H.B. 5233 C.G.A 2022

Expand Good Cause Eviction Protections (H.B. 5233)

Good Cause Protects Renters from Displacement

  • For over forty years Connecticut has prohibited no-fault evictions against renters who are at least 62 years old or have a disability and live in a building with five or more units, preventing their arbitrary displacement from their homes.
  • No-fault evictions more than doubled from Aug – Dec 2021 compared to Aug – Dec 2019, threatening to displace tenants who have few options in a tight rental market.
  • H.B. 5233 expands Good Cause protections to all renters living in buildings with five or more units, allowing residents to enjoy housing security and establish roots in their communities.

Landlords Are Protected Under H.B. 5233

  • H.B. 5233 continues to allow landlords to evict tenants where there is good cause to bring an eviction, such as not paying rent, violating the lease, or refusing to agree to a reasonable rent increase.
  • H.B. 5233 only applies to tenants living in buildings with five or more units, meaning most “mom and pop” landlords aren’t affected.

Good Cause Protects Renters from Discrimination

  • No-fault evictions are often motivated by illegal race, family status, disability, or other forms of discrimination, but it is difficult for renters to prove a no-fault eviction is discriminatory.
  • Many tenants with discrimination and retaliation defenses to eviction leave their homes before a no-fault eviction is filed to avoid eviction blacklisting.
  • People of color and women are disproportionately impacted by eviction – Black and Latinx renters in Connecticut are 2-3 times more likely to be evicted than white renters.
  • Expanding Good Cause protections reduces unnecessary evictions and mitigates their discriminatory harms.

Good Cause Helps Tenants Assert Their Rights to Safe Housing

  • Unscrupulous landlords threaten to file no-cause evictions against renters who speak up about problems, such as unsafe living conditions or discrimination.
  • Good Cause ensures tenants can assert their rights without fearing that a retaliatory eviction will force them from their homes and permanently damage their records.

How Can I Help Expand Good Cause Eviction Protections?

Contact your State Representative and Senator and ask them to support H.B. 5233. You can find their contact information here and use the template here.