Connecticut 2026 Session Status: In Committee 1 R cosponsors

HB 5359 — AN ACT CONCERNING PROVISIONS IN RESIDENTIAL RENTAL AGREEMENTS.

Last action — FILE NO. 143

  1. ✓
    Introduced
  2. 2
    In Committee
  3. 3
    Passed House
  4. 4
    Passed Senate
  5. 5
    To Executive
  6. 6
    Enacted

This bill is in committee in the House. Introduced February 26, 2026. It must pass committee before a floor vote.

Next likely step: a committee vote, then a floor vote in the House.

Odds of enactment

Low chance

Based on the sponsor, cosponsors, and committee posture, this bill has a low chance of becoming law.

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A statistical estimate from our own model of past outcomes — an insight, not a guarantee. Policymaking is volatile.

Prognosis

Stalled 16% · moderate confidence

  • In Committee

    Current position in the legislative process.

  • 1 sponsor

    1 primary, 0 co-sponsors signed on.

  • Single-party support

    Sponsorship is currently within one party (1 R).

Based on stage, sponsorship breadth, committee status, recorded votes, and cross-state momentum — a description of the observable signals, not a prediction.

Bill Text

What changed in the latest version

112 added · 9 removed

Plain-language change summary

The amendment to Bill HB 5359 reflects a cleanup of the document by adding information about the committee's report and removing redundant sections. This helps clarify who is supporting the bill and ensures it is easier for lawmakers to understand its context. Clearer language and information can lead to more informed decisions on the bill, making it an important update for the legislative process.

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General Assembly Substitute Bill No.
House of Representatives General Assembly File No.
5359 February Session, 2026 AN ACT CONCERNING PROVISIONS IN RESIDENTIAL RENTAL AGREEMENTS.
143 February Session, 2026 Substitute House Bill No.
5359 House of Representatives, March 24, 2026 The Committee on Housing reported through REP.
FELIPE of the 130th Dist., Chairperson of the Committee on the part of the House, that the substitute bill ought to pass.
AN ACT CONCERNING PROVISIONS IN RESIDENTIAL RENTAL AGREEMENTS.
For any lease or rental agreement entered into or renewed on or after October 1, 2026, every landlord of residential real property shall provide at least one method for the payment of rent that can be made by the tenant at no additional fee.
For any lease or rental agreement entered into or renewed on or after October 1, 2026, every landlord of residential real property sHB5359 / File No.
143 1 sHB5359 File No.
143 shall provide at least one method for the payment of rent that can be made by the tenant at no additional fee.
Subsection (a) of section 47a-4 of the general statutes is repealed andthefollowing issubstituted inlieuthereof(EffectiveOctober 1, 2026, and applicable to rental agreements entered into or renewed on or after LCO 1 of 4 Substitute Bill No.
Subsection (a) of section 47a-4 of the general statutes is repealed andthefollowing issubstituted inlieuthereof(EffectiveOctober 1, 2026, and applicable to rental agreements entered into or renewed on or after October 1, 2026):
5359 October 1, 2026):
Subsections (c) and (d) of section 47a-7d of the 2026 supplement to the general statutes are repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective from passage and applicable to rental agreements entered into or renewed on or after October 1, 2026):
Subsections (c) and (d) of section 47a-7d of the 2026 sHB5359 / File No.
(c) Not later than January 1, 2026, the Department of Housing shall publish, on the department's Internet web site, a standardized rental LCO 2 of 4 Substitute Bill No.
143 2 sHB5359 File No.
5359 terms summary form, and, not later than July 1, 2026, the department shall publish, on its Internet web site, an updated version of such form consistent with the provisions of this subsection.
143 supplement to the general statutes are repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective from passage and applicable to rental agreements entered into or renewed on or after October 1, 2026):
(c) Not later than January 1, 2026, the Department of Housing shall publish, on the department's Internet web site, a standardized rental terms summary form, and, not later than July 1, 2026, the department shall publish, on its Internet web site, an updated version of such form consistent with the provisions of this subsection.
Section 1 October 1, 2026, and 47a-4c applicable to rental agreements entered into or renewed on or after October 1, 2026 Sec.
Section 1 October 1, 2026, and 47a-4c applicable to rental agreements entered into or renewed on or after October 1, 2026 sHB5359 / File No.
2 October 1, 2026, and 47a-4(a) applicable to rental agreements entered into or renewed on or after October 1, 2026 LCO 3 of 4 Substitute Bill No.
143 3 sHB5359 File No.
5359 Sec.
143 Sec.
2 October 1, 2026, and 47a-4(a) applicable to rental agreements entered into or renewed on or after October 1, 2026 Sec.
-LCO LCO 4 of 4
-LCO sHB5359 / File No.
143 4 sHB5359 File No.
143 The following Fiscal Impact Statement and Bill Analysis are prepared for the benefit of the members of the General Assembly, solely for purposes of information, summarization and explanation and do not represent the intent of the General Assembly or either chamber thereof for any purpose.
In general, fiscal impacts are based upon a variety of informational sources, including the analyst’s professional knowledge.
Whenever applicable, agency data is consulted as part of the analysis, however final products do not necessarily reflect an assessment from any specific department.
OFA Fiscal Note State Impact:
None Municipal Impact:
None Explanation The bill, which makes various changes to allowable provisions in rental agreements and requires the Department of Housing (DOH) to update a form, is not anticipated to result in a fiscal impact.
The state is not a direct residential landlord, and DOH has the expertise to meet the requirements of the bill.
The Out Years State Impact:
None Municipal Impact:
None sHB5359 / File No.
143 5 sHB5359 File No.
143 OLR Bill Analysis sHB 5359 AN ACT CONCERNING PROVISIONS IN RESIDENTIAL RENTAL AGREEMENTS.
SUMMARY This bill makes several changes in residential landlord-tenant laws, which apply to rental agreements entered into or renewed on or after October 1, 2026.
First, the bill requires landlords to offer tenants at least one rent payment method that does not require an additional fee.
(This prohibits landlords, for example, from requiring tenants to only pay their rent through an online system with additional processing fees.) Existing law prohibits landlords from exclusively requiring electronic funds transfers for rent or security deposit payments.
The bill also prohibits rental agreements from requiring that tenants pay (1) increased rent or other specific payments for a period after the rentalagreementexpires(forexample,holdoverfees)or(2)ahigherrent for breaching the rental agreement, if the tenant is paying a reduced rental rate (such as certain concession clauses or addendums).
By law, statutorily prohibited rental agreement provisions are unenforceable.
Lastly, the bill requires the Department of Housing (DOH), by July 1, 2026, to publish on its website an updated version of the standardized rental terms summary form (DOH was required to post the original form by January 1, 2026).
The updated form must additionally have a section for landlords to include the amount (if any) of late rental payment fees that a tenant will be charged after the law’s grace period, under the rental agreement and according to the law on maximum late fees (see BACKGROUND — Late Fees).
sHB5359 / File No.
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143 6 sHB5359 File No.
143 By law, starting April 1, 2026, landlords must include the completed form as the first page of any written rental agreement.
Starting October 1, 2026, the bill requires written rental agreements entered into or renewed on or after this date to include the updated version of the form.
Asunder existing law, landlordswho failto do so are liableto thetenant for a civil penalty equal to one month’s rent (and the court may award reasonable attorney’s fees and costs to the tenant).
Under existing law and the bill, DOH’s rental terms summary form includes certain other fields for landlords to complete with the key terms of a rental agreement (the agreement term, landlord’s name, property management contact, tenant names, and total periodic rent based on existing rental price disclosure requirements) (see BACKGROUND — Rental Prices).
EFFECTIVE DATE:
October 1, 2026, and applicable to rental agreements entered into or renewed on or after this date, except the provision requiring DOH to update its rental terms summary form is effective upon passage.
BACKGROUND Late Fees By law, if a rental agreement requires tenants to pay a late charge for overdue rent, it must give them a nine-day grace period (or four days for week-to-week tenancies) before imposing the charge.
If a rental agreement contains a valid written agreement to pay late charges after the grace period, the charges may not exceed the lesser of (1) $5 per day, up to a $50 maximum, or (2) 5% of the overdue rent (or 5% of the tenant’s share for rental agreements that are partially paid by a government or charitable entity).
Landlords are prohibited from assessing more than one late charge on an overdue rent payment, regardless of how late it is.
Rental Prices With certain exceptions, existing law generally requires a landlord advertising, displaying, or offering a dwelling unit for rent to include sHB5359 / File No.
143 7 sHB5359 File No.
143 any periodic fee, charge, or cost that the tenant must pay in the advertised, displayed, or offered rent.
Any monthly default fee, charge, or cost to the tenant must also be prorated and included in the advertised, displayed, or offered rent, regardless of whether the tenant may opt out.
Related Bill sSB 335, reported favorably by the Housing Committee, prohibits residential rental agreements from requiring that tenants pay for utilities if there is no separate meter used to measure utilities delivered exclusively to the tenant’s dwelling unit.
COMMITTEE ACTION Housing Committee Joint Favorable Yea 13 Nay 6 (03/10/2026) sHB5359 / File No.
143 8
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Action History

  1. FILE NO. 143

  2. HOUSE CALENDAR NUMBER 123

  3. FAV. RPT., TABLED FOR HOUSE CALENDAR

  4. RPTD. OUT OF LCO

  5. REFERRED TO Office of Legislative Research AND Office of Fiscal Analysis 03/23/26

  6. FILED WITH LCO

  7. Joint Favorable

  8. PUBLIC HEARING 0303

  9. REF. TO JOINT COMM. ON Housing

Sponsors

Sponsorship breakdown

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1 sponsors · 0 co-sponsors · 186 not signed on

Sponsors (1)

Co-sponsors (0)

None.

Not signed on (186)

186 members have not signed on to this bill.

Show all 186 →

"Not signed on" means a member has not sponsored or co-sponsored this bill — it does not imply opposition. Members flagged Voted No have a recorded No vote on this bill.

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Subjects

housing
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Frequently asked questions

Who sponsors HB 5359?
HB 5359 is sponsored by Paul Cicarella (Republican).
What is the current status of HB 5359?
This bill is in committee in the House. Introduced February 26, 2026. It must pass committee before a floor vote.
Where can I track HB 5359?
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