East Lyme could be one step closer to forming a Fair Rent Commission and residents will have the opportunity to share their concerns.
There are protections against excessive rent increases for elderly and disabled renters, which a local Fair Rent Commission would execute.
For communities without commissions, residents have few options: file a lawsuit against the landlord, or petition the municipality to form a Fair Rent Commission.
The town drafted an ordinance used by other Connecticut communities to expedite the process, First Selectman Daniel Cunningham said during a Board of Selectmen special meeting on Aug. 9.
“There was a draft ordinance and some materials other towns have also used and what we did was we took that and we modified it to really fit the needs of the town of East Lyme,” Cunningham said.
The Board of Selectmen is set to hold a public hearing on a Fair Rent Commission ordinance on Tuesday, Aug. 20.
A hearing is the latest step in the process to establish a commission, which would be able to intervene if tenants consider a rent increase excessive and protect disabled and elderly renters from unfair rent hikes.
The Board of Selectmen first began discussing the formation of a Fair Rent Commission after residents of a Niantic apartment complex spoke out against proposed rent increases of up to $900 dollars.
The local proposed rent hike took a toll on the community, according to Selectman Jason Deeble.
“To work under kind of that emotional cloud and having to pull things together and trying to be clear-eyed and level-headed about it,” Deeble said. “It’s very difficult for everyone involved and I really do think everyone is making their best effort.”
East Lyme’s Fair Rent movement impetus
Windward Village apartment complex was sold to a new owner in June who wants to increase the rent.
A 2022 state law change requires communities with 25,000 or more residents to form fair rent commissions. East Lyme doesn’t meet the requirement, but Windward Village residents are working with the Board of Selectmen to establish a commission.
The 45 towns and cities with the requisite population account for 80% of the state’s housing units, according to housing advocacy nonprofit Partnership for Strong Communities.
Prior to the 2022 law change, 25 Connecticut municipalities had fair rent commissions. An additional 27 were required to create one, according to Partnership for Strong Communities.
Connecticut does not have many protections for renters against no fault evictions, when landlords opt not to renew a lease through no fault of the tenant.
Windward Village resident Judith Glickstein is appreciative of the Board of Selectmen’s quick work towards establishing a Fair Rent Commission, but said it isn’t letting the state legislature off the hook.
“This is how this all came about, because the state does not have any protection for tenants,” Glickstein said. “I don't know what's taking so long for them to do some protection for tenants. They certainly have protection for landlords, but they don't have anything for tenants.”
