New Haven's Fair Rent Commission may soon be able to reduce tenants' rents if they complain of unhealthy conditions and their landlord is not licensed with the Livable Cities Initiative.
City leaders and tenants' rights advocates gathered Wednesday at 1275-1291 Quinnipiac Ave., the site of one of New Haven's six tenants unions, to announce newly proposed legislation that will expand tenant protections and tenants unions, while strengthening New Haven's housing code enforcement process.
"Most landlords do the right thing, but there's a small group of landlords that are taking advantage of a situation where there's high rental costs around the city and people don't have as many options as they would like, so the landlords don't invest in their properties and don't respond on these real issues," Mayor Justin Elicker said at the press conference. "This [proposal] builds on a lot of recent efforts ... to keep spaces safe for tenants."
Strengthening city's authority over noncompliant landlords
Under the proposed legislation, if a tenant files a complaint with the Fair Rent Commission about unsafe or unhealthy conditions, the Fair Rent Commission will have the power to lower that tenant's rent if their landlord is not registered with the city's residential rental licensing program. Despite the fact that landlords need a residential license to operate in New Haven, Elicker said that many have dug their feet in when it comes to registering. This proposed policy will both encourage landlords to comply with this law and also give the city yet another tool to punish landlords who do not maintain safe and healthy conditions for their tenants.
The ordinance proposal will also include a measure that ensures any rulings by the FRC are added to the property's land record, making them public information. Wildaliz Bermudez, executive director of the FRC, emphasized the importance of this for potential buyers looking to understand a certain property.
This comes following the Board of Alders' unanimous decision Monday to pass an ordinance amendment that will not only allow LCI to issue citations more easily, but will also raise the maximum citation in New Haven from $250 to $2,000. At Wednesday's press conference, LCI Director Liam Brennan LAW '07 explained that, previously, issuing at maximum a $250 citation required five inspections. Now, LCI can fine up to $2,000 through a hearing officer process after inspecting a violation twice.
"These changes represent more than just procedural updates," Brennan said. "They represent a commitment to the highest standard of constituent services, with the end result always being to ensure safe and dignified housing for our residents."
At the press conference, Ward 7 Alder Eli Sabin '22 LAW '26 emphasized the gravity of increasing the maximum penalty to $2,000. Sabin referenced a landlord who was previously issued a citation for not complying with regulations, whose property had a fire earlier this month that killed a tenant.
$250 fines, he said, were simply not enough to make sure landlords were giving their units the attention they need.
Expanding tenants' protection and unionization power
New Haven is also seeking to give tenants increased protection from landlords' retaliation.
Bermudez explained that currently, when some tenants complain to city departments about unsafe or unhealthy housing conditions, they may be subject to retaliation from their landlord, such as receiving notices to quit -- which are legal papers telling tenants to move out. Last year, tenants at 311 Blake St. were issued notices to quit due to lapse of time, meaning because their leases had run out, after raising issues about rent rates and property issues with their landlord Ocean Management, which also owns the Quinnipiac Avenue property that held Wednesday's press conference.
The proposal allows tenants to file retaliation complaints with the Fair Rent Commission, rather than having to take a landlord to court over retaliation cases.
"People have to work two or three jobs to afford a place, so at least if you're going to pay an astronomical amount, you should be able to live good and fair and not be worried and scared because of the conditions that you're possibly living in," Ward 12 Alder Theresa Morant, whose ward encompasses the Quinnipiac Ave apartment complex, said. "You [landlords] have to be accountable, and we will hold you accountable under this new protection."
City leaders are also looking to lower the threshold for forming a tenants union from 10 units to five. The current ordinance states that the city will only recognize unions representing 10 or more units if at least 51 percent of the units want to participate in the union. Now, Bermudez explained, tenants unions can form at rental locations with as few as five units, so long as 51 percent of the units want to unionize.
Hope Vaughn, vice president of the Quinnipiac Avenue Tenants Union, was enthusiastic about the prospect of more tenants unions, which, from her experience, are the best way to make strides with landlords. Her experience negotiating with Ocean Management after the tenants union formed at the Quinnipiac Avenue building proves the value of tenants unions, she said.
Bermudez added that the proposed legislation also stipulates that tenants unions' membership roles be updated every six months, so that there will be a clear understanding of who is a part of and represented by a tenants union.
Budding partnership between tenants and city
"I think this action that's taking place today and that has been a growing movement across our state has really been because of tenants standing up for themselves and saying, 'This is not right, and something's got to change,'" Sabin said.
Elicker agreed, citing the city's dialogue with New Haven renters and tenants unions as the source of many ideas to ensure landlords are held accountable and tenants have safe conditions. He said this kind of relationship is the key to getting things done in the city.
For example, CT Tenants Union Vice President Luke Melonakos-Harrison told the News that the unions previously advocated for LCI to relinquish its development work to instead focus on enforcing housing code. This past July, that exact reform was implemented and tasks such as assisting individuals with finding housing or advancing affordable housing initiatives became the responsibility of the Economic Development Administration so that LCI could focus on checking landlords. The News could not confirm if the union's advocacy was the source of the LCI overhaul.
Hannah Srajer, president of CT Tenants Union, also attributed the announced reforms to the relationship renters and tenants unions have built with city leadership.
She commended New Haven for its efforts to check landlords from being able "to demean, disrespect, poison, hurt and even kill" tenants for the sake of maximizing their profits.
"I think that these reforms also demonstrate that all the other municipalities in the state should take notice and start listening to their constituents, many of whom are renters," Srajer said. "We know that this city is 75 percent renters. If the city wants to actually be representing their constituents, they need to be putting in place things like tenant union ordinances that recognize tenant unions, more mechanisms for accountability, and particularly more mechanisms to make sure that retaliation does not take place."
The proposed legislation must be heard by the Board of Alder's Legislation Committee before it can be presented and voted on by the full board.