Two popular bills that would make it easier to access and keep rental homes have died in the state legislature.
“Golden Girls” gone
The “Golden Girls” bill would’ve allowed homeowners to rent out up to three bedrooms in the house where they live, without needing local government approval.
Named after the 1980s sitcom in which four senior women live together, the bill passed the State Senate with bipartisan support, but died in the House of Representatives.
The final vote came down to Speaker of the House Matt Ritter’s desire to add an age restriction to the bill, according to Pete Harrison, with nonprofit Pro Homes CT, which helped create the bill.
Ritter expressed concern over the possibility of college students renting out homes in the West End of Hartford and wanted to employ a 55-plus age restriction on the bill, according to Harrison.
“Golden Girls has an owner occupancy requirement, which would mean that person would be living in the house, which we thought really addresses any concerns about a party house or the property being blighted,” Harrison said. “The point of the bill is to make it easier for the person living there to make a little bit extra income and have to still live there.”
Renting out bedrooms is already allowed in many Connecticut communities, including Hartford, Harrison said.
Some lawmakers were also concerned about how rules under the Golden Girl’s bill would differ from state laws outlined for a rooming house. Ritter’s office did not respond to Connecticut Public’s request for comment.
Harrison believes Ritter’s position on the bill was personal.
“Speaker Ritter meets the definition of a NIMBY in his opposition to this. He seemed OK with it, but just didn't want it in his neighborhood. I don't know what else to call it, other than ‘not in my backyard,’” Harrison said. “This is not a bad thing for his neighborhood, and certainly a good thing for every neighborhood in Connecticut.”
The fall of Just Cause
Another popular bill, which also had Gov. Ned Lamont’s support, was the expansion of Connecticut’s Just Cause eviction law.
The bill has been under consideration in the state legislature for several years but this was the first year Lamont vocalized support for the bill.
Connecticut Tenants Union championed the bill, and Vice President Luke Melonakos-Harrison said its death is about a lack of will on the part of lawmakers.
“Trying to get anything done on housing feels impossible, and that should not be the case,” Melonakos-Harrison said. “That needs to be a takeaway from this legislative session, that there's still such minimal political will on the issue of housing, despite how the residents of Connecticut feel about it.”
The Just Cause bill would have curtailed corporate landlords from raising rents on tenants after purchasing and flipping apartments.
The state’s existing Just Cause law prevents seniors and people with disabilities from being evicted when their leases expire.
The proposed bill would’ve broadened the law to prevent all tenants in apartment buildings with five or more units from being evicted without a reason, such as nonpayment of rent or damaging the apartment.
Connecticut Tenants Union plans to bring the bill back next year, but has no plans to water down its impact, Melonakos-Harrison said.
Melonakos-Harrison is proud and thankful for the tenants who traveled to Hartford to support the bill. But, he is frustrated by the inability to get the votes.
“It's shameful that all the pieces were in place to pass this vital bill this year and it still didn't happen, because of the outsized influence of a profit-driven lobby and a dispiriting lack of political courage,” Melonakos-Harrison said.
