Breaking a lease in Connecticut

A tenant who is a victim of family violence or sexual assault, and reasonably fears imminent harm, may end the lease without penalty by giving at least 30 days' written notice. If a tenant simply leaves, the landlord must make reasonable efforts to rerent the unit at a fair rent to reduce the loss (Conn. Gen. Stat. § 47a-11e(a); Conn. Gen. Stat. § 47a-11a).

• The notice must include a sworn statement and either a police or court record dated within 90 days, or a statement from the Office of Victim Services or the Office of the Victim Advocate dated within 30 days (Conn. Gen. Stat. § 47a-11e(b)).
• The tenant still owes rent due before the termination and any damage they caused, and other tenants on the lease stay liable (Conn. Gen. Stat. § 47a-11e(c)).
• If the landlord does not try to rerent, the lease is treated as ended by the landlord on the date the landlord learned of the abandonment (Conn. Gen. Stat. § 47a-11a(b)).
• A tenant may also end the lease for the landlord's uncured breach, a wilful loss of essential services or unlawful entry (Conn. Gen. Stat. § 47a-12; Conn. Gen. Stat. § 47a-13; Conn. Gen. Stat. § 47a-18a).See Tenant repair remedies on the Connecticut page

If the landlord materially breaks the lease or a health and safety duty, the tenant may give written notice; if the problem is not fixed within 15 days, a lease longer than one month ends. If the landlord fails to supply heat, water, hot water, electricity, gas or another essential service, the tenant may buy it and deduct the cost from rent, or move to substitute housing while rent abates (Conn. Gen. Stat. § 47a-12; Conn. Gen. Stat. § 47a-13; Conn. Gen. Stat. § 47a-14h).

• Substitute housing is available if the service is not restored within 48 hours, or at once if the same failure recurs within six months. If the failure is wilful, the tenant may end the lease and recover up to two months' rent or double actual damages, whichever is greater, plus attorney's fees (Conn. Gen. Stat. § 47a-13(a), (b)).
• If substantially the same breach recurs within six months, the tenant may end the lease on at least 14 days' written notice (Conn. Gen. Stat. § 47a-12(a)).
• A tenant may sue in the housing court to enforce repairs after complaining to the local code agency at least 21 days earlier, and then pays rent to the court clerk while the case runs. No eviction for nonpayment may proceed while the clerk holds the rent (Conn. Gen. Stat. § 47a-14h(a), (b), (h)).
• None of these remedies arise for a condition the tenant, their family or guests caused wilfully or negligently (Conn. Gen. Stat. § 47a-12(b); Conn. Gen. Stat. § 47a-13(c)).

Connecticut has no statute that sets a general rule on subletting a home. The lease controls, so state in it whether the tenant needs your written consent (Conn. Gen. Stat. chapter 830 (rights and responsibilities of landlord and tenant)).

• The landlord-tenant chapter defines landlord to include a sublessor and tenant to include a sublessee (Conn. Gen. Stat. § 47a-1).
• For the security deposit rules, a tenant who sublets the home counts as a landlord (Conn. Gen. Stat. § 47a-21(a)(7)).

A tenancy without a fixed term is month to month, or week to week when rent is paid weekly. To end it, the landlord serves a notice to quit that gives at least three days before the quit date. This page did not find a longer notice period for ending a month-to-month tenancy, but not every section of the eviction chapter was read (Conn. Gen. Stat. § 47a-3b; Conn. Gen. Stat. § 47a-23(a)).

• Staying after a lease ends is not by itself evidence of a new lease (Conn. Gen. Stat. § 47a-3d).
• A tenant 62 or older, or with a qualifying disability, in a building or complex of five or more units can be evicted only for listed good causes, such as nonpayment or a material violation (Conn. Gen. Stat. § 47a-23c(a), (b)).See Eviction process on the Connecticut page

Return the deposit with its accrued interest within 21 days after the tenancy ends, or within 15 days after receiving the tenant's forwarding address in writing, whichever is later. If you keep any part for damages, send the balance with a written statement itemizing the nature and amount of each deduction (Conn. Gen. Stat. § 47a-21(d)).

• Deductions are limited to the tenant's obligations: unpaid rent or utility payments owed to the landlord, damage from the tenant's breach of their statutory duties, and the reasonable cost of a lock change the tenant asked for under the protective order section and did not pay (Conn. Gen. Stat. § 47a-21(a)(14), (d)(2)).
• A landlord who breaks these rules is liable for twice the amount of the deposit. If the only failure is the interest, the liability is $10 or twice the interest, whichever is greater (Conn. Gen. Stat. § 47a-21(d)(2)).
• A landlord who knowingly and wilfully fails to pay a deposit when due can be fined up to $250 per offense, unless the landlord believed in good faith that the deductions were owed (Conn. Gen. Stat. § 47a-21(k)(1)).
• You may not keep any part of the deposit for a condition noted on a move-in walk-through checklist (Conn. Gen. Stat. § 47a-7c(b)).See Move-in condition on the Connecticut page
• In small claims, a judge may award the double damages on a deposit claim even when the total exceeds the $5,000 small claims limit (Conn. Gen. Stat. § 51-15(d)).See Small claims court on the Connecticut page