It’s hard being a landlord in Connecticut.
One of the grounds to evict a tenant in Connecticut is “serious nuisance.”
A serious nuisance is defined as conduct which presents an immediate and serious danger to the safety of other tenants or the landlord. Conn. Gen. Stat. Sec. 47a-15.
Do you think the following constitutes a serious nuisance?
In a room that was 12 feet by 10 feet a tenant had three large refrigerators running. The room was so cluttered with trash, bags, boxes, chairs, food containers, and other items that the furniture was barely visible. In some portions of the room there was trash and other items that were piled waste high. The landlord claimed there was a stench coming from the room.
The landlord asked the tenant several times to clean the room because he feared it was a fire hazard and a health and safety threat to other tenants.
If you think this is the definition of a serious nuisance then you must not be a Connecticut Supreme Court Justice.
Our Supreme Court ruled in Cardinal Realty Investors, LLC v. Bernasconi that the above mentioned facts do not constitute a serious nuisance under Connecticut law.
I wonder if the Justices would have a different opinion if they were living in the apartment next to this apartment?
As always, feel free to discuss this or any entry in the comments section of this blog. I welcome all points of view including people telling me that I’m wrong.