Connecticut eviction rules for tenants

If you get an eviction notice

1. Read it closely: the kind of notice, the amount, the dates and how it was delivered. Use the timeline below.
2. Don't move out or stop paying because of a notice alone. Only a court can order an eviction; the notice is the first step.
3. Get free legal help now. Legal aid and the court's self-help center can check whether the notice is valid.
4. If you are served with court papers, respond by the deadline and go to every hearing. Missing one can mean losing by default.
5. Keep copies of the notice, your lease, rent receipts, texts and photos.

Eviction in Connecticut

Notice for unpaid rent

You have a 9-day grace period after rent is due (4 days for weekly tenancies), extended 5 more days if the landlord's online payment system kept you from paying on time. After that, the landlord may serve a written notice to quit giving at least 3 days before the date you must leave. Since 2025 the notice must be served by a state marshal (proper officer). The statute does not say whether weekends count. Conn. Gen. Stat. §§ 47a-15a, 47a-23.

Notice for a lease violation

For most lease violations the landlord must first give a written notice listing the problem and a termination date at least 15 days after you receive it. If you fix the problem or pay for the damage within 15 days, the lease does not end. If the same thing happens again within 6 months, the landlord can go straight to a 3-day notice to quit. For serious nuisance (violence, threats, serious damage, drug dealing), the landlord can use a 3-day notice to quit without a chance to fix it.

Ending a month-to-month tenancy

No statute sets a notice period to end a month-to-month tenancy. It ends by lapse of time at the end of a rental period, and the landlord must then serve a notice to quit giving at least 3 days. Tenants 62 or older or with disabilities in buildings with 5 or more units (or mobile home parks) can be evicted only for good cause. Conn. Gen. Stat. §§ 47a-23, 47a-23c.

Time to respond to an eviction lawsuit

You must file an appearance with the court no later than 2 days after the return date on the summons. If you do not, the landlord can get a judgment for possession. Conn. Gen. Stat. § 47a-26.

Lockouts and utility shutoffs

Yes. A lease cannot let the landlord evict you without a court order. Lockouts, removing or holding your belongings, or damaging the unit to force you out can be challenged with an entry and detainer complaint to a Superior Court judge; you can recover double damages and costs. Conn. Gen. Stat. §§ 47a-4, 47a-43, 47a-46.

Court self-help

The court's eviction self-help page

Law

Conn. Gen. Stat. §§ 47a-15, 47a-15a, 47a-23, 47a-26, 47a-43, 47a-46

Eviction notice timeline for Connecticut

Got a notice from your landlord? Enter the kind of notice and the day you got it to see the dates that follow from your state's rule, what your landlord may not do, and where to get free help fast.

Where to get free help in Connecticut

• Connecticut Judicial Branch: Landlord/Tenant FAQ and housing court guides (English and Spanish)
• Connecticut Department of Banking: Rental Security Deposits (complaints and interest rate)
• CTLawHelp.org (statewide legal aid information)

Retaliation in Connecticut

For 6 months after you complain to a code or health agency or a fair rent commission, a town agency files a notice or order about a violation, you ask in good faith for repairs, you file a rent-into-court case, or you join a tenants' union, the landlord may not evict you, raise rent or cut services. Limited exceptions apply (for example, nonpayment of rent). Retaliation is a defense to eviction. Conn. Gen. Stat. §§ 47a-20, 47a-20a, 47a-33.

Rent increases and rent control in Connecticut

Notice of a rent increase

At least 45 days' written notice before a rent increase takes effect (for a lease of one month or less, notice equal to one full rental period). Not answering the notice does not mean you agreed. Rent cannot go up during a lease term. Conn. Gen. Stat. § 47a-4e (in force since October 1, 2024). A landlord also cannot raise rent in retaliation within 6 months of your complaint (§ 47a-20), and you can challenge an excessive increase at your town's fair rent commission.

Rent control

No statewide rent cap or rent control. Towns can set up fair rent commissions that review excessive rents. Under a 2025 law (Conn. Gen. Stat. § 7-148b as amended), every town of 15,000 or more people must create or join a fair rent commission by January 1, 2028. Since 2025 it is illegal for landlords to use rent-setting 'revenue management' software that uses competitors' private data (§ 47a-4f).

Questions about eviction in Connecticut

More for Connecticut renters

• All Connecticut tenant rights
• Security deposit: Connecticut
• Repairs: Connecticut
• Eviction notice periods by state
• Guide: what to do if you get an eviction notice

Eviction in nearby states