COVID-19 FAQs for Renters: Evictions, Lockouts, & Leases
Updates as of September 4, 2020 – you can also check jud.ct.gov and the Center’s COVID-19 Updates for the most up-to-date information.
- If you cannot pay rent due to circumstances related to the COVID-19 emergency, your landlord cannot serve papers to start a new eviction case for nonpayment of rent until January 1, 2021. This means your landlord is NOT permitted to send you a Notice to Quit or start an eviction (summary process) case against you in housing court until January 1, 2021. A Notice to Quit is a court form that tells you when you must move out and the reason for the eviction.
- There are a few exceptions to the freeze of evictions: landlords can still file an eviction for non-payment of rent before February 29, 2020, for owing 6 or more months’ worth of rent that was due on or after March 1, 2020, for serious nuisance, such as physically harming another tenant or the landlord, or if the landlord wants to use the property as their main residence after the current lease expires.
- The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has also issued a temporary freeze on evictions nationwide from September 4 – December 31, 2020. This means your landlord cannot evict you for not paying rent or other charges such as late fees, if you meet the requirements listed below. This freeze on eviction is not automatic. Each adult in your household must sign a copy of this declaration and give it your landlord. Please be sure to keep a copy of the declaration you give to your landlord.
- The declaration says:
- Your total income for 2020 will be less than $99,000 (or $198,000 for 2 adults), you received a stimulus check, or you did not have to pay income tax in 2019;
- You cannot pay your full rent because you lost income or you have very high medical bills;
- You or the people in your household will become homeless or forced to live in crowded conditions in someone else’s home if you are evicted;
- You promise to pay as much of your rent as possible on time; and
- You have made your best effort to apply for any available governmental rent and housing assistance. (Note: Call 211 to find out if there is any rent or housing assistance available).
- You can find more information about the CDC eviction moratorium here.
- If you already went to court and lost your eviction case, a marshal cannot physically remove you and your belongings until September 1, 2020 at the earliest.
- You can also find more information about how to deal with evictions or lockouts here.
- If your landlord sends you a Notice to Quit or tells you have to move out, and you have questions, you can call Statewide Legal Services at (800) 453-3320.
- Your landlord cannot evict you until January 1, 2021. This means your landlord is not permitted to send you a Notice to Quit or start an eviction (summary process) case against you in housing court until January 1, 2021.
- For exceptions to this freeze on evictions, please see the above question.
- Before your landlord can evict you, they must give you a Notice to Quit, file an eviction case in court (Summary Process), and get a court judgment.
- Your landlord is not allowed to take your things or remove you, even if you owe rent, until they win their eviction case in court.
- If you received a Notice to Quit before the Governor’s Executive Order No 7X went into effect on April 10, 2020, that Notice to Quit will not go into effect until after September 1, 2020.
- If you have questions about how to respond to an eviction notice, you should seek legal advice immediately. You can call Statewide Legal Services at (800) 453-3320 and find more information about how to deal with evictions or lockouts here.
- If you have an eviction case in court now, you should sign up for email alerts about your case. The court should also mail you a notice if something happens in your case.
- If you have an eviction case in court now, you should sign up for email alerts about your case. If you have filed an appearance, the court should also mail you a notice if something happens in your case.
- If you already have a judgment entered against you in court, you cannot be removed by a marshal until at least September 1, 2020.
- It is illegal for your landlord to change your locks or lock you out.
- Your landlord is not allowed to take your things or remove you, even if you owe rent, until they win their eviction case in court.
- If your landlord changes your locks or physically stops your from entering your home, you should call the police and immediately call Statewide Legal Services at (800) 453-3320 for legal help dealing with the lockout.
- The court is still open to hear unlawful lockout cases.
- You can ask your landlord to renew your lease and continue to pay rent. You should put in writing any agreement your landlord makes with you. You can use a letter or an e-mail to your landlord to document your agreement. It is important to keep a copy of any letters or messages exchanged.
- If your landlord refuses to renew your lease and you are able to move WITHOUT endangering your health or causing harm to other people, you can move out when your lease expires.
- If your landlord refuses to renew your lease and you are NOT ABLE to find alternative safe, healthy, and permanent housing at this time, you do not need to move immediately. The Governor’s orders prevent the landlord from sending you a Notice to Quit or beginning a new eviction process against you in court until October 1, 2020.
- Everyone in Connecticut should follow the Governor’s Executive Order for all Connecticut residents to “Stay Safe, Stay Home.” This means all members of each household should not interact with individuals outside of the household unless for essential needs such as food, medicine, medical care or exercise and when doing so to maintain a physical distance of more than 6 feet from others.
- A landlord can advise renters to self-quarantine for 14 days if they are coming from areas with widespread community transmission or if they’ve had contact with someone who tested positive for or experienced symptoms of COVID-19.
- Guidance on how to self-quarantine can be found at: https://portal.ct.gov/Coronavirus. For additional tips from the CDC on how to prevent the spread of COVID-19, visit: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-nCoV/index.html.
- If you pay rent in cash, you can still ask your landlord to provide a written, signed notice (a paper receipt or e-mail) acknowledging they received the rent payment, the amount of the payment, and date of the payment. NOTE: A money order is not a receipt that your landlord has received your rent.
- You can also send a written note to your landlord with your payment, saying you are sending them the rent payment, with the amount of rent and the payment date written on the note
- Be sure to keep a copy of any written communication between you and your landlord.
- If you make any alternate rent payment arrangements with your landlord during the COVID-19 health emergency, you should put the new agreement in writing.
- If your landlord makes a verbal agreement with you, be sure to write them a letter confirming the agreement and keep a copy of the letter.
- When you write a letter to your landlord, clearly say what you both agreed to, date the letter, and include details such as the amount of each installment and if there will be any late fees charged for paying in installments.
- Be sure to keep a copy of any written communication between you and your landlord.