The Connecticut residential lease agreement (rental agreement) is a written document outlining the terms and conditions between a landlord and tenant to rent real property for a fee. Once endorsed by the landlord and the tenant, the agreement becomes legally binding.
The below disclosures are required for some or all residential lease agreements in Connecticut.
Applicable to all rental units in Connecticut.
Creates a line of communication for important notices and demands between tenant and landlord. Landlords or any authorized individuals who act on behalf of the property should provide contact information (including their address) within or alongside the lease. This information should be provided to the tenant on or before the commencement of the tenancy. [1]
Applicable to all rental units located in a common interest community in Connecticut.
If a rental property is located in a common interest community (where the tenant pays fees for shared amenities), this must be disclosed in the rental agreement. [2]
The below notice is an example of sufficient disclosure:
NOTICE OF COMMON INTEREST COMMUNITY. This property is located in a common interest community, which means that the Tenant may be subjected to fees associated with the support of common interests such as amenities.
Download: Connecticut Notice of Common Interest Community Disclosure Form (PDF)
Applicable to all rental units that require a fire sprinkler system in Connecticut.
All rental dwellings that require a fire sprinkler system pursuant to the State Fire Safety Code or the Sate Fire Prevention Code in Connecticut must include a notice informing the tenant if the property has a functioning operative fire sprinkler system.
The notice must be written in 12-point, boldface and uniform font. If there is a system in place, the lease must include the maintenance/inspection history. [3]
Download: Connecticut Operative Fire Sprinkler Disclosure Form (PDF)
Applicable to all units in Connecticut.
Landlords may not offer a unit for rent that has a bedbug infestation or a potential infestation. If there is an adjacent or contiguous property that has bed bugs, the landlord must provide a notice of the infestation. Upon a tenants request, the landlord must disclose the last date of inspection for bed bugs. [4]
An example of a bed bug addendum or section would be:
BED BUGS. At the time of presenting this agreement, Landlord certifies:
[ ] No known current infestation or history of bed bugs in this property.[ ] There is no known current infestation, but there is a history of infestation in this property.[ ] No known current infestation, but there is a nearby infestation or history of infestations which may place the property at risk.
See attached addendum for more information.Addendum
Download: Connecticut Bed Bug Disclosure Form (PDF)
Applicable to any rental units built prior to 1978.
It is a federal law in the United States that any home built prior to 1978 must disclose the risks posed by lead-based paints. Paint, paint chips or dust may cause lead-based paint exposure. This law requires landlords in Connecticut to:
Download: Connecticut Lead-Based Paint Disclosure Form (PDF)
The below lease agreement disclosures and addendums are not required by Connecticut law. These disclosures can be helpful to include to help reduce future conflicts with tenants or reduce legal liability for landlords.
Disclosures outline the important health, safety and property information and vary by state. If a landlord does not provide the tenant with the federally or state mandated disclosures, they could face legal repercussions or monetary penalties.
In Connecticut, a landlord who fails to comply with the bed bug disclosure can face monetary penalties. A landlord can be found to be liable to the tenant for attorneys fees and may be liable to pay $250 or the tenants actual damages, whichever is greater. (House Bill No. 5335, Public Act 16-51)
If a landlord fails to disclose the lead-based paint hazard disclosure, they can face fines up to $18,364 per violation. (24 CFR 30.65)
Its best to check with your local laws on which disclosures are required to provide to your tenant.
(a) It is the duty of the landlord or an agent authorized by him, or any successor landlord or such successors agent to notify the tenant in writing, on or before the commencement of the tenancy, or in the case of a successor at the time of such succession, of the name and address of (1) the person authorized to manage the premises and (2) the person who is authorized to receive all notices, demands and service of process. Such name and address shall be kept current
Whenever a dwelling unit in a common interest community is rented from a declarant, successor declarant or person acting on the declarants or successor declarants behalf, such declarant, successor declarant or person shall, prior to entering into a rental agreement, provide the tenant with a written notice that the dwelling unit is located in a common interest community
(b) When renting any dwelling unit, the landlord of such dwelling unit shall include notice in the rental agreement as to the existence or nonexistence of an operative fire sprinkler system in such dwelling unit and shall be printed in not less than twelve-point boldface type of uniform font.
(c) If there is an operative fire sprinkler system in the dwelling unit, the rental agreement shall provide further notice as to the last date of maintenance and inspection and shall be printed in not less than twelve-point boldface type of uniform font
(c) No landlord shall offer for rent a dwelling unit that the landlord knows or reasonably suspects is infested with bed bugs. Before renting a dwelling unit, a landlord shall disclose to a prospective tenant whether the unit the landlord is offering for rent or any contiguous unit of which the landlord is an owner, lessor or sublessor is currently infested with bed bugs. Upon request from a tenant or prospective tenant, a landlord shall disclose the last date on which the dwelling unit being rented or offered for rent was inspected for, and found to be free of, a bed bug infestation
If rent is unpaid when due and the tenant fails to pay rent within nine days thereafter or, in the case of a one-week tenancy, within four days thereafter, the landlord may terminate the rental agreement in accordance with the provisions of sections 47a-23 to 47a-23b, inclusive.
(from CT Gen Stat 47a-4 (2019))(8) agrees to pay a late charge prior to the expiration of the grace period set forth in section 47a-15a or to pay rent in a reduced amount if such rent is paid prior to the expiration of such grace period
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Connecticut Lease Agreement (Free) | 2022 Official | PDF & Word