Bills Affecting Landlords

Topic:
HOUSING (GENERAL); LANDLORD-TENANT RELATIONS; LEGISLATION;
Location:
LANDLORD - TENANT RELATIONSHIP;

OLR Research Report


July 1, 2005		2005-R-0563
BILLS AFFECTING LANDLORDS

By: Sandra Norman-Eady, Chief Attorney

You asked for a brief summary, including the number, title, and status, of bills introduced during the 2005 legislative session that affect landlords, regardless of whether the bills became law.

As you requested, we limited this report to bills specifically related to landlords and their tenants or potential tenants. We have not included a number of bills that affect property owners, including owners of residential rental property.

The legislature considered 13 bills during the 2005 session related to landlords. Of these, four became law (although one of the acts repeals another, leaving essentially three changes in the law). The three new laws restrict provisions in rental agreements, allow towns to require landlords to file their residential addresses with the town, and limit eligibility for the Security Deposit Guarantee Program. This program provides landlords a security deposit guarantee (in lieu of an actual cash deposit) when they rent units to people who are generally very poor and are living in a homeless shelter or cannot remain in permanent housing for statutorily enumerated reasons beyond their control.

Table 1 shows bill numbers and titles, brief summaries, and bill status.

TABLE 1: BILLS AFFECTING LANDLORDS CONSIDERED DURING THE 2005 LEGISLATIVE SESSION

*Bill Numbers and Titles*	*Descriptions of Relevant Sections*	*Bill Status*
SB 61 and HB 6670 An Act Providing for Comprehensive Campaign Finance Reform for Statewide Constitutional and General Assembly Offices	Establishes a $ 30 surcharge on court fees for filing civil causes of action, including summary process and other landlord and tenant actions. HB 6670 limits the surcharge to cases involving $ 2,500 or more.	Died on the House and Senate calendars, respectively.
*SB 976 and 6598* An Act Concerning Heat and Utility Surcharge Clauses in Residential Leases	Prohibits residential leases signed on or after October 1, 2005 from providing that tenants agree to pay a heat or utility surcharge when the landlord agrees to provide heat or utilities with the rental.	SB 976 died, but HB 6598 is law (PA 05-56)
SB 988 An Act Concerning the Definition of Landlord	Expands the definition of landlord to include people or companies that manage residential real property on a landlord’s behalf.	Died in Judiciary
*HB 5380* An Act Increasing the Maximum Allowable Security Deposit for Tenants	Increases the maximum allowable security deposit a landlord can charge a tenant from two to three months’ rent.	Died in Insurance
*HB 6174* An Act Authorizing the Department of Public Health to Regulate Landlord Asbestos Abatement	Empowers the Commissioner of Public Health to regulate landlords in the removal of asbestos from residential rental properties and thereby protect tenants from the substance’s harmful effects.	Died in Judiciary
*HB 6539* An Act Concerning Identification of a Landlord	Allows municipalities to require nonresident owners of rental property, or their agents, to maintain their current residential addresses on file in the municipality where the property is located. The property owner or his agent must maintain the residential address on file whether the rental property is occupied or vacant. The owner or his agent must inform the municipality when his residential address changes.	Law (PA 05-223)
*HB 6688* An Act Implementing Certain Governor’s Budget Recommendations with Respect to Social Services Programs	Limits the availability of the Security Deposit Guarantee Program by allowing subsequent guarantees once every five years instead of once every 18 months.	Died in the House
*HB 7000* An Act Concerning Social Services and Public Health Budget Implementation Provisions *HB 7502* An Act Concerning the Implementation of Various Budgetary Provisions	Allows the social services commissioner to deny a tenant’s eligibility for the Security Deposit Guarantee Program if he made more than two claims in a five-year period. Amends HB 7000 by allowing the commissioner to instead deny eligibility when the commissioner has paid two or more claims by landlords in the immediately preceding five-years.	Law (PA 05-280) Law (PA # has not been assigned)

SN-E: ts