Sec. 47a-56a. (Formerly Sec. 19-347b). Appointment of receiver of rents: Application.
Sec. 47a-56k. Authorization of state bonds for purposes of the Housing Receivership Revolving Fund.
Sec. 47a-56a. (Formerly Sec. 19-347b). Appointment of receiver of rents: Application. Whenever any order issued under the provisions of section 47a-53 or section 47a-55, or under the provisions of any municipal charter or special act or ordinance relating to the abatement of nuisances in tenement houses is not complied with, or not so far complied with as the appropriate authority finds reasonable, within the time allowed, or whenever a landlord has not substantially complied with the provisions of section 47a-7, the authority appointed under the provisions of section 47a-56 may apply to the superior court for the judicial district where the property is situated for an order requiring the owner to show cause why a receiver of rents, issues and profits should not be appointed and why such receiver should not remove or remedy such condition and obtain a lien in favor of the municipality, having priority with respect to all existing mortgages or liens, to secure payment of the costs incurred by the receiver in removing or remedying such condition. Such application shall contain: (1) Proof by affidavit that an order of the proper authority has been issued and served on the owner; (2) a statement that a nuisance exists because a landlord has been in substantial noncompliance with the provisions of section 47a-7 or a nuisance exists that constitutes a fire hazard or a serious threat to life, health or safety and that such nuisance continued to exist in such property after the time fixed for the removal thereof in such order, and such statement shall contain a description of the property and the conditions constituting such nuisance; and (3) a brief description of the nature of the work required to remove or remedy the condition and an estimate as to the cost thereof.
(February, 1965, P.A. 554, S. 2; 1967, P.A. 362, S. 1; P.A. 74-183, S. 229, 291; P.A. 76-436, S. 198, 681; P.A. 78-280, S. 1, 127; P.A. 79-571, S. 83; P.A. 95-247, S. 9; P.A. 01-128, S. 2; P.A. 03-19, S. 110; P.A. 23-33, S. 9.)
History: 1967 act removed the chief executive of the municipality as the receiver of rents under subdivisions (a) and (c) and substituted “substantial” for “irreparable” damage in subsection (b); P.A. 74-183 specified the “civil division” of the court of common pleas in Subsec. (c), effective December 31, 1974; P.A. 76-436 replaced court of common pleas with superior court, referred to civil “docket” rather than civil “division” of court and added reference to judicial districts in Subsec. (a), effective July 1, 1978; P.A. 78-280 deleted references to counties in Subsec. (a); P.A. 79-571 removed provisions re service of copy of rule to show cause in Subsec. (a) and Subsecs. (b) and (c), reincorporating deleted provisions as Secs. 47a-56b and 47a-56c; Sec. 19-347b transferred to Sec. 47a-56a in 1981 and internal references to other sections revised as necessary to reflect their transfer; P.A. 95-247 authorized the authority to apply for appointment of a receiver “whenever a landlord has not substantially complied with the provisions of section 47a-7”, replaced “a rule” to show cause with “an order” to show cause and amended Subdiv. (2) to include a nuisance that exists “because a landlord has been in substantial noncompliance with the provisions of section 47a-7” and delete the requirement that a fire hazard be “serious”; P.A. 01-128 made provisions of section discretionary rather than mandatory; P.A. 03-19 made technical changes, effective May 12, 2003; P.A. 23-33 deleted provision re mortgagee or lienor receive notice of show cause hearing before appointment of rent receiver and made a conforming change.
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Sec. 47a-56i. (Formerly Sec. 19-347h). Housing Receivership Revolving Fund. Source of funds for expenses of a receiver in remedying certain tenement conditions. (a) The expenses incurred by a receiver in removing or remedying a condition pursuant to the provisions of sections 47a-14a to 47a-14g, inclusive, and sections 47a-56 to 47a-56i, inclusive, shall be met by the rents collected by the receiver, the municipality in which the property is located or, with court approval, from a fund to be known as the Housing Receivership Revolving Fund, which shall be maintained by the Commissioner of Housing. The court may also approve resort to such fund to meet expenses incurred by a receiver of rents for residential premises pursuant to the provisions of section 16-262f or 47a-14h or chapter 735a or pursuant to any other action involving the making of repairs to residential rental property under court supervision. A court may authorize resort to such fund if (1) sufficient sources of money are not otherwise immediately available, and (2) the anticipated average expense from the fund per dwelling unit or per space or lot in such park is not in excess of ten thousand dollars.
(b) The receiver shall repay the amounts so expended to such fund from the proceeds of any amounts recovered pursuant to the provisions of said sections.
(c) The owner of the property shall be liable for repayment to the fund of all amounts expended from the fund upon or in connection with such property and to the municipality for all amounts expended by it upon or in connection with such property. Any such funds expended from the fund shall be secured by a lien on such property for the benefit of the state, which shall have priority over all mortgages or other liens on such property. Any such funds expended by the municipality shall be secured by a lien on such property which shall have the same priority as a lien for municipal taxes.
(February, 1965, P.A. 554, S. 8; 1967, P.A. 362, S. 4; P.A. 79-571, S. 91; P.A. 81-370, S. 11, 13; P.A. 89-254, S. 13; P.A. 91-383, S. 22; P.A. 95-250, S. 1; P.A. 96-211, S. 1, 5, 6; P.A. 13-234, S. 2; P.A. 23-205, S. 66.)
History: 1967 act added to fund grants and advances-in-aid under state programs; P.A. 79-571 divided section into Subsecs. and added reference to new sections which became Secs. 47a-56b and 47a-56c; Sec. 19-347h transferred to Sec. 47a-56i in 1981 and reference to other sections within provisions revised as necessary to reflect their transfer; P.A. 81-370 established the housing receivership revolving fund to be used with court approval as a source of funds to remedy certain hazardous conditions in tenement housing as successor to tenement house operating fund; P.A. 89-254 amended Subsec. (a) to add provision authorizing court to also approve resort to fund to meet expenses incurred by a receiver pursuant to Sec. 16-262f or 47a-14h, chapter 735a or any other action involving the making of repairs to residential rental property under court supervision; P.A. 91-383 amended Subsec. (a)(2) and (3) to authorize resort to such fund for property which is a mobile manufactured home park or a space or lot in such park; P.A. 95-250 and P.A. 96-211 replaced Commissioner and Department of Housing with Commissioner and Department of Economic and Community Development; pursuant to P.A. 13-234, reference to Commissioner of Economic and Community Development was changed editorially by the Revisors to reference to Commissioner of Housing in Subsec. (a), effective June 19, 2013; P.A. 23-205 amended Subsec. (a) by deleting Subdiv. (2) re building containing not more than 20 dwelling units, mobile manufactured home park or space or lot in such park, redesignating existing Subdiv. (3) as Subdiv. (2) and increasing maximum anticipated average expense from $5,000 to $10,000, effective July 1, 2023.
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Sec. 47a-56k. Authorization of state bonds for purposes of the Housing Receivership Revolving Fund. (a) The State Bond Commission shall have power, in accordance with the provisions of this section, from time to time to authorize the issuance of bonds of the state in one or more series and in principal amounts not exceeding in the aggregate fifty million three hundred thousand dollars, the proceeds of the sale of which shall be used by the Department of Housing to provide funds for the Housing Receivership Revolving Fund established in accordance with section 47a-56i, provided twenty-five million dollars of said authorization shall be effective July 1, 2024. Not more than one million dollars may be expended from said fund in any single municipality per year.
(b) All provisions of section 3-20 or the exercise of any right or power granted thereby which are not inconsistent with the provisions of this section are hereby adopted and shall apply to all bonds authorized by the State Bond Commission pursuant to this section, and temporary notes in anticipation of the money to be derived from the sale of any such bonds so authorized may be issued in accordance with said section 3-20 and from time to time renewed. Such bonds shall mature at such time or times not exceeding twenty years from their respective dates as may be provided in or pursuant to the resolution or resolutions of the State Bond Commission authorizing such bonds. None of such bonds shall be authorized except upon a finding by the State Bond Commission that there has been filed with it a request for such authorization which is signed by or on behalf of the Commissioner of Housing and states such terms and conditions as said commission in its discretion may require. Such bonds issued pursuant to this section shall be general obligations of the state and the full faith and credit of the state of Connecticut are pledged for the payment of the principal of and interest on such bonds as the same become due, and accordingly and as part of the contract of the state with the holders of such bonds, appropriation of all amounts necessary for punctual payment of such principal and interest is hereby made and the Treasurer shall pay such principal and interest as the same become due.
(P.A. 81-370, S. 12, 13; P.A. 86-396, S. 23, 25; P.A. 88-343, S. 17, 32; P.A. 90-297, S. 20, 24; P.A. 95-250, S. 1; P.A. 96-211, S. 1, 5, 6; P.A. 13-234, S. 2; P.A. 23-205, S. 67.)
History: P.A. 86-396 increased bond authorization from $300,000 to $550,000; P.A. 88-343 decreased the bond authorization to $425,000; P.A. 90-297 decreased the bond authorization to $300,000; P.A. 95-250 and P.A. 96-211 replaced Commissioner and Department of Housing with Commissioner and Department of Economic and Community Development; pursuant to P.A. 13-234, references to Commissioner of Economic and Community Development and Department of Economic and Community Development were changed editorially by the Revisors to references to Commissioner of Housing and Department of Housing, respectively, effective June 19, 2013; P.A. 23-205 amended Subsec. (a) to increase aggregate bond authorization from $300,000 to $50,300,000, of which $25,000,000 is effective July 1, 2024, increase amount that may be expended in a municipality from $200,000 to $1,000,000 and make such amount applicable per year, effective July 1, 2023.
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Sec. 47a-58. (Formerly Sec. 19-347s). Notice of violation. Penalty. Injunctive relief. Municipal lien for unpaid penalty. (a) Any enforcing agency may issue a notice of violation to any person who violates any provision of this chapter or a provision of a local housing code. If an enforcing agency issues an order to a registrant, such order may be delivered in accordance with section 7-148ii, provided nothing in this section shall preclude an enforcing agency from providing notice in another manner permitted by applicable law. Such notice shall specify each violation and specify the last day by which such violation shall be corrected. The date specified shall not be less than three weeks from the date of mailing of such notice, provided that in the case of a condition, which in the judgment of the enforcing agency is or in its effect is dangerous or detrimental to life or health, the date specified shall not be more than five days from the date of mailing of such notice. The enforcing agency may postpone the last day by which a violation shall be corrected upon a showing by the owner or other responsible person that he has begun to correct the violation but that full correction of the violation cannot be completed within the time provided because of technical difficulties, inability to obtain necessary materials or labor or inability to gain access to the dwelling unit wherein the violation exists.
(b) When the owner or other responsible person has corrected such violation, the owner or other responsible person shall promptly, but not later than two weeks after such correction, report to the enforcing agency in writing, indicating the date when each violation was corrected. It shall be presumed that the violation was corrected on the date so indicated, unless a subsequent inspection by the enforcing agency again reveals the existence of the condition giving rise to the earlier notice of violation.
(c) Any person who fails to correct any violation prior to the date set forth in the notice of violation shall be subject to a cumulative civil penalty of five dollars per day for each violation from the date set for correction in the notice of violation to the date such violation is corrected, except that in any case, the penalty shall not exceed one hundred dollars per day and the total penalty shall not exceed seven thousand five hundred dollars. The penalty may be collected by the enforcing agency by action against the owner or other responsible person or by an action against the real property. An action against the owner may be joined with an action against the real property.
(d) In addition to the penalties specified in this section, the enforcing agency may enforce the provisions of this chapter or a local housing code by injunctive relief pursuant to chapter 916.
(e) (1) Any penalty imposed by an enforcing agency pursuant to the provisions of subsection (c) of this section, and remaining unpaid for a period of sixty days after its due date, shall constitute a lien upon the real property against which the penalty was imposed, provided a notice of violation is recorded in the land records and indexed in the name of the property owner no later than thirty days after the penalty was imposed.
(2) Each such notice of violation shall be effective from the time of the recording on the land records. Each lien shall take precedence over all transfers and encumbrances recorded after such time.
(3) Any municipal lien pursuant to the provisions of this section may be foreclosed in the same manner as a mortgage.
(4) Any municipal lien pursuant to this section may be discharged or dissolved in the manner provided in sections 49-35a to 49-37, inclusive.
(f) Any enforcing agency imposing a penalty pursuant to subsection (c) of this section shall maintain a current record of all properties with respect to which such penalty remains unpaid in the office of such agency. Such record shall be available for inspection by the public.
(g) Each enforcing agency empowered to enforce any provision of this chapter or any provision of a local housing code shall create and make available housing code violation complaint forms, written in both English and Spanish, for use by any occupant of a dwelling unit seeking to file a complaint against the owner of such unit, or other responsible party, concerning such violations.
(P.A. 74-345, S. 2; P.A. 79-276, S. 2; 79-571, S. 94; P.A. 06-185, S. 3; 06-196, S. 178; P.A. 09-144, S. 8; P.A. 23-207, S. 14.)
History: P.A. 79-276 substituted “enforcing agency” for “designated authority or authorities” and “this chapter or a local housing code” for specific listing of applicable sections in Subsec. (d); P.A. 79-571 rephrased provision re five-day deadline for correction of violation in Subsec. (a); Sec. 19-347s transferred to Sec. 47a-58 in 1981; P.A. 06-185 amended Subsec. (c) to decrease penalty from $500 to $100 per day, added Subsec. (e) re municipal lien for amount of unpaid penalty and Subsec. (f) re record of properties with unpaid penalty, and made technical changes in Subsecs. (b), (c) and (d); P.A. 06-196 made technical changes in Subsec. (c), effective June 7, 2006; P.A. 09-144 amended Subsec. (a) by allowing order to be delivered to a registrant in accordance with Sec. 7-148ii; P.A. 23-207 added Subsec. (g) re agencies empowered to enforce local housing codes shall make complaint forms available in English and Spanish.
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