Hartford Allocates $2M To Help Renters' Living Conditions

Press release from the Hartford County Government:

HARTFORD, CT — City leaders have pledged spending nearly $2 million to try and ensure living conditions for renters get better.

On Dec. 22, Hartford Mayor Luke Bronin, alongside members of the Hartford City Council and the Greater Hartford Legal Aid, announced the City of Hartford has allocated $1.95 million in funding to improve rental housing conditions in Hartford and to support tenants.

The initiatives were proposed by Bronin and unanimously approved by the council in late November and aim to address concerns regarding housing code enforcement.

Of this funding, $750,000 will be allocated over three years to Greater Hartford Legal Aid to support free legal representation for tenants involved in landlord-tenant disputes regarding housing quality.

This funding will help the Greater Hartford Legal Aid expand its advocacy for city residents in housing-condition legal cases, while also increasing its community engagement and outreach capacity so residents have the resources they need to address potential housing code violations.

Another $1 million will be allocated toward an innovative Revolving Fund for Emergency Housing Repairs, to fund urgent repairs necessary to protect the health and safety of tenants.

This funding will be allocated to the most extreme cases, when housing conditions present an imminent health or safety issue to children, seniors or disabled residents, allowing the city to hire contractors to immediately make those critical repairs and keep residents safe.

The landlord of the property will be required to pay the cost of repairs back to the city in the following tax bill.

The final $200,000 will be used to hire an additional two housing inspectors and two housing code enforcement administrative assistants.

The city has been budgeting for additional housing inspectors year over year and this new allotment brings the city to a total of 13 housing inspector positions, compared to just five budgeted in FY2020.

"The funds that we’ve allocated here today are designed to protect tenants of properties where property owners are not providing the safe, sanitary, healthy living environments that every resident deserves," said Bronin.

"In a city where most of our residents are renters, these initiatives will provide us with tools to help protect tenants and hold landlords accountable when they don’t hold up their end of the bargain. I’m grateful both to City Council and the Greater Hartford Legal Aid for their partnership in approving and supporting these important measures."

These programs are made possible by a combination of the city’s previously unbudgeted Municipal Revenue Sharing Account funds as well as unexpended American Rescue Plan dollars.

This press release was produced by the Hartford County Government. The views expressed here are the author’s own.