How do I force my landlord to clean up the property because it is a health hazard?
Full Question:
I have a slumlord who will not clean up my apartment building. I have asked him to clean the apartment up and told him that I have had roaches for 5 months. He came and sprayed my apartment with a chemical but they have not gone away. There is garbage all around my apartment and dog feces in the backyard also in the backyard he has broken down cars and car parts. I have three small children and I am concerned about their health. I have tried to contact the Department of Health but can not find the right people to talk to. My questions is where do I go to take care of this problem.
11/02/2007 |
Category: Landlord Tenant |
State: Connecticut |
#11467
Answer:
The following are Connecticut statutes:
Sec. 47a-7. Landlord's responsibilities.
(a) A landlord shall:
(1) Comply with the requirements of chapter 368o
and all applicable building and housing codes materially affecting health
and safety of both the state or any political subdivision thereof;
(2) make
all repairs and do whatever is necessary to put and keep the premises in a
fit and habitable condition, except where the premises are intentionally
rendered unfit or uninhabitable by the tenant, a member of his family or
other person on the premises with his consent, in which case such duty
shall be the responsibility of the tenant;
(3) keep all common areas of the
premises in a clean and safe condition;
(4) maintain in good and safe
working order and condition all electrical, plumbing, sanitary, heating,
ventilating and other facilities and appliances and elevators, supplied or
required to be supplied by him;
(5) provide and maintain appropriate
receptacles for the removal of ashes, garbage, rubbish and other waste
incidental to the occupancy of the dwelling unit and arrange for their
removal; and
(6) supply running water and reasonable amounts of hot water
at all times and reasonable heat except if the building which includes the
dwelling unit is not required by law to be equipped for that purpose or if
the dwelling unit is so constructed that heat or hot water is generated by
an installation within the exclusive control of the tenant or supplied by a
direct public utility connection.
(b) If any provision of any municipal ordinance, building code or fire
code requires a greater duty of the landlord than is imposed under
subsection (a) of this section, then such provision of such ordinance or
code shall take precedence over the provision requiring such lesser duty in
said subsection.
(c) The landlord and tenant of a single-family residence may agree in
writing that the tenant perform the landlord's duties specified in
subdivisions (5) and (6) of subsection (a) and also specified repairs,
maintenance tasks, alterations, or remodeling, provided the transaction is
entered into in good faith and not for the purpose of evading the
obligations of the landlord.
(d) The landlord and tenant of a dwelling unit other than a single-family
residence may agree that the tenant is to perform specified repairs,
maintenance tasks, alterations or remodeling if:
(1) the agreement of the
parties is entered into in good faith;
(2) the agreement is in writing;
(3) the work is not necessary to cure noncompliance with subdivisions (1) and
(2) of subsection (a) of this section; and
(4) the agreement does not
diminish or affect the obligation of the landlord to other tenants in the
premises.
Sec. 47a-11. Tenant's responsibilities.
A tenant shall:
(a) Comply with all obligations primarily imposed upon
tenants by applicable provisions of any building, housing or fire code
materially affecting health and safety;
(b) keep such part of the premises
that he occupies and uses as clean and safe as the condition of the
premises permit;
(c) remove from his dwelling unit all ashes, garbage,
rubbish and other waste in a clean and safe manner to the place provided by
the landlord pursuant to subdivision (5) of subsection (a) of section
47a-7;
(d) keep all plumbing fixtures and appliances in the dwelling unit
or used by the tenant as clean as the condition of each such fixture or
appliance permits;
(e) use all electrical, plumbing, sanitary, heating,
ventilating, air conditioning and other facilities and appliances,
including elevators, in the premises in a reasonable manner;
(f) not
wilfully or negligently destroy, deface, damage, impair or remove any part
of the premises or permit any other person to do so;
(g) conduct himself
and require other persons on the premises with his consent to conduct
themselves in a manner that will not disturb his neighbors' peaceful
enjoyment of the premises or constitute a nuisance, as defined in section
47a-32, or a serious nuisance, as defined in section 47a-15; and
(h) if
judgment has entered against a member of the tenant's household pursuant to
subsection (c) of section 47a-26h for serious nuisance by using the
premises for the illegal sale of drugs, not permit such person to resume
occupancy of the dwelling unit, except with the consent of the landlord.
(P.A. 76-95, S. 9, 27; 76-435, S. 75, 82; P.A. 79-571, S. 20;
P.A. 86-267, S. 1; P.A. 89-254, S. 2.)
History:
P.A. 76-435 revised effective date section of P.A. 76-95, see
history for Sec. 47a-1; P.A. 79-571 made minor technical changes but made
no substantive changes; P.A. 86-267 amended Subdiv. (g) to prohibit conduct
which constitutes a nuisance or serious nuisance; P.A. 89-254 added Subdiv.
(h) requiring a tenant not to permit a person who has been evicted for the
serious nuisance of using the premises for the illegal sale of drugs to
resume occupancy of the dwelling unit.
Sec. 47a-12. Breach of agreement by landlord. Tenant's remedies.
(a) If there is a material noncompliance by the landlord with the rental
agreement or a noncompliance with section 47a-7 which materially affects
health and safety, the tenant may deliver a written notice to the landlord
specifying the acts and omissions constituting the breach. If the breach is
not remedied within fifteen days after receipt of the notice, the rental
agreement shall terminate on such date. If substantially the same act or
omission which constituted a prior noncompliance of which notice was given,
recurs within six months of the first act of noncompliance, the tenant may
terminate the rental agreement upon at least fourteen days written notice
specifying (1) the date the breach complained of occurred and (2) the date
the tenant intends to terminate the rental agreement by vacating the
premises, which date shall be within thirty days of such breach.
(b) The tenant may not terminate the rental agreement under subsection
(a) of this section for a condition caused by the wilful or negligent act
or omission of such tenant, a member of his family, or other person on the
premises with his consent.
(c) This section shall apply only to leases in which the term of the
tenancy is more than one month.
(d) Nothing in this section shall in any way restrict the tenant's use of
other remedies available to him.
Sec. 47a-13. Failure of landlord to supply essential services. Tenant's
remedies.
(a) If the landlord is required to supply heat, running water, hot water,
electricity, gas or other essential service, and if the landlord fails to
supply such essential service and the failure is not caused by conditions
beyond the landlord's control, the tenant may give notice to the landlord
specifying the breach and may elect to:
(1) procure reasonable amounts of
heat, hot water, running water, electric, gas or other essential service
during the period of the landlord's noncompliance and deduct the actual and
reasonable cost of such service from the rent; or
(2) procure reasonable
substitute housing during the period of the landlord's noncompliance if the
landlord fails to supply such service within two business days of such
breach, except if the breach is the failure to provide the same service and
such breach recurs within six months, the tenant may secure substitute
housing immediately; or
(3) if the failure to supply such service is
wilful, the tenant may terminate the rental agreement and recover an amount
not more than two months' periodic rent or double the actual damages
sustained by him, whichever is greater. If the rental agreement is
terminated, the landlord shall return all security and prepaid rent and
interest required pursuant to section 47a-22, recoverable under section
47a-21.
(b) If the tenant elects to procure substitute housing as provided in
subdivision (2) of subsection (a) of this section, rent otherwise owed to
the landlord shall abate for the period of the landlord's noncompliance. In
addition, the tenant may recover the actual costs of such substitute
housing, but in no event shall the tenant recover more than an amount equal
to the amount of rent abated under this subsection. In any cause of action
or defense to any action arising under subsection (a) of this section, the
tenant may recover reasonable attorney's fees.
(c) Rights of the tenant under this section do not arise (1) until the
tenant has given reasonable written or oral notice to the landlord or (2)
if the condition was caused by the wilful or negligent act or omission of
the tenant, a member of his family or other person on the premises with his
consent.
(d) For the purposes of this section, "tenant" includes each resident of
a mobile manufactured home park, as defined in section 21-64, including a
resident who owns his own home, and "landlord" includes a "licensee" and an
"owner" of a mobile manufactured home park, as defined in section 21-64.
Sec. 47a-14. Damage or destruction of unit. Tenant's remedies.
(a) If the dwelling unit or premises are damaged or destroyed by fire or
other casualty to an extent that enjoyment of the dwelling unit is
substantially impaired, the tenant, unless such damage or destruction is
caused by the tenant's negligence or wilful act, shall not be liable to pay
rent for such period of time as such impairment continues. In such case,
the tenant may (1) immediately vacate the premises and notify the landlord
in writing within fourteen days thereafter of his intention to terminate
the rental agreement, in which case the rental agreement shall terminate as
of the date of vacating; or (2) if continued occupancy is lawful, vacate
any part of the dwelling unit rendered unusable by the fire or other
casualty, in which case the tenant's liability for use and occupancy shall
be reduced in proportion to the diminution in the fair rental value of the
dwelling unit.
(b) If the rental agreement is terminated, the landlord shall return all
security and prepaid rent recoverable under section 47a-21. Accounting for
rent, in the event of termination or apportionment, shall be made as of the
date of the fire or other casualty.
Sec. 47a-14h. Action by individual tenant to enforce landlord's
responsibilities. Payment of rent into court.
(a) Any tenant who claims that his landlord has failed to perform his
legal duties, as required by section 47a-7 or subdivisions (1) to (13),
inclusive, of subsection (a) of section 21-82, may institute an action in
the superior court having jurisdiction over housing matters in the judicial
district in which he resides to obtain the relief authorized by this
section and sections 47a-20 and 47a-68. No tenant may institute an action
under this section if a valid notice to quit possession or occupancy based
upon nonpayment of rent has been served on him prior to his institution of
an action under this section or if a valid notice to quit possession or
occupancy based on any other ground has been served on him prior to his
making the complaint to the agency referred to in subsection (b) of this
section, provided any such notice to quit is still effective.
(b) The action shall be instituted by filing a complaint, under oath,
with the clerk of the court. The complaint shall allege:
(1) the name of the
tenant;
(2) the name of the landlord;
(3) the address of the premises;
(4) the nature of the alleged violation of section 47a-7; and
(5) the dates
when rent is due under the rental agreement and the amount due on such
dates.
The complaint shall also allege that at least twenty-one days prior
to the date on which the complaint is filed, the tenant made a complaint
concerning the premises to the municipal agency, in the municipality where
the premises are located, responsible for enforcement of the housing code
or, if no housing code exists, of the public health code, or to the agency
responsible for enforcement of the code or ordinance alleged to have been
violated, or to another municipal agency which referred such complaint to
the municipal agency responsible for enforcement of such code or ordinance.
In the case of a mobile manufactured home located in a mobile manufactured
home park, such complaint may be made to the Commissioner of Consumer
Protection. The entry fee shall be twenty-five dollars, which may be waived
in accordance with section 52-259b. Such entry fee shall be a taxable cost
of the action. If, on the same day, more than one tenant from the same
building or complex institutes an action under this section and pays the
entry fee for such action, unless such fee is waived, the actions shall be
treated as a single action. No recognizance or bond shall be required.
(c) Upon receipt of the complaint, the clerk shall promptly set the
matter down for hearing to be held not more than fourteen days after the
filing of the complaint or the return of service, whichever is later, and
shall cause a copy of the complaint and the notice of the action to be sent
separately by certified mail, return receipt requested, to (1) each
landlord named in the complaint and (2) the director of the municipal or
state agency to which the tenant has alleged, pursuant to subsection (b) of
this section, that a complaint concerning the premises has been made. At
such hearing, the agency notified pursuant to subdivision (2) of this
subsection shall submit to the court the inspection report prepared as a
result of the complaint made by the tenant.
(d) If proof of service is not returned to the clerk, the complaint shall
be served by the plaintiff in accordance with section 52-57.
(e) The complainant may seek and the court may order interim or final
relief including, but not limited to, the following:
(1) An order
compelling the landlord to comply with his duties under local, state or
federal law;
(2) an order appointing a receiver to collect rent or to
correct conditions in the property which violate local, state or federal
law;
(3) an order staying other proceedings concerning the same property;
(4) an award of money damages, which may include a retroactive abatement of
rent paid pursuant to subsection (h) of this section; and
(5) such other
relief in law or equity as the court may deem proper. If the court orders a
retroactive abatement of rent pursuant to subdivision (4) of this
subsection and all or a portion of the tenant's rent was deposited with the
court pursuant to subsection (h) by a housing authority, municipality,
state agency or similar entity, any rent ordered to be returned shall be
returned to the tenant and such entity in proportion to the amount of rent
each deposited with the court pursuant to subsection (h).
(f) The landlord, by counterclaim, may request and the court may issue an
order compelling the tenant to comply with his duties under section 47a-11.
(g) The court, in ordering interim or final relief, may order that
accrued payments of rent or use and occupancy held by the clerk be used for
the repair of the building or be distributed in accordance with the rights
of the parties.
(h) On each rent due date on or after the date when the complaint is
filed with the clerk of the court, or within nine days thereafter or, in
the case of a week-to-week tenancy, within four days thereafter, the tenant
shall deposit with the clerk of the court an amount equal to the last
agreed-upon rent. If all or a portion of the tenant's rent is being paid to
the landlord by a housing authority, municipality, state agency or similar
entity, this requirement shall be satisfied if the tenant deposits an
amount equal to such tenant's portion of the last agreed-upon rent with the
clerk. The court may make such entity a party to the action. The clerk
shall accept such payment of rent and shall provide the tenant with a
receipt. Payment to the clerk shall, for all purposes, be the equivalent of
having made payment to the landlord himself. No landlord may maintain an
action against a tenant to recover possession for nonpayment of rent if an
amount equal to the rent due has been received by the clerk. When the
complaint and notice of the action are served pursuant to subsection (c) or
(d) of this section, the clerk shall promptly notify the landlord of the
receipt of any such payment and of the prohibition against maintaining an
action to recover possession for nonpayment of rent. If the complainant
fails to make such payment of rent, the court may, after proper notice,
upon its own motion or upon motion by the landlord, dismiss the complaint.
(i) The landlord may, at any time, move for the termination of payment
into court and the clerk shall promptly schedule a hearing on such motion.
If the court finds that the violations of section 47a-7 have been
corrected, it shall enter a judgment with respect to the rights and
obligations of the parties in the action and with respect to the
distribution of any money held by the clerk.
(j) Nothing in this section and sections 47a-20 and 47a-68 shall be
construed to limit or restrict in any way any rights or remedies which may
be available to a tenant, to the state or to a municipality under any other
law.
(k) The judges of the Superior Court may, in accordance with the
provisions of section 51-14, adopt rules for actions brought under this
section and sections 47a-20 and 47a-68, including the promulgation of a
simplified form for the bringing of such actions.
(l) For the purposes of this section, "tenant" includes each resident of
a mobile manufactured home park, as defined in section 21-64, including a
resident who owns his own home, and "landlord" includes a "licensee" and an
"owner" of a mobile manufactured home park, as defined in section 21-64.
Sec. 47a-51. (Formerly Sec. 19-343). Sanitary regulations.
(a) Each tenement, lodging or boarding house, and each part thereof,
shall be kept clean and free from any accumulation of dirt, filth, garbage
or other matter, in or on the house or part thereof, or in the yards,
courts, passages, areas or alleys connected with or belonging to the same.
The owner, tenant, lessee or occupant of each tenement, lodging or boarding
house, or part of such house, shall cleanse thoroughly all rooms, passages,
stairs, floors, windows, doors, walls, ceilings, privies, water closets,
cesspools, drains, halls, cellars and roofs and all other parts of such
house, or the part of such house of which he is owner, tenant, lessee or
occupant, to the approval of the board of health or enforcing agency, and
shall keep the same in a clean condition at all times.
(b) The owner of each tenement house shall provide, for such building,
suitable receptacles for, or conveniences for the disposal of, garbage,
ashes and rubbish.
(c) Each building used as a tenement, lodging or boarding house and all
parts thereof shall be kept in good repair.
(d) The roof of each tenement, lodging or boarding house shall be so kept
as not to leak, and all rain water shall be so drained and conveyed from
the roof as to prevent its dripping onto the ground or causing dampness in
the walls, ceilings, yards or areas.
(e) No horse, cow, calf, swine, poultry, sheep or goat shall be kept in
or near any tenement, lodging or boarding house, unless stabled at least
twenty feet distant from such tenement, lodging or boarding house, and then
only when such stabling is not detrimental to health, in the opinion of the
board of health or enforcing agency.
(f) A tenement, lodging or boarding house, or any part thereof, shall not
be used for the handling, keeping or storing of combustible articles or
rags, or any other articles, in a manner deemed by the board of health or
enforcing agency to be dangerous or detrimental to health.
Section 47a-52:
(a) As used in this section, "rented dwelling" means any structure or
portion thereof which is rented, leased, or hired out to be occupied as
the home or residence of one or two families and any mobile manufactured
home in a mobile manufactured home park which, although owned by its
resident, sits upon a space or lot which is rented, leased or hired out,
but shall not include a tenement house as defined in section 19a-355 or
in section 47a-1.
(b) "Department of health" means the health authority of each city,
borough or town, by whatever name such health authority may be known.
(c) When any defect in the plumbing, sewerage, water supply, drainage,
lighting, ventilation, or sanitary condition of a rented dwelling, or of
the premises on which it is situated, in the opinion of the department of
health of the municipality where such dwelling is located,
constitutes a danger to life or health, the department may order the
responsible party to correct the same in such manner as it specifies. If
the order is not complied with within the time limit set by the
department, the person in charge of the department may institute a civil
action for injunctive relief, in accordance with chapter 916, to require
the abatement of such danger.
(d) Paint on the exposed surfaces of the interior of a rented dwelling
shall not be cracked, chipped, blistered, flaking, loose or peeling so as
to constitute a health hazard. Testing, remediation, abatement and
management of lead-based paint at a rented dwelling or its premises shall
be as defined in, and in accordance with, the regulations, if any,
adopted pursuant to section 19a-111c, as amended by this act.
(e) When the department of health certifies that any such rented
dwelling or premises are unfit for human habitation, by reason of defects
which may cause sickness or endanger the health of the occupants, the
department may issue an order requiring the rented dwelling, premises or
any portion thereof to be vacated within not less than twenty-four hours
or more than ten days.
(f) Any person who violates or assists in violating, or fails to
comply with, any provision of this section or any legal order of a
department of health made under any such provision shall be fined not
more than two hundred dollars or imprisoned not more than sixty days or
both.
(g) Any person aggrieved by an order issued under this section may
appeal, pursuant to section 19a-229, to the Commissioner of Public
Health.
Sec. 47a-54. (Formerly Sec. 19-345). Communicable diseases; unfit for
habitation; order to vacate.
(a) Whenever it is certified by the board of health or other enforcing
agency, that a tenement, lodging or boarding house, or any part thereof, is
infected with communicable disease, or that it is unfit for human
habitation or dangerous to life or health by reason of want of repair or of
defects in the drainage, plumbing, ventilation or construction of the same,
or by reason of the existence on the premises of a nuisance liable to cause
sickness among the occupants of such house, the board of health or other
enforcing agency may issue an order requiring all persons therein to vacate
such house, or part thereof, within not less than twenty-four hours nor
more than ten days. The board of health or other enforcing agency shall
state in the order the reason for the issuance of the order.
(b) If such order is not complied with within the time so specified, the
board of health or other enforcing agency may cause such house, or part
thereof, to be vacated.
(c) The board of health or other enforcing agency, whenever satisfied
that the danger from such house, or part thereof, has ceased to exist, or
that such house is fit for human habitation, may revoke such order or may
extend the time within which the order may be complied with.