August 8, 2024, 6:48 p.m. • Last updated: August 8, 2024, 7:10 p.m.
East Lyme – John Vasko is running out of time.
The Navy veteran’s 600-square-foot, one-bedroom apartment in Windward Village will see a $900 rent increase at the end of the month. Similar price increases have swept through his Niantic apartment complex like a tidal wave since the property was bought by a real estate investment firm in June, impacting tenants as their leases expire.
On Wednesday, he told City Council members that the city must immediately establish a Fair Rent Commission, a move that would allow him to take his rent increase complaint to a volunteer group that would have the power to investigate, hold hearings and order landlords to lower or gradually raise rent for specific reasons.
Vasko, 74, is a Navy veteran who served two tours in Vietnam as a catapult officer, launching aircraft from the aircraft carrier USS America.
“I fought for people abroad,” he told the city councilors. “I want someone to fight for us. We need that today.”
After an hour of pleading from Vasko and his neighbors, First Selectman Dan Cunningham assured them that a draft ordinance establishing the commission would be ready as soon as it was approved by town attorneys.
“We understand the urgency of moving this forward,” Cunningham said. “I will take all necessary steps to move this forward.”
Cunningham has now scheduled a special meeting for Friday at noon, at which city councilors could discuss a draft ordinance approved by the attorney and vote on whether to forward it to a public hearing.
Municipalities with more than 25,000 residents are required to establish fair rent commissions, but for East Lyme’s 18,788 residents, this is optional.
A just cause
The only recourse currently available to Vasko and residents 62 and older is legal recourse, an expensive and time-consuming process. Tenants younger than that are not even covered by the state’s eviction law, which protects tenants from unreasonable rent increases.
Residents have said that about two-thirds of Windward Village’s population is elderly.
Alicia Chandler, a tenant in Windward for six years and a self-described young professional, said fair rental commissions were an equalizing force.
She said the provisions of the state’s existing laws do not apply to a large segment of the population, including younger people, single parents, working families or disabled renters who may not be considered fully disabled.
“With the establishment of this commission, everyone can be protected and better fight to be able to stay in their homes,” she said.
Windward Village tenants gathered in the crowded City Hall meeting room said they were forced to move out of the city and sometimes out of the state because there were no rental apartments nearby that they could afford.
Shelton-based real estate investment firm Alpha Capital Funds purchased the 60-unit Windward Village complex on Main Street for $8.4 million in June. In a social media post, the firm projected the complex would be worth $14 million once all rent increases take effect and renovations to the property are completed.
The company has 380 residential units across the state, including a recent acquisition in New London with 45 residential units in three buildings.
Set the tone
Christopher Carlson, an attorney with Connecticut Legal Services, said the housing crisis is characterized by systemic problems that will take years to resolve. He said statistics show there are 98,144 more low-income families in the state than there is affordable housing for them.
He said that despite the massive crisis, establishing a Fair Rent Commission is an immediate step a city can take to keep people in their homes.
“Fair Rent Commissions can be set up quickly,” he said. “And they make a difference.”
He described large investment firms as “industrial landlords” with whom tenants can find communication difficult.
“Landlords in towns like Groton with fair rent commissions know they have to justify their rent increases,” he said. “So when I help seniors in those towns, we know we can negotiate fairly and equitably with a commercial landlord.”
Beth Sabilia, director of the Center for Housing Equity and Opportunity Eastern CT, emphasized the urgency of the situation as more and more residents are faced with expiring leases and the resulting rent increases each month.
“There is absolutely no reason why this should be dragged out or take much longer than it absolutely has to,” she said. “These people don’t have a year. They just don’t have a year.”
Selectwoman Candice Carlson supported an expedited process.
The city charter empowers city councils to adopt ordinances after a public hearing. The hearing must be scheduled so that the public is given at least 10 days’ notice. The city council can vote on the ordinance immediately after the public vote.
Regulations come into force at the earliest 10 days after they are submitted to the City Chancellery.
“I think it’s up to us here in East Lyme to set the tone that we don’t want this behavior here,” she said. “We don’t want anyone to be treated like this. The increases are completely unjustified.”
