East Lyme may be one step closer to establishing a fair rent commission and giving residents a chance to voice their concerns.
There are protections against excessive rent increases for elderly and disabled tenants, implemented by a local Fair Rent Commission.
In municipalities without commissions, residents have few options: they can file a lawsuit against the landlord or ask the municipality to set up a commission for fair rents.
The town has drafted an ordinance used by other Connecticut communities to speed up the process, First Selectman Daniel Cunningham said during a Special meeting of the Board of Selectmen on August 9th.
“There was a draft ordinance and some materials that were used in other cities. We took those and modified them to really meet the needs of the city of East Lyme,” Cunningham said.
The Board of Selectmen is expected to hold a public hearing on a Fair Rent Commission Regulation To Tuesday, August 20.
The hearing is the final step in the process of establishing a commission that will intervene if tenants consider a rent increase to be excessive and will protect disabled and elderly tenants from unjustified rent increases.
The Board of Selectmen first began discussing the formation of a Fair Rent Commission after Residents of a Niantic apartment complex spoke out against planned rent increases of up to $900.
According to Selectman Jason Deeble, the proposed local rent increase has hit the community hard.
“Working under that emotional cloud and pulling things together and trying to be clear-headed and level-headed about it,” Deeble said. “It’s very difficult for everyone involved and I really think everyone is doing the best they can.”
Impulses for the Fair Rent Movement in East Lyme
The Windward Village apartment complex was sold to a new owner in June who wants to increase the rent.
A 2022 change in state law requires communities with 25,000 or more residents to form fair rent commissions. East Lyme does not meet that requirement, but residents of Windward Village are working with the Board of Selectmen to establish a commission.
According to the nonprofit housing organization Partnership for Strong Communities, the 45 cities and towns with the required population have 80% of the state’s housing units.
Before the 2022 law change, 25 Connecticut municipalities had had fair rental commissionsAccording to the Partnership for Strong Communities, another 27 were needed to create one.
In Connecticut, there is little protection for tenants against no-fault eviction if the landlord decides not to renew a lease through no fault of the tenant.
Windward Village resident Judith Glickstein is grateful for the Board of Selectmen’s quick work in establishing a Fair Rent Commission, but says that does not absolve the state legislature of responsibility.
“This all happened because the state has no tenant protections,” Glickstein said. “I don’t know why it’s taking them so long to create tenant protections. They certainly have protections for landlords, but nothing for tenants.”
