CT Tenants Fight for Just Cause Eviction Protections

 

The State Legislature was put on notice this week that tenants and their allies demand passage of extended Just Cause eviction protections in 2025. A capitol press conference organized by the Connecticut Tenants Union (CTTU) and Make the Road Connecticut with 44 partner organizations launched the campaign with participation from Rep Antonio Felipe and Sen Martha Marx, joint chairs of the Housing Committee.

In a message to landlords Felipe said, “Housing is a human right. You have to deal in a fair and equitable way, and that’s what we’re asking.”

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Just Cause eviction protection requires landlords to provide a justification for an eviction—grounds for which are listed in state law—and protects tenants without a lease or who are month-to-month from being asked to move out or evicted for no reason.

Most renters are not covered by Connecticut’s existing Just Cause law, and landlords can force tenants from their homes on short notice by refusing to renew a lease or filing an eviction without any justification, even if the tenant is in good standing.

For more than 40 years, Just Cause eviction protections have covered tenants who are 62 and over or disabled and live in complexes with five or more units. This existing law provides greater housing stability for the state’s most vulnerable populations. Tenants are asking the legislature to expand those protections to all tenants, excluding owner-occupied 1-4 family buildings.

The problems facing tenants in Connecticut are dire. Over 15,759 Connecticut households have been evicted without cause between 2017 and 2024. One in twenty renter households in Connecticut now face eviction, and Connecticut has some of the highest eviction rates in the country, disproportionately impacting Black and Latine tenants who are also more likely to be evicted..

“Corporate landlords are evicting thousands of families with nowhere to go. Whole communities and neighborhoods are vanishing in 30 days. And what’s the reason? Greed,” said Hannah Sajer president of the CTTU. “A no vote against just cause is a vote against the working people of this state.”

Expanding Just Cause eviction protection would prevent an estimated 11% of eviction filings and countless forced moves. Just Cause would also protect tenants from landlords who use no-fault evictions to gentrify complexes or to intimidate, retaliate, and discriminate against tenants. It is a cost-free solution that will help create safe, stable, and affordable housing.