File No. 561

Senate, April 16, 2014

The Committee on Judiciary reported through SEN. COLEMAN of the 2nd Dist., Chairperson of the Committee on the part of the Senate, that the substitute bill ought to pass.

AN ACT CONCERNING THE POSSESSIONS OF DECEASED TENANTS.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Assembly convened:

Section 1. Section 47a-11d of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 1, 2014):

(a) If the sole occupant of a dwelling unit subject to a monthly lease or a lease for a term has died and the landlord has complied with any provisions of any such lease permitting termination upon the death of the occupant, the landlord may elect to act in accordance with the provisions of this section. If the landlord elects to act in accordance with the provisions of this section, such landlord shall send notice to the emergency contact designated by the occupant, if any, and to the next of kin of such occupant, if known, [of such occupant] at the last-known address both by regular mail, postage prepaid, and by certified mail, return receipt requested, stating that (1) the occupant has died, (2) the landlord intends to remove any possessions and personal effects remaining in the premises and to rerent the premises, [and] (3) the emergency contact or next of kin should immediately contact the landlord or probate court for information as to how to reclaim such possessions and personal effects, and (4) if [the next of kin does not reclaim] such possessions and personal effects are not reclaimed within sixty days after the date of such notice, such possessions and personal effects will be disposed of as permitted by this section. The notice shall be in clear and simple language and shall include a telephone number and a mailing address at which the landlord can be contacted and the telephone number of the probate court for the district in which the dwelling unit is located.

(b) (1) If notice is sent by the landlord [to the next of kin, if known,] as provided in subsection (a) of this section, or (2) if the occupant did not designate an emergency contact or the landlord does not know any next of kin of the occupant, the landlord shall file an affidavit with the probate court having jurisdiction concerning the possessions and personal effects of the deceased occupant. Such affidavit shall include the name and address of the deceased occupant, the date of death, the terms of the lease, and the names and addresses of the emergency contact, if any, and the next of kin, if known.

(c) If the landlord acts in accordance with the provisions of this section, the landlord shall not be required to serve a notice to quit as provided in section 47a-23 and bring a summary process action as provided in section 47a-23a to obtain possession or occupancy of the dwelling unit. Nothing in this section shall relieve a landlord from complying with the provisions of sections 47a-1 to 47a-20a, inclusive, and sections 47a-23 to 47a-42, inclusive, if the landlord knows, or reasonably should know, that the dwelling unit has not been abandoned.

(d) On or after thirty days after the date of the filing of the affidavit pursuant to subsection (b) of this section, the landlord shall inventory any possessions and personal effects of the deceased occupant in the premises and shall file a copy of such inventory with the court of probate under subsection (b) of this section. The landlord may not remove [them] such possessions and personal effects until fifteen days after such inventory is [taken] filed. Thereafter, the landlord may remove and securely store such possessions and personal effects for an additional fifteen days. [The next of kin may reclaim such possessions and personal effects from the landlord within such sixty-day period. If the next of kin does not reclaim] If such possessions and personal effects are not reclaimed by the end of such sixty-day period and the landlord has complied with the provisions of this section, the landlord may [dispose of them in accordance with section 47a-42.] obtain from the probate court having jurisdiction a certificate indicating that the landlord has filed an inventory in the court pursuant to this subsection and that sixty days have elapsed since the landlord filed the affidavit pursuant to subsection (b) of this section. The landlord may file such certificate and an application, in such form as the Chief Court Administrator prescribes, in the superior court having jurisdiction over the premises of the deceased occupant. There shall be no fee for such filing, and the clerk of such court shall open a summary process file based on the reason that the right to occupy has terminated due to the death of the named occupant. Such certificate shall be treated in the same manner as a judgment of the superior court pursuant to chapter 832 and shall have the same effect and shall be subject to the same procedures, defenses and proceedings for reopening, vacating or staying as a judgment of the superior court. After the clerk opens the summary process file and sends a notice of judgment, and after the appropriate stay of execution expires, the landlord may obtain an execution and a state marshal may remove the possessions and personal effects of such deceased occupant pursuant to such execution and deliver them to the place of storage designated for such purposes by the chief executive officer of the municipality in which the dwelling unit is located.

(e) Before the possessions and personal effects of a deceased occupant are removed pursuant to an execution issued under subsection (d) of this section, the state marshal charged with carrying out such removal shall give the chief executive officer of the municipality in which the dwelling unit is located (1) twenty-four-hours' notice of the removal, stating the date, time and location of such removal as well as a general description, if known, of the types and amount of possessions and personal effects to be removed from the premises and delivered to the designated place of storage, and (2) a copy of the inventory prepared by the landlord pursuant to subsection (d) of this section, annotated to indicate any items that have been reclaimed. Before giving such notice to the chief executive officer of the municipality, the state marshal shall use reasonable efforts to locate and notify the emergency contact, if any, and the next of kin, if known, of the date, time and location of such removal and of the possibility of a sale pursuant to this subsection. At any time prior to the actual sale of such possessions and personal effects, an executor or administrator appointed by the probate court or an individual designated by such court in accordance with section 45a-273 may reclaim such possessions and personal effects upon payment to the chief executive officer of the expense of storage. If such possessions and personal effects are not reclaimed within fifteen days after such removal and storage, the chief executive officer shall sell the same at public auction after using reasonable efforts to locate and notify the emergency contact or the next of kin, if known, of such sale and after posting notice of such sale for one week (A) on the public signpost nearest to the premises from which the possessions and personal effects were removed, or (B) at some exterior place near the office of the town clerk. The proceeds of the sale shall be applied to a reasonable charge by the municipality for the storage of such possessions and personal effects. Any remaining proceeds shall be turned over to the estate of the deceased occupant or, if no estate proceedings are commenced within thirty days after such sale, the chief executive officer shall turn over the net proceeds of the sale to the State Treasurer, who shall treat such proceeds as escheated property pursuant to part III of chapter 32.

[(e)] (f) If an application for probate of a will or letters of administration is filed with the court of probate having jurisdiction concerning the possessions and personal effects of the deceased occupant within fifty-five days of the filing of the affidavit of the landlord as provided in subsection (b) of this section, the probate court shall immediately notify the landlord of such filing and any action of the landlord pursuant to the provisions of this section shall cease.

[(f)] (g) No action shall be brought under section 47a-43 against a landlord who takes action in accordance with the provisions of this section.

The following Fiscal Impact Statement and Bill Analysis are prepared for the benefit of the members of the General Assembly, solely for purposes of information, summarization and explanation and do not represent the intent of the General Assembly or either chamber thereof for any purpose. In general, fiscal impacts are based upon a variety of informational sources, including the analyst's professional knowledge. Whenever applicable, agency data is consulted as part of the analysis, however final products do not necessarily reflect an assessment from any specific department.


OFA Fiscal Note

State Impact:

Municipal Impact: None

Explanation

The bill will result in a potential General Fund revenue gain to the degree that net proceeds from the sale of the estate of a deceased person are escheated to the state.

The Out Years

The annualized ongoing fiscal impact identified above would continue into the future subject to inflation.

OLR Bill Analysis

sSB 52

AN ACT CONCERNING THE POSSESSIONS OF DECEASED TENANTS.

SUMMARY:

This bill modifies the process landlords may use instead of an eviction action to regain possession of a rental unit after the death of the only tenant living there. The modifications include (1) providing notice to the tenant's emergency contact, as well as to his or her next of kin, and (2) a process for removing the tenant's belongings without a judgment.

By law, when the sole tenant in a rental unit dies, and the landlord has complied with any provisions in a lease permitting termination upon the tenant's death, the landlord may take specific actions to remove the deceased tenant's belongings and reclaim possession of the unit. Landlords who follow this process are protected against an action for entering a dwelling unit without consent. The bill extends this protection to landlords who follow its process.

EFFECTIVE DATE: October 1, 2014

NOTICE OF INTENT TO REMOVE POSSESSIONS

By law, landlords must send a notice to the last-known address of the deceased tenant's next of kin. The bill requires the landlord to also send a notice to the last-known address of the tenant's emergency contact, if one is designated. As under current law, the notice must (1) be sent by regular and certified mail, return receipt requested; (2) be in clear and simple language; and (3) include the landlord's telephone number and address.

Under current law, the notice must state that the (1) tenant has died, (2) landlord intends to remove his or her belongings from the rental unit and re-rent the premises, and (3) landlord will dispose of belongings not reclaimed within 60 days. The bill requires the notice to also (1) state that the emergency contact or next of kin should immediately contact the landlord or probate court for information on how to reclaim the possessions and (2) include the phone number for the probate court district in which the unit is located.

PROBATE COURT AFFIDAVIT

By law, landlords must file an affidavit with the probate court regarding the deceased tenant and his or her personal belongings. The affidavit must include the (1) deceased tenant's name and address, (2) date he or she died, (3) terms of the lease, and (4) names and addresses of any known next of kin. The bill requires the landlord to also include the emergency contact's name and address.

By law, if the court receives a request to determine the validity of a will or appoint an administrator of a decedent's estate within 55 days of the date the affidavit is filed, it must immediately notify the landlord. A landlord who receives this notice cannot dispose of the tenant's property or re-rent the dwelling unit as indicated above.

LANDLORD'S REMOVAL OF DECEASED TENANT'S PROPERTY

Under current law, no sooner than 30 days after filing the affidavit, the landlord must file an inventory of the tenant's belongings and, after another 15 days, may remove and store them for an additional 15 days. The bill specifies that the storage must be secure.

Current law allows the tenant's next of kin to reclaim the belongings within the 60-day period following the filing of the affidavit. The bill allows a person other than the next of kin (presumably the emergency contact) to reclaim the belongings during this period.

After the 60-day period, current law allows the landlord to dispose of the belongings in the same manner in which he or she would dispose of an evicted tenant's property. This requires a state marshal executing an eviction order to remove the possessions and deliver them to a town-designated storage facility for sale at public auction.

The bill instead allows the landlord, at the end of the 60-day period, to obtain from the probate court a certificate indicating that (1) he or she has filed the inventory and (2) 60 days have elapsed since the filing of the affidavit. The landlord may file, at no cost, the certificate and an application, prescribed by the chief court administrator, in the Superior Court for the district where the rental unit is located. The court clerk must use the certificate to open a summary process file based on the reason that the named tenant's right to occupy has terminated due to his or her death. The certificate must be treated in the same manner as a summary process judgment and have the same effect and be subject to the same procedures, defenses, and proceedings for reopening, vacating, or staying as the judgment.

The bill allows the landlord to execute the judgment after the (1) clerk opens the summary process file and sends a notice of judgment and (2) appropriate stay of execution expires. The landlord may do so by having a state marshal deliver the deceased tenant's possessions to a town-designated storage facility for sale at public auction.

The bill requires the state marshal executing the order to generally follow the same steps he or she would follow for removing an evicted tenant's possessions. This means he or she must attempt to notify the deceased tenant's emergency contact and next of kin of the date and time of the removal and possible sale of the property. He or she must give the chief executive officer (CEO) of the town where the rental unit is located 24 hours' notice of the removal and a general description, if known, of the property to be removed and copy of the filed inventory.

The deceased tenant's property may be reclaimed at any time before the auction by a probate court-appointed executor or administrator, after paying the town's storage expenses. If the property is not reclaimed within 15 days of its removal, the CEO can sell it at a public auction. He or she must make reasonable efforts to locate and notify the next of kin of the sale, including posting a notice (1) one week in advance of the auction on a public sign post located near the deceased tenant's rental unit or (2) at some exterior place near the town clerk's office.

Within 30 days after the auction, the CEO must turn over the proceeds to the (1) deceased tenant's estate or (2) if estate proceedings are not initiated during this period, state treasurer for deposit under the state's escheat laws.

COMMITTEE ACTION

Planning and Development Committee

Joint Favorable Substitute Change of Reference

Judiciary Committee

Joint Favorable