Connecticut HB 5360: AN ACT CONCERNING DOMESTIC VIOLENCE AND TENANT SCREENING.

Bill Text

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General Assembly Substitute Bill No. 5360
February Session, 2026

AN ACT CONCERNING DOMESTIC VIOLENCE AND TENANT
SCREENING.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General
Assembly convened:

Section 1. Section 47a-4d of the general statutes is repealed and the 1
following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 1, 2026): 2
(a) As used in this section, "tenant screening report" means a credit 3
report, a criminal background report, an employment history report, a 4
rental history report or any combination thereof, used by a landlord to 5
determine the suitability of a prospective tenant. 6
(b) No landlord may demand from a prospective tenant any 7
payment, fee or charge for the processing, review or acceptance of any 8
rental application, or demand any other payment, fee or charge before 9
or at the beginning of the tenancy, except a security deposit pursuant to 10
section 47a-21, advance payment for the first month's rent or a deposit 11
for a key or any special equipment, or a fee for a tenant screening report 12
as provided in subsection (c) of this section. No landlord may charge a 13
tenant a move-in or move-out fee. 14
(c) On and after October 1, 2023, a landlord may charge a fee not 15
exceeding fifty dollars plus an adjustment reflecting any increase in the 16
consumer price index for urban consumers, as determined by the 17
Commissioner of Housing on an annual basis, for a tenant screening 18
report concerning a prospective tenant. 19

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(d) A landlord that charges a fee for a tenant screening report 20
concerning a prospective tenant shall provide the prospective tenant 21
with (1) a copy of the tenant screening report or, if the landlord is 22
prohibited from providing such a copy, information concerning such 23
report that would allow such tenant to request a copy of such report 24
from the service provider that produced such report, and (2) a copy of 25
the receipt or invoice from the entity conducting the tenant screening 26
report concerning the prospective tenant. 27
(e) A landlord shall not deny an application for rental housing on the 28
basis of credit history if the applicant is a victim of domestic violence, as 29
defined in section 46b-1. In order to establish the applicant's status as a 30
victim of domestic violence, an applicant may submit to the landlord (1) 31
a letter from a domestic violence counselor or sexual assault counselor, 32
as such terms are defined in section 52-146k, a housing counselor 33
certified by the United States Department of Housing and Urban 34
Development or an attorney representing the applicant; (2) a police 35
report; or (3) an order of protection issued pursuant to section 46b-15, 36
46b-16a, 46b-38c, 53a-40e or 54-1k in which the applicant is named as a 37
protected person and that is in effect at the time such tenant screening 38
report is issued. Any landlord who violates the provisions of this 39
subsection shall pay the applicant actual damages, including all 40
amounts paid to the landlord as an application fee, application deposit 41
or reimbursement for any of the landlord's out-of-pocket expenses that 42
were charged to the applicant, along with attorney's fees. 43
This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following
sections:

Section 1 October 1, 2026 47a-4d

Statement of Legislative Commissioners:
In Subsec. (e)(1), "counselor" was inserted after "domestic violence",
and "such terms are" was inserted before "defined", and in Subsec.
(e)(3), "order" was changed to "order of protection" and "in which the
applicant is named as a protected person " was added for clarity and
statutory consistency.

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HSG Joint Favorable Subst. -LCO