Connecticut · Repairs and Unsafe Conditions

Landlord Won't Make Repairs in Connecticut: What Can I Do?

This is not legal advice. We explain what the law says. We cannot tell you what to do in your situation. For that, talk to a lawyer. Find free legal and rent help in Connecticut.

Connecticut law says what your landlord must fix and keep in working order in your home. This page explains those rules, how to ask for repairs, and what happens if your landlord ignores you, including going to court.

What your landlord has to fix

  1. Your landlord must follow all building and housing codes that seriously affect health and safety. Your landlord must also make repairs and keep your home fit to live in. If you, your family, or a guest causes damage to the home on purpose, fixing it is your job, not your landlord's.

    Source:
    1. § 47a-7(a), Connecticut General Assembly. Law.
    Tip.

    Take photos of each problem, with the date. Take more if it gets worse.

  2. Your landlord must also keep the electrical, plumbing, heating, and other systems in your home in safe working order. Common areas you share with other renters must be kept clean and safe. Your landlord must provide trash and garbage containers and arrange for pickup. Your landlord must supply running water and reasonable hot water and heat at all times. This does not apply if the building is not legally required to have them. It also does not apply if you control your own heat or hot water.

    Source:
    1. § 47a-7(a), Connecticut General Assembly. Law.

Get your home inspected

  1. Your city or town has a board of health or another code enforcement agency. It can officially decide that your home is unfit to live in or dangerous to health or life. This can be because of needed repairs or problems with plumbing, drainage, or construction. If so, it can order everyone to leave, giving at least 24 hours and no more than 10 days to do so. You may need somewhere else to stay while this happens.

    Source:
    1. § 47a-54(a), Connecticut General Assembly. Law.
    Think before you call an inspector.

    You or a neighbor can ask the city to send a code inspector. Be careful: if the home is in very bad shape, the inspector can condemn it (say no one may live there). Then everyone must move out, you too, sometimes on short notice. Think about where you would go before you call.

    Tip.

    If you can pay for it, a private home inspector can check the problems. Their written report and photos help show the conditions.

If it is still not fixed

  1. Your landlord must make repairs to keep your home fit to live in, and follow codes that seriously affect health and safety. This does not cover damage that you, your family, or a guest you allowed in caused on purpose. If your landlord does not, Connecticut law says your landlord cannot legally collect rent for that time. A court decides this, not you on your own.

    Sources:
    1. Our editorial rules.
    2. § 47a-7(a), Connecticut General Assembly. Law.
    Your landlord can take you to court.

    If you hold back rent, pay less, or take repair costs out of your rent, your landlord can file an eviction case for unpaid rent. If the judge rules for your landlord, you can owe the rent and court costs and have to move out. Your proof matters. Even a case you win can show up when you apply for a new place. Get legal help first.

  2. Before you can file this court case, you must first complain to your city or town's housing code or health agency. You must do this at least 21 days before you file your court case. For very bad conditions, this agency can also order everyone to leave the home until it is fixed. This is sometimes called condemning the home. You then file your complaint, under oath, with the clerk of the court. Filing costs $25, though the court can excuse this fee if you cannot afford to pay it.

    Sources:
    1. Our editorial rules.
    2. § 47a-14h(b), Connecticut General Assembly. Law.

  3. The court clerk sets a hearing within 14 days after you file your complaint. If your landlord is served later than that, the hearing is set within 14 days of that instead. At that hearing, the city or state agency you complained to must give the court its report on inspecting your home.

    Source:
    1. § 47a-14h(c), Connecticut General Assembly. Law.

  4. Once you file this case, you pay your rent to the court clerk instead of your landlord. Pay by your rent due date or within 9 days after. If you pay rent weekly, you have 4 days instead. The clerk gives you a receipt, and this payment counts the same as paying your landlord directly. While the clerk holds your rent, your landlord cannot start a court case to evict you for not paying it. If you miss a payment to the clerk, the court can end your case.

    Source:
    1. § 47a-14h(h), Connecticut General Assembly. Law.

  5. At this hearing or later, the court can order your landlord to fix the problems the law requires. The court can also put someone in charge of your building. This person is called a receiver, and collects the rent to pay for repairs.

    Source:
    1. § 47a-14h(e), Connecticut General Assembly. Law.

  6. The court can also order your landlord to pay you money. This can include giving back the rent you already paid to the clerk for the days your home was not fixed.

    Sources:
    1. Our editorial rules.
    2. § 47a-14h(e), Connecticut General Assembly. Law.
    Money is not automatic.

    Where this page says a court can award you money, you get it only if you win your case and your landlord pays.

    From Connecticut Judicial Branch.

  7. Your landlord can ask the court to stop this rent payment process at any time. If the court finds the repair problems have been fixed, the court decides what happens to the rent money. The clerk is holding that money until then.

    Source:
    1. § 47a-14h(i), Connecticut General Assembly. Law.

  8. If you have asked your landlord in good faith to make repairs, Connecticut law limits what your landlord can do next. The same is true if you complain in good faith about a code problem to a city or state official. It is also true if you complain to a fair rent commission. For 6 months after, your landlord cannot try to evict you, demand more rent, or cut your services.

    Source:
    1. § 47a-20, Connecticut General Assembly. Law.

  9. Your landlord can still try to evict you even after you complain, if you used your home illegally or broke the lease. Your landlord can also still act if you did not pay rent. The same is true if your landlord in good faith wants to move into the home. It is also true if you, someone in your household, or a guest you allowed in caused the problem on purpose. Finally, it is true if your landlord gave notice to end a rental with no fixed end date before you complained.

    Source:
    1. § 47a-20a(a), Connecticut General Assembly. Law.
    Tip.

    Keep a copy of every letter you give your landlord, and keep your mail receipt. Save the texts and emails you send your landlord, and any replies.

Moving out

  1. If you move out because your landlord will not make repairs, you may still owe rent. You owe it unless a court later agrees your home was not fit to live in. Get legal help before you decide to leave.

    Source:
    1. Our editorial rules.

Published by Nazanin, November 11, 2026. Is something on this page wrong or out of date? Tell us.