Zachary Suri, Contributing Photographer

HARTFORD — The second-floor atrium of the state legislative office building was packed with activists, journalists and lawmakers on Thursday morning as Connecticut Tenants Union announced a new advocacy campaign to expand protections for Connecticut renters.

“We’re here today because corporate landlords and corporate interests have dictated what laws get passed in this legislature since the state was founded,” Hannah Srajer, president of the CT Tenants Union, said. “We refuse to live lives of mass displacement for the rich man’s bottom line.” 

The proposed legislation, which failed last session due to pushback from landlords, would expand protections against arbitrary eviction to all renters in the state. Currently, only disabled renters and those over 62 receive such protections, known as just cause. 

Earlier this month, the leaders of both chambers announced a renewed push for affordable housing in the state at a rare joint press conference, but just cause legislation faces an uphill battle due to lobbying from landlords.

Rep. Antonio Felipe and Sen. Martha Marx, co-chairs of the General Assembly’s Housing Committee, spoke alongside advocates in favor of the proposal.

“Housing is a human right,” Felipe said, citing recent data that shows a 13 percent increase in homelessness alongside large increases in rent. “You cannot tell me that these two things are not related … Wages haven’t kept up, and eviction protections aren’t there.”

Srajer cited a 2024 report from Consumer Affairs which concluded that Connecticut is the worst state in the country for renters due to its low housing stock and high unemployment. 

“The worst state for renters in this country is the result of a series of choices, and not ones that we in this room have made,” she told the crowd. “Corporate landlords are evicting thousands of families with nowhere to go. Whole communities and neighborhoods are vanishing in 30 days. And what’s the reason? Greed.”

According to Sarah White, an attorney with the Connecticut Fair Housing Center, landlords can currently ask tenants to move out at the end of their leases, regardless of whether they have violated any terms of the lease or not, in what is often called a no-fault eviction.

White said tenants are often intimidated by the prospect of no-fault evictions, which keeps them from requesting repairs due to fear of being asked to move out.

The prevalence of no-fault evictions leads to instability and insecurity for families, children, senior citizens and young people, Srajer said. Landlords maintain they should have the right to evict those living in their properties.

Felipe addressed fears from landlords about the implications of just cause legislation for their businesses.

“This is not going to be the end of the world for our landlords. We’re not saying you can’t operate in the state of Connecticut, and we’re not saying you can’t raise your rents in a reasonable way,” he told the crowd. “You have to deal in a fair and equitable way, and that’s what we’re asking.”

For renters from rural Woodstock to urban Bridgeport who also addressed the press, eviction notices threatened to undermine their economic stability and social connections. Solange Jesus and Rosemarie Rodriguez, immigrant mothers and members of Make the Road CT, addressed the crowd in Spanish, describing the fear caused by no-fault eviction.

Evictions disproportionately impact tenants of color in Connecticut.

Ward 7 Alder Eli Sabin ’22 LAW ’26 drove up to Hartford from New Haven for the just cause campaign launch on behalf of Connecticut Voices for Children, where he serves as the legislative coordinator.

“Right now, the balance of power between landlords and tenants is just out of whack, and we need to shift things back in favor of tenants to make sure people have rights to advocate for themselves, to stand up for themselves,” Sabin said.

In New Haven, where the majority of residents are renters, Sabin explained, having just cause legislation would be key to ensuring the well-being of local citizens.

Rep. Laurie Sweet, the newly elected state representative from Hamden, is optimistic and confident that just cause will pass, despite strong opposition from landlords in the previous session. 

Sweet, who advocated for just cause legislation as a private citizen in the last session, said the movement is a “very well-oiled machine.” 

“We’re going to be here every single day until June, if we have to, because when Connecticut Tenant Union shows up, we fight until the job is done,” Srajer concluded. “A no vote against just cause is a vote against the working people of this state.”

In 2022, New Haven became the first city in Connecticut to officially recognize tenants unions.

Correction, Jan. 27: The previous version of the article misspelled Hannah Srajer’s last name.

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ZACHARY SURI
Zachary Suri covers City Hall and education and youth services. He previously covered state politics. Originally from Madison, Wisconsin and Austin, Texas, he is a sophomore in Morse College majoring in English and History.
LILY BELLE POLING
Lily Belle Poling covers housing and homelessness and climate and the environment. She is also a production and design editor and lays out the weekly print. Originally from Montgomery, Alabama, she is a sophomore in Branford College majoring in Global Affairs and English.