Tenants Join Union for Stable, Affordable Housing

From new tenants unions across the state to pushing for expansion of Just Cause eviction protections at the Legislature, the Connecticut Tenants Union (CTTU) is enabling renters to win stability and affordability in the midst of the housing crisis..

Tenants in East Hartford are the latest to join the CTTU. They want a collective bargaining agreement with their mega landlord to stop leaking, and guarantee heat which they lacked this winter. Like other tentnts, they realize the only way to have decent living conditions is to join together and negotiate as one group.

The CTTU hopes to orgaize all renters in the state so they can gain power as tenants and also gain political power to guarantee their rights.

Currently those over 62 years old and those with disability are covered by Just Cause eviction protections which prohibit landlords from evicting tenants if they have paid their rent and kept up the property. SB 143 would expand those protections to all tenants.

Hundreds of tenants and their allies turned out to testify before the Housing Committee last month. Speaking on behalf of the Connecticut Communist Party, Joelle Fishman warned, “The ability to have a stable place to call home is shrinking away for thousands of hard working people including families with children whose education is being disrupted as a result.”

“Since the pandemic, investment firms have been gobbling up properties in my city of New Haven and in cities across the state,” she said. “They have no interest in the renters, they are only looking at maximizing profits. They are quick to issue eviction notices to tenants who pay their rent and keep up the property, so they can make a few cosmetic repairs and then hike the rents exorbitantly for the next family.”

The Housing Committee approved SB 143 with all Democrats voting yes and all Republicans voting no. The bill must now win majority approval in the Senate and House. The CTTU is calling on tenants and allies across the state to share their stories with their legislators..

Expressing appreciation for the CTTU, Fishman urged passage of the Just Cause bill because, “It will prevent families from crisis and homelessness, and will hold mega landlords accountable.”

“Ultimately, bigger solutions will be needed to guarantee decent, affordable housing as a human right,” she concluded.