Jonathan Herman thought he found a stable apartment in Norwalk, where he’d been living for nine years.
He and his wife were hoping to stay there while shopping for a home now that they had just had a baby.
Just days before Christmas, though, those plans got derailed after they received a notice that their lease wasn’t being renewed and they had just two months to leave or face eviction.
“Personally, I took it pretty hard,” Herman, now living in Stratford, said. “I held it from my wife from until the holidays.”
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Herman was the subject of what critics call a no-cause eviction, and it’s something some lawmakers want to put an end to.
Leases can set the terms of when and why a landlord can evict a tenant, but state law only gives additional protections to those over 62 and the disabled.
“Because of the housing crisis,” Sen. Marilyn Moore (D-Bridgeport) said about the bill being one of her priorities. “I think that these evictions lead to homelessness and the price of everything is going up.”
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Landlords said the bill would limit their ability to protect their properties and other tenants. Dondre Roberts, a member of the Connecticut Apartment Association, said no-cause evictions are rare and often done for a reason.
“You know, people have had noisy neighbors, people who make it difficult to live in the apartment community,” he said.
Rep. Vincent Candelora (R-Minority Leader) said the bill doesn’t address the main reason rent prices are skyrocketing: a lack of available units.
He also warned the bill could make it harder to evict tenants who aren’t paying rents or who violate their leases, forcing landlords to recover those costs in other ways.
“Now that we’re seeing landlords and property owners trying to recoup those costs, it’s driving everybody’s rent up,” Candelora said.
Moore disputes the idea that the bill would encourage and protect tenants who violate leases.
“We're not saying don’t pay your rent, we’re not saying be a nuisance,” she said.
Instead, Moore said the bill will help tenants stay in their units while the state and developers find ways to increase the supply of apartments and homes.
