On Tuesday, the Hartford Foundation for Public Giving submitted testimony to the legislature’s Housing Committee in support of Senate Bill 145, An Act Appropriating Funds for the Homeless Response System, and Senate Bill 143, An Act Concerning Eviction for Cause.

Read the Foundation's Testimony

On Tuesday, the Hartford Foundation for Public Giving submitted testimony to the legislature’s Housing Committee in support of Senate Bill 145, An Act Appropriating Funds for the Homeless Response System, and Senate Bill 143, An Act Concerning Eviction for Cause.

According  DataHaven’s Greater Hartford Community Wellbeing 2023 Index, rising housing costs have exacerbated housing affordability as about a third of households are spending more than 30 percent of their income on housing.  Forty-nine percent of renters are burdened by housing costs, with higher shares among Black (55 percent) and Latino (54 percent) renters. Rising housing costs are also reflected in increased eviction and homelessness rates. If we are to sustain progress and continue tackling social challenges, the state must lead the effort to provide adequate resources to prevent and eliminate homelessness in Connecticut. Public-Private partnerships must also address the interplay between housing and other basic human needs (e.g., food, health services) in providing adequate funding and technical assistance to the nonprofit organizations delivering these services.

The Foundation supports Senate Bill 145, An Act Appropriating Funds for the Homeless Response System which would infuse $20 million to stabilize and strengthen Connecticut’s Homeless Response System.

This includes:

• $5 million annualizing Cold Weather Emergency Response Program Funding to keep Connecticut residents from freezing outside.
• $6 million to DOH and $1.4 million to DMHAS annually to strengthen shelter and outreach capacity to provide homeless and housing service organizations with funding for necessary staffing and operational costs.
• $3.6 million to increase and annualize funding for Diversion and Coordinated Access Network (CAN) Hubs to continue to increase diversion rates and for CAN hubs to connect people with critical support and resources to resolve their housing crises.
• $2 million to increase and annualize funding for the Coordinated Access Network Backbone Agencies to prevent system interruptions and maximize performance of the agencies that lead the emergency Homeless Response System and effectively organize the system of care.
• $2 million to annualize Flexible Funding Subsidy Pool to help individuals, families, and youth overcome financial barriers.

Prior to COVID, Connecticut had made tremendous strides in reducing homelessness, due in large part to the hard work and dedication of the nonprofit providers working directly with housing insecure residents. Unfortunately, this progress has been reversed by the pandemic. With increased workloads, historic underfunding, and greater competition to hire and retain staff, the need to increase funding for our homeless prevention system has never been greater.

The Foundation also offered its support for Senate Bill 143, An Act Concerning Eviction for Cause. This represents the expansion of existing Connecticut law which already protects some renters from no-fault evictions, including people who are 62 years or older, with certain disabilities in buildings with five or more units, and federally subsidized or public housing.

We know that evictions have traumatic and lasting effects on families. Evictions perpetuate housing insecurity, increase homelessness, and make communities less stable, cohesive, and safe. People of color, families with young children, and renters with disabilities are often the target of no-fault evictions. Connecticut's Black and Latine renters are two to three times more likely to be evicted than white renters. Tenants who advocate on their own behalf or support their neighbors by requesting repairs, reporting unsafe housing conditions, or contesting rent increases may be retaliated against through no-fault evictions.

By expanding just cause protections, Connecticut can empower tenants to assert their right to safe, stable housing. These protections will also help to reduce housing discrimination by requiring justification for evictions, balancing the rights of tenants and landlords. Landlords would still be permitted to evict tenants in cases of nonpayment of rent, violating the lease, or refusing to agree to a reasonable rent increase. By limiting these protections to tenants in buildings with five or more units, small landlords of owner-occupied buildings would not be impacted.

The Foundation looks forward to continuing its work with policymakers, nonprofits, philanthropy, and residents to develop effective long-term policies that will ensure all Connecticut residents have access to safe, secure, and affordable housing.