Connecticut quietly rewrote its rental rulebook three years running: late fees got a statutory cap in 2023, the deposit-return window shrank from 30 days to 21, and since October 2024 every rent increase needs 45 days' written warning. If your lease template predates 2023, parts of it are probably unenforceable. Here's the current state of play, cited to the General Statutes.

The 60-second Connecticut compliance check

  • Security deposit cap: two months' rent, one month if the tenant is 62 or older (Conn. Gen. Stat. § 47a-21).
  • Deposit return: 21 days after the tenancy ends, or 15 days after you receive a written forwarding address, whichever is later; violations cost twice the deposit (§ 47a-21(d)).
  • Deposits sit in an escrow account and earn interest at the Banking Commissioner's published rate, 0.49% for 2026 (§ 47a-21).
  • Grace period before any late fee: 9 days for month-to-month or longer terms, 4 days for week-to-week (§ 47a-15a).
  • Late fee cap: the lesser of $5 per day up to $50, or 5% of the overdue rent, once per late payment (§ 47a-15a, PA 23-67).
  • Rent increases: at least 45 days' written notice (PA 24-143, effective October 1, 2024).
  • Eviction starts with a notice to quit of at least 3 days (§ 47a-23); curable lease violations first get a 15-day notice to remedy (§ 47a-15).
  • Tenants who are 62+, blind, or disabled in buildings of five or more units can only be evicted for cause (§ 47a-23c).

Deposits: two months, an escrow account, and real interest math

The cap is two months' rent, dropping to one month the day your tenant turns 62; if a 62-year-old asks for the excess back mid-tenancy, you owe it (Conn. Gen. Stat. § 47a-21). Deposits aren't your money to park in the operating account. They go into an escrow account at a financial institution, and they accrue interest at the average commercial-bank savings rate the Banking Commissioner publishes each year (0.49% for 2026), credited or paid on each tenancy anniversary.

At move-out you have 21 days, or 15 days from receiving the tenant's written forwarding address if that lands later, to deliver the balance plus accrued interest with an itemized statement of damages. Blow the deadline or withhold wrongfully and the statute makes you liable for twice the deposit. Deductions are limited to actual damages like unpaid rent and harm beyond normal wear. Compare Massachusetts, where the deposit rules are even less forgiving (treble damages) but the return window runs 30 days.

Rent, late fees, and the 45-day increase notice

Connecticut has no statewide rent cap. What it has instead: a 45-day written notice requirement for any increase (PA 24-143), and fair rent commissions with power to roll back "harsh and unconscionable" rents. Every town over 25,000 residents has had to run one since 2023, and the housing law signed November 26, 2025 (HB 8002) extends the mandate to towns of 15,000 or more. A silent tenant hasn't accepted your increase, and you can't raise rent mid-lease at all.

Late fees follow a formula, not your lease's imagination. Rent isn't late until day 10 for monthly tenancies (day 5 for week-to-week), and the fee maxes out at the lesser of $5 per day capped at $50, or 5% of the delinquent amount (§ 47a-15a). One fee per late payment, period. On $1,500 rent, 5% is $75, so the $50 daily-cap branch controls; on $800 rent, the 5% branch caps you at $40. Neighboring Maine runs a 15-day grace period with a 4% cap, and New Hampshire has no statutory late-fee cap at all, so the three-state border makes a nice study in contrasts.

Entry: "reasonable" is the whole rule

Connecticut skipped the fixed hour counts other states use. You may enter to inspect, make repairs, supply agreed services, or show the unit to buyers or prospective tenants, but only after giving reasonable written or oral notice and only at reasonable times; the tenant can't unreasonably refuse (Conn. Gen. Stat. § 47a-16). No notice is needed in a genuine emergency. In practice, 24 hours' notice during daytime hours is the standard courts and fair-housing agencies treat as reasonable. Put your entry protocol in the lease so "reasonable" has a number both sides agreed to, and keep a copy of every notice; if a dispute lands in housing court, the paper trail is what proves you behaved reasonably.

Evictions run through summary process, and the clock is short

For nonpayment, wait out the grace period first; serving papers early invalidates them. Then comes the notice to quit, giving at least 3 full days to move (§ 47a-23). If the tenant stays, you file a summary process action in housing court. Connecticut's notice is among the shortest in the country, but the court phase, not the notice, is where the time goes.

Curable lease violations work differently: a 15-day notice to remedy under § 47a-15 (the "Kapa notice") comes first, and only if the breach isn't cured do you serve the notice to quit. Serious nuisance skips the cure step. Month-to-month tenancies end by lapse of time with a notice to quit, but remember the protected class: tenants 62 or older, blind, or with a disability in buildings of five or more units can't be non-renewed without cause (§ 47a-23c). Self-help is a lawsuit waiting to happen; changing locks or shutting off heat invites an entry-and-detainer claim with double damages (§ 47a-43, § 47a-46). The judicial branch publishes the current summary process forms at jud.ct.gov.

Disclosures and paperwork Connecticut actually checks

Keep these in the lease file: the federal lead-paint disclosure and pamphlet for pre-1978 housing (a large share of Connecticut's older housing stock qualifies); written notice of whether the building has an operative fire sprinkler system, in the lease in at least 12-point bold (§ 47a-3f); and honest answers on bed bug history, since you must disclose current or suspected infestations to prospective tenants (§ 47a-7a). The lease should also identify the owner or authorized agent for service of process. Deposit-interest anniversaries, the 21-day return clock, and the 45-day increase notice are exactly the kind of dates that slip; Rentari's compliance alerts are built for that problem. Connecticut-specific templates live in the forms library, and the one-page numbers sit on the Connecticut quick-reference sheet.

What changed in 2023 through 2026

  • October 1, 2023: PA 23-67 capped late fees (lesser of $5/day up to $50, or 5% of delinquent rent) and barred stacking multiple fees on one late payment.
  • 2023: PA 23-207 cut the deposit-return window from 30 days to 21 and directed the Department of Housing to publish standard leasing forms.
  • October 1, 2024: PA 24-143 required 45 days' written notice for rent increases and let towns license short-term rentals.
  • November 26, 2025: HB 8002 (special session) expanded fair rent commissions to towns of 15,000+, eased parking minimums, and pushed towns toward housing growth plans. Watch your town hall in 2026.

Connecticut landlord FAQ

How much can I collect as a security deposit?

Two months' rent, or one month if the tenant is 62 or older (§ 47a-21). The cap counts everything refundable you hold as security, whatever the lease labels it.

When is a late fee legal?

Only after 9 days of delinquency on a monthly tenancy (4 on week-to-week), only if it's the lesser of $5/day up to $50 or 5% of the overdue rent, and only once per missed payment (§ 47a-15a).

Is a 3-day notice really all I need to evict?

The notice to quit is 3 days minimum (§ 47a-23), but nonpayment cases must respect the grace period first, curable violations need a 15-day remedy notice first, and possession only comes from a summary process judgment. Budget weeks, not days.

Do I owe my tenant interest on the deposit?

Yes. The 2026 rate is 0.49%, set annually by the Banking Commissioner, paid or credited each tenancy anniversary and at move-out (§ 47a-21). Skipping only the interest costs $10 or double the interest owed, whichever is greater.

Can my town really order me to lower a rent increase?

If it has a fair rent commission, yes: commissions can review complaints and reduce increases they find harsh and unconscionable. HB 8002 extends the mandate to towns of 15,000+, so more landlords will meet one in 2026.

This guide is general information, not legal advice. Connecticut has amended these statutes every session since 2022 and towns add their own rules, so verify anything you rely on against the current General Statutes text or a Connecticut landlord-tenant attorney.