Connecticut Late Fees, Termination for Nonpayment of Rent, and Other Rent Rules

Your lease or rental agreement should spell out your landlord's key rent rules, including:

• the amount of rent
• where rent is due (such as by mail to the landlord's business address)
• when rent is due (including what happens if the rent due date falls on a weekend date or holiday)
• how rent should be paid (usually check, money order, cash, and/or credit card)
• the amount of notice landlords must provide to increase rent
• the amount of any extra fee if your rent check bounces, and
• the consequences of paying rent late, including late fees and termination of the tenancy.

State laws in Connecticut cover several of these rent-related issues, including limits on late fees, the amount of notice a landlord must provide to increase rent under a month-to-month tenancy, and how much time a tenant has to pay rent or move before a landlord can file for eviction.

Connecticut Rules on Late Fees

Rent is legally due on the date specified in your lease or rental agreement (usually the first of the month). If you don't pay rent when it is due, the landlord may begin charging you a late fee. Under Connecticut law, landlords may not charge a late fee until nine days after rent is due.

Amount of Notice Connecticut Landlords Must Give Tenants to Increase Rent

Connecticut landlords are not required to give a particular amount of notice of a proposed rent increase unless prior notice was previously agreed upon. Tenants may challenge a rent they believe is excessive. If you have a long-term lease, landlords may not increase the rent until the lease ends and a new tenancy begins—unless the lease itself provides for an increase.

Rent Increases as Retaliation or Discrimination

Connecticut landlords may not raise the rent in a discriminatory manner—for example, only for members of a certain race. Also, Connecticut landlords may not use a rent increase in retaliation against you for exercising a legal right—for example, in response to your legitimate complaint to a local housing agency about a broken heater.

Connecticut State Laws on Termination for Nonpayment of Rent

States set specific rules and procedures for ending a tenancy when a tenant has not paid the rent. Connecticut landlords must give tenants at least nine days in which to pay the rent or move. If the tenant does neither, the landlord can file for eviction.

Connecticut Guide to Tenant Rights

For an overview of tenant rights when it comes to paying rent under Connecticut landlord-tenant law, see http://www.jud.state.ct.us/Publications/hm031.pdf.

Connecticut State Laws on Late Fees, Termination for Nonpayment of Rent, and Other Rent-Related Issues

Here's where to find Connecticut state law on rent-related issues:

State rent rules and procedures on issues such as late fees and raising rent: Conn. Gen. Stat. Ann. §§ 47a-3a and 47a-4(a)(8) 47a-15a.

Connecticut law giving tenants the right to challenge rent they believe is excessive: Conn. Gen. Stat. Ann. §§  7-148b and following.

Connecticut laws on termination for nonpayment of rent: Conn. Gen. Stat. §§ 47a-23 and 47a-15a.

See the Laws and Legal Research section of Nolo for advice on finding and reading statutes and court decisions.