Christina Lee, Head Photography Editor

New Haven officials advocated for affordable housing development and homelessness prevention efforts at a state legislative hearing on Thursday. 

The Connecticut General Assembly Housing Committee received testimony on 13 bills, including omnibus legislation to maximize equitable housing opportunities, proposed reforms to fair rent commissions and efforts to address rising rates of homelessness statewide.

Several representatives from the City of New Haven offered testimony, including Mayor Justin Elicker, who has described housing as one of his top priorities for state policy this year. He spoke in support of House Bill 6893, which would allocate $33.5 million in state operations funding to programs that “assist homeless persons.”

Elicker said New Haven would use this funding to uplift the city’s numerous partner organizations who support unhoused residents. He cited the Greater New Haven Coordinated Access Network, a coalition of agencies, medical providers and nonprofits that assist people experiencing housing crises.  

Between November 2023 and November 2024, according to Elicker, the city’s verified unsheltered population more than doubled from 257 to 633. 

The hearing follows a wave of protests against the city’s management of its ongoing housing crisis, including claims that shelters are failing to accommodate all unhoused people. 

Both Elicker and Eliza Halsey, New Haven’s community services administrator, testified that the city needs at least 500 new units of “permanent supportive housing,” and that they currently lack the funding to address these needs on their own. Elicker added that while shelters and warming centers are helpful short-term options, the city needs the state’s support to create stable solutions. 

“Many people struggling with homelessness right now are coming to that from very different reasons,” Elicker said. “A lot of the challenges we’re seeing are people that are struggling also with mental health and substance abuse disorders. It’s not just affordable housing that is going to help the situation. The supportive component of that is crucial to people having a long-term pathway to access.”

The committee also heard testimony on Senate Bill 12, which would “promote fair and equitable housing opportunities in every community in the state.” The legislation is in concept form — only containing two lines of text — and would encompass housing development of all kinds across the state, including affordable construction.

State Sen. Martin Looney, who represents New Haven and serves as Senate President Pro Tempore, is the leading sponsor for SB 12. He explained that high rents and unaffordable housing have limited Connecticut’s economic development, contributed to unfair evictions and exacerbated poverty.

“We are short of housing for the lowest-income people who, in many cases, are homeless because they cannot afford rent or cannot find anything to rent,” Looney testified. “We also know that people are unable to find affordable starter homes. We also don’t have enough of a mix and diversity of affordable housing in communities throughout the state. And we don’t have enough housing, period.”

Looney made reference to Mandy Management, a housing company that owns 4,000 units in 800 buildings across the Greater New Haven area, and said that landlords that have monopolized the market are able to hike up rent and force evictions, leaving tenants with few options. 

The Committee also considered a number of bills to reform Fair Rent Commissions, municipal bodies that address claims of landlord abuse and unfair rent increases. 

Wildaliz Bermúdez, the executive director of New Haven’s Fair Rent Commission, spoke in opposition to a bill that would require commissions to operate under the same procedural regulations as state agencies.

“The over-formalization of Fair Rent Commissions would hinder functionality and make recruitment difficult,” Bermúdez said. “Placing more administrative procedures on Fair Rent Commissions, with no plans to increase funding, only further strains already-burdened Fair Rent Commissions.”

The Housing Committee will hold another public hearing on Tuesday.