To deal with noncompliant landlords, state rep proposes putting properties in state’s custody until repairs are made

A public hearing will be held Tuesday in the state legislature on a proposed bill to set up a system to temporarily take over apartment complexes whose owners defy state and local health and fire codes.

HB 6784, “An Act Concerning Noncompliant Landlords,” was introduced in the Insurance and Real Estate Committee by Rep. Kerry Wood, who represents Rocky Hill and Wethersfield.

Wood said the bill was inspired by complaints by tenants of Concierge Apartments in Rocky Hill, which is just around the corner from her own home. She said for years, resident complaints about crumbling conditions have been ignored by management.

“This once-beautiful property ... has been turned into one of most horrific places a person can live,” Wood said. “These owners have no regard for their tenants or the community.”

She said she has heard complaints on other complexes statewide.

“Rocky Hill is not alone. Echoes of similar stories are haunting towns and cities across the state. Legal recourse can take years and in the meantime, tenants are put in danger,” Wood said.

According to Wood’s bill, “Upon receipt of not less than twelve claimed violations in any one calendar year submitted by tenants of the same rental housing property development, such local code enforcement officer may report such rental housing property development to the Attorney General who may submit an application for a private receivership in the superior court.”

Wood said once a receivership is established, it would last as long as it took to fix the problems at the complex.

“The receiver comes in and takes control of collecting rents. Within a month, rental income would be used to rehab the building,” Wood said. “It may take a month. It may take six months. Once the rental collection comes in, it goes right back into fixing the problem. Once it is fixed, receivership can go back to owner.”

Greg Kirschner, executive director and legal director of Connecticut Fair Housing, said a law like Wood’s would eliminate a hurdle tenants face now.

“The present existing statues pertaining to receivership have ways for tenants to attempt to get landlords to fix conditions, but they are all reliant on tenants going to court,” Kirschner said. “So creating a system where someone like the AG can address a community problem is an important tool to add to the arsenal to get landlords to meet their obligations.”

The five-building, 544-unit Concierge complex on Cold Spring Road was built in the 1970s. It has been owned since 2013 by Century Hills Property Owner LLC.

In the town’s 2021 grand list, Century Hills is listed as the top taxpayer in town, with an assessment of $41,972,350.

In May 2021, the Town of Rocky Hill and Central Connecticut Health District filed suit against Century Hills. The lawsuit alleged five violations: of building codes, of Connecticut fire safety code, of public health code, of the town’s housing standards, as well as a charge of public nuisance.

The town’s suit followed years of Concierge tenant complaints about rent and deteriorating living conditions, including hot water shutoffs, burst pipes, leaky ceilings, flaking walls, crumbling garages, broken windows, racist graffiti and dangerous usage of space heaters in the ceilings.

Wood added that Concierge tenants deal with broken pavements, broken elevators, torn rugs, pigeon infestations and black mold.

“They collect a million a month in rent and have done nothing. People are suffering,” Wood said. “It’s years and years of neglect and deferred maintenance and an unwillingness to provide a quality place to live.

“Here we are in a state housing crisis. People are desperate to find apartment rentals. This landlord is taking advantage of the situation,” she said.

Receivership, Wood said, would put the fiscal burden of fixing units on the landlord, via the rents. Wood said it will save affected towns a lot of money.

“In Rocky Hill, they are moving people to hotels. Rocky Hill is doing all this work. When the pipes burst, the town is stockpiling water for the tenants,” she said. “Taxpayers have to pay for this ... while [the landlords] are laughing all the way to the bank.”

Wood emphasized that “99.9%” of landlords in the state comply with codes and properly manage their buildings. The minority who don’t comply with codes make the bill necessary.

She added that she objects to the current drive to put a cap on rents. She believes such laws are designed to rein in the small percentage of landlords who offer substandard living conditions, but they would affect all landlords.

“I want Connecticut to have developers here building units. We are in an era that has fluctuating prices ... on construction, interest rates ... and you don’t want to cap people on what they can charge on rent,” she said. “A few bad players shouldn’t bring on laws that affect everyone.”

At a town council meeting on Feb. 21, Morris Borea, the attorney representing Rocky Hill, said that he planned to get together with Century Hills’ legal representative that coming Friday to outline a plan of action to fix the problems at Concierge.

On Monday, Borea released this statement: “We have been provided with a substantial amount of information since the Town Council meeting and the parties are diligently pursuing a resolution of the issues presented. At this time in the negotiations, we have no further comment while we cooperatively work on a global solution together instead of litigating against each other.”

Voicemails and emails left with Evan J. Seeman, the attorney for Century Hills, were not returned on Monday.

The public hearing on HB 6784 will be held at 9 a.m. in the Legislative Office Building in Hartford, Room 1B. The hearing also will be livestreamed at youtube.com/@cga-insuranceandrealestate8130/streams.

To submit written testimony before the hearing begins, visit cga.ct.gov/aspx/CGATestimonySub/CGAtestimonysubmission.aspx?comm_code=INS. To sign up to testify, visit zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_WY9wP4cVRpmFr67dDfNV9A.

Susan Dunne can be reached at sdunne@courant.com.