With April’s arrival, we reach the halfway point of Connecticut General Assembly’s 2025 legislative session. All but five of the legislature’s 25 committees have completed their work. The full General Assembly may now consider bills that have been passed out of committee. The Partnership has prioritized our advocacy and policy solutions for changes that advance housing affordability, creation, choice, and stability. Learn more about our 2025 Policy Priorities here.
The Appropriations Committee and Finance Committee continue to develop budget bills and will complete their work before April ends. At that time, budget negotiations between the legislature and the Lamont administration will begin.
As the session continues, the Partnership will continue to monitor the following bills.
HOUSING AFFORDABILITY
Increased Funding for the Rental Assistance Program
H.B. 6864 – Budget Appropriations Bill. The Partnership supports Governor Lamont’s proposed funding for the Rental Assistance Program (RAP). The Governor’s budget includes an estimated $26.1M in new RAP funding over the biennium, with an estimated $8.7M annually to keep pace with rising rents and a stated $8.7M starting in FY27 to serve seven hundred additional households: 425 elderly and disabled renters at high risk of homelessness and 275 families with young children through HeadStart on Housing. There are too many people in Connecticut who cannot wait until 2027 for additional vouchers to be added; therefore, we are advocating for the additional funding to begin in 2026. We continue to meet with legislators and feel that the program is gaining attention.
You can read a summary of all housing-related items in the governor’s budget proposal here.
The Housing Committee passed H.B. 6941 which will exempt the income earned by a child (18 – 24 years old) of an applicant from the calculation of income in consideration for participation in the Rental Assistance Program. Excluding a young adult’s income from calculations of total household income will protect these households from suddenly no longer being eligible for RAP or facing an increase in the amount the household must pay for rent. As a result, young adults may enter and remain in the workforce without fear of disrupting their family’s housing stability.
Fair Rent Commissions
Fair Rent Commissions (FRC) provide a mechanism to regulate and moderate rent increases, protecting tenants from excessive or unfair rent hikes. FRCs protect vulnerable tenants, reduce instances of price discrimination or retaliation against tenants, promote housing stability due to stable rents offering longer-term tenancy, and provide a mediation platform for both tenants and landlords, without costly legal actions. We will continue to monitor:
S.B. 1266 – An Act Requiring The Posting Of Fair Rent Commission Bylaws.
S.B. 1264 – An Act Requiring A Notification Of Rights To Parties Before A Fair Rent Commission.
HOUSING CREATION
S.B. 1247 – An Act Authorizing And Adjusting Bonds Of The State. We support the governor’s proposed $800M in new authorizations over the biennium including $650M for the Housing Trust Fund and FLEX Fund. The deepest need remains among renter households earning less than 30% of Area Median Income (AMI); therefore, we continue to advocate for amending the bond package to include a $150M set aside each year in the FLEX fund for homes affordable to Extremely Low Income (ELI) Renters.
The Partnership continues to advocate for the state to prioritize using state funds to subsidize the creation of new housing affordable to the lowest income households. Connecticut has a gap of approximately 92,560 homes affordable to families earning below 30% of an area’s median household income. While Connecticut needs more homes for all income levels, limited state resources should be prioritized to create homes affordable for those with the lowest incomes and greatest vulnerability.
HOUSING CHOICE
H.B. 6831 – An Act Concerning Transit Oriented Communities (Work Live Ride). The Planning and Development committee passed Work Live Ride. The bill includes most of DesegregateCT’s Work Live Ride proposal introduced in 2023, which passed
the House last session with 90 votes before running out of time in the Senate. The Partnership supports Work Live Ride and believes it will aid municipalities in creating the kinds of diverse, walkable homes and jobs that we need in places with public transit options. Work Live Ride will result in more accessible jobs, more affordable homes, and safer streets for all of us.
HOUSING STABILITY
An eviction record makes it hard for families to be stable and productive for years after the eviction and makes it difficult for people to work, for children to go to school, and leads to poor health outcomes. No-fault evictions nearly doubled during the COVID-19 pandemic and continue to make up around 11% of eviction filings.
H.B. 6889 – An Act Concerning Evictions for Cause. The bill would expand just cause eviction protections to all tenants in complexes of 5+ units, after the first 12 months of tenancy. Elderly and disabled tenants already covered by Just Cause maintain their current protections. Learn more about the Just Cause campaign at the Connecticut Tenants Union’s website. The organizing movement is being led by the CT Tenants Union, CT Fair Housing Center and Make the Road.
H.B. 6939 – Funds the Right to Counsel Program. We support providing the program permanent state funding. This bill allows available state funds to be used for the state’s Right to Counsel (RTC) program, in addition to available federal funds as current law allows. The RTC program provides free legal representation to income eligible tenants in eviction proceedings and other administrative housing proceedings. The Connecticut Bar Foundation currently administers it.
The Partnership opposes H.B. 6338 which was passed by the Housing Committee. It creates a new process by which a property owner may have an unlawful occupant immediately removed from the owner’s property by a state marshal. We agree with the testimony of Attorney Sarah White of CT Fair Housing Center that “tenants could be violently evicted without advanced notice, an opportunity to be heard, a court order, or any judicial oversight.”
The Partnership supports two bills proposed by our Department of Housing that keep upfront costs lower for tenants, make housing more affordable overall and keep rents within reasonable limits when buildings are subject to new owners. H.B. 6891 would limit rental security deposits to one month’s rent. H.B. 6892 would limit the increase in rental charges to 10 percent for the first twelve months of new property ownership. Both bills were passed by the Housing Committee.
‘Aircraft Carrier’ Housing Bills
In the Connecticut General Assembly, a broad omnibus bill that includes multiple, smaller sections is sometimes known as an aircraft carrier bill. The General Assembly has made use of these omnibus bills to pass a suite of housing policies in recent legislative sessions. The Partnership supports two such bills passed by the Housing Committee: S.B. 12 – An Act Concerning Connecticut’s Housing Needs, and H.B. 7112 – An Act Concerning Housing And Homelessness And The Rental Assistance Program. You can read a summary of H.B. 7112 here.
Other Bills We Support
The Partnership continues to support the following bills that have been voted out of committee.
H.B. 7113 – “Light Touch Density” Housing
S.B. 1313 – Permits higher density housing near fixed transit stations
H.B. 7035 – Prohibits a municipality from banning multifamily housing development
H.B. 7061 – Prohibits mandatory minimum parking requirements in zoning regulations
H.B. 6992 – Creates the Homes for CT loan guarantee program to create starter homes