a
proceeding by showing that the conditions alleged (1) do not exist, (2)
were remedied, (3) were caused intentionally by a resident tenant, or (4)
are not a code violation.
Rendering Judgement
The bill requires the court to dismiss the complaint if it finds that the
AG did not establish each allegation made in the complaint or the
landlord affirmatively established a sufficient defense to all the
allegations.
If the court finds that the AG did establish some or all of the
allegations and the landlord did not affirmatively establish a sufficient
defense, then the court must enter judgment against the defendant. The
judgement must direct the following:
1. rents due on and after the date judgement is entered must be
deposited with a court-appointed private receiver;
2. the receiver must apply the rents to remedying the alleged
conditions;
3. when the conditions are remedied, the receiver must give the
landlord any surplus rents and an accounting of the rents
received and the costs incurred; and
4. further relief as the court deems just and proper.
The bill requires that the court serve the AG and each tenant of the
property development a certified copy of the judgement by registered 2023HB-06784-R000332-BA.DOCX
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mail.
Further, the bill allows a court-appointed receiver to charge the
landlord a fee of up to 10% of the property development’s total monthly
rental income to carry out the judgement.
Landlord’s or Owner’s Right to Collect Rent is Suspended
Under the bill, while a receivership is in place, the landlord is not
allowed to collect rent from tenants, regardless of whether their original
right to receive rents was under a lease, deed, contract, agreement, or
other understanding. It is a valid defense in any action by a landlord
against a tenant for unpaid rent to prove that rent was paid to a court-
appointed receiver.
Alternative to Receivership Judgement
If the court finds that the AG established the facts presented in the
complaint, the landlord did not affirmatively establish a sufficient
defense, and the relief sought is warranted, the bill authorizes the court,
as an alternative to the judgement described above, to order the
landlord to remedy the condition. The court may do this if the landlord
(1) has the ability to do the required work and (2) posts security for the
work in an amount and in the way that the court deems necessary.
If the AG subsequently investigates and determines that the person
allowed to do the work is not proceeding with due diligence, the AG
may apply to the court for a hearing to determine if a receivership
judgement should be immediately entered instead.
If at a hearing, the court determines that the person allowed to do the
work is not proceeding with due diligence, the court must render a
judgement appointing a receiver as described above. This judgment
must direct the receiver to apply the posted security to remedy the
conditions specified in the complaint. If the security is insufficient, the
judgement must direct that rents be deposited with the receiver to make
up the deficiency.
If, however, the posted security exceeds the amount needed to
remedy the conditions, the judgment must direct the receiver to (1) file 2023HB-06784-R000332-BA.DOCX
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with the court, after the work is completed, a full accounting of the
security and expenditures made and (2) turn over any surplus to the
landlord who posted the security, with a copy of the accounting.
Receiver Discharged
Under the bill, a receiver must be discharged from his or her
obligations upon giving the court a complete accounting after the
conditions have been remedied, costs authorized have been paid or
reimbursed from rents and income from the property, and any surplus
money has been paid to the landlord.
The bill allows a receiver to be discharged any time after filing his or
her accounting. Additionally, once the conditions are remedied, the
landlord may apply to the court to have the receiver discharged upon
paying the receiver money spent to remedy the condition and all other
authorized costs that have not been paid or reimbursed from the rents
and income from the property.
COMMITTEE ACTION
Insurance and Real Estate Committee
Joint Favorable Substitute
Yea 12 Nay 0 (03/14/2023)