Outline of the eviction process in Connecticut

Connecticut evictions run through a court process called summary process. It is faster than an ordinary lawsuit, but it is unforgiving about procedure: most landlord losses in the Housing Session come from a defective notice to quit or a counting mistake, not from the merits. This guide walks through the process in the order it happens, with the deadlines that matter and the places where landlords most often get sent back to the start.

1. Legal grounds for eviction in Connecticut

You need a lawful reason to end a tenancy, and the reason you name on the notice to quit is the reason you will have to prove in court. The common grounds under Conn. Gen. Stat. Chapter 832 are:

• Nonpayment of rent. Rent is late only after the statutory grace period: nine days for monthly tenancies and four days for weekly tenancies (§ 47a-15a). A notice served before the grace period runs is void.
• Lapse of time. A fixed-term lease has ended, or you are ending a month-to-month tenancy. No fault is required.
• Material lease violation. Unauthorized occupants, pets, damage, repeated late payment and similar breaches. Most of these require a pre-termination "Kapa" notice first (see step 2).
• Serious nuisance or illegal conduct. Violence or threats, drug activity, wilful destruction. No cure period is required (§ 47a-15).
• No right or privilege to occupy. Holdovers after a foreclosure or an occupant who never had a tenancy.

Just-cause protection. In buildings with five or more units, tenants who are 62 or older or who have a disability can only be evicted for the specific reasons listed in § 47a-23c, which excludes plain lapse of time. Bills to extend this to all tenants in larger buildings were debated in the 2024, 2025 and 2026 sessions and did not pass, so as of 2026 the protection still applies only to those protected classes. Check the current statute before relying on lapse of time in a larger building.

2. The notice to quit

Every summary process case starts with a written Notice to Quit Possession (Judicial Branch form JD-HM-7). It must state the reason, give the tenant a quit date, and be served by a state marshal or another proper officer; landlords cannot serve it themselves. The notice period is short but counted strictly:

• The minimum is three full days after service, not counting the day of service, the quit date itself, Sundays or legal holidays. A notice served on a Thursday with a Monday quit date is defective. When in doubt, give an extra day or two.
• For a lease violation that can be cured, you must first serve a written pre-termination notice under § 47a-15 (commonly called a Kapa notice) giving the tenant 15 days to fix the problem. Only if the breach is not cured, or is repeated within six months, can you serve the notice to quit. Skipping this step is one of the most common reasons cases are dismissed.
• For nonpayment, no pre-notice is needed, but the notice must be served after the grace period and should list only rent, never late fees or utilities.
• For serious nuisance, the three-day notice to quit can be served immediately.

Once a notice to quit is served, the tenancy is over. Do not accept rent for periods after the quit date unless you are clearly labelling it use and occupancy; accepting "rent" can reinstate the tenancy and void the notice.

3. Filing the summary process case

If the tenant is still in possession after the quit date, you file in the Superior Court, Housing Session (or the geographical-area court where there is no housing session) for the town where the property sits. The filing package is the Summons (JD-HM-32), Complaint (JD-HM-8 or the specific complaint form for your ground), the original notice to quit with the marshal's return, and a copy of any written lease. The entry fee is $175.

The return date is the anchor for every later deadline. The marshal must serve the summons and complaint at least six days before the return date, and the papers must be returned to the clerk at least four days before it. The return date is usually set one to two weeks out. Get the marshal moving the day you file.

4. Appearance, answer and default

The tenant has until two days after the return date to file an appearance. If none is filed, you can move for a default judgment for failure to appear, and most housing sessions grant it on the papers. If the tenant appears but does not file an answer, you can move for default for failure to plead after the pleading deadline.

If the tenant answers, the case goes onto the court's calendar. In the housing sessions, contested cases are first sent to a housing specialist for mediation on the trial date. Most cases settle there with a stipulated judgment: a move-out date, a payment schedule, or both. A stipulation entered by the court is enforceable by execution if the tenant misses a step, which makes it far more valuable than a private agreement.

5. Trial and judgment

Cases that do not settle are tried the same day or shortly after, before a judge without a jury. Bring the lease, ledger, photographs, the notice to quit and marshal's return, and any Kapa notice. Typical tenant defenses are a defective notice, acceptance of rent after the notice, retaliation for a complaint to a code official or the fair rent commission, and, in nonpayment cases, that the unit was not habitable. Judgment usually enters the day of trial or within a few days.

A tenant who wants to contest can ask the court to order use and occupancy payments into court while the case is pending; you can also request this, and it protects you if the case drags.

6. Appeal and stay of execution

The losing party has five days (excluding Sundays and holidays) to appeal. Separately, a tenant can ask for a stay of execution under § 47a-37: up to six months in lapse-of-time and similar cases, but in a nonpayment case a stay is only available if the tenant pays the full arrearage within five days of judgment, and then for no more than three months. No stay is available for serious nuisance. Stays are usually conditioned on paying use and occupancy.

7. Execution and the move-out

After the appeal period and any stay expire, you apply for a Summary Process Execution (JD-HM-2). A state marshal serves it and must give the tenant at least 24 hours' notice of the date and time of removal. On that date the marshal supervises the removal; the tenant's belongings are moved to a town-designated storage location, and the tenant has 15 days to reclaim them by paying the storage charges (§ 47a-42). Landlords who change locks, shut off utilities or remove doors without an execution face damages and criminal exposure under § 47a-43, so let the marshal do it.

Typical timeline

Step	Typical time
Grace period (nonpayment)	9 days after due date
Kapa pre-notice (lease violations only)	15 days
Notice to quit	3 full days, often 5 to 7 calendar days
Service to return date	1 to 2 weeks
Appearance deadline	2 days after return date
Mediation and trial	2 to 4 weeks after return date
Appeal period	5 days
Execution and marshal notice	1 to 2 weeks plus 24 hours

An uncontested nonpayment case commonly takes five to eight weeks from notice to a completed move-out. A contested case with discovery or a stay can run three to six months. Hartford, New Haven, Bridgeport and Stamford housing sessions have their own calendars and pace.

Recent law changes landlords should know

• Eviction records. Since 2024, summary process cases that are dismissed, withdrawn or decided for the tenant are removed from public view, and landlords may not refuse an applicant solely because of a prior or pending eviction case.
• Late fees. Capped at the lesser of $50 or five percent of the overdue rent, charged once per missed payment.
• Application fees. Landlords may not charge application fees beyond the actual cost of a screening report, capped at $50.
• Right to counsel. Income-eligible tenants in several cities are entitled to a free lawyer in eviction cases. Expect represented tenants in Hartford, New Haven, Bridgeport, Waterbury and Stamford.

When to bring in an attorney

Many Connecticut landlords handle a simple, uncontested nonpayment case themselves. It is worth hiring counsel when the tenant is in a protected class or a five-plus-unit building, when the ground is a lease violation (the Kapa sequence is easy to get wrong), when the tenant has a lawyer or has raised habitability, when there is a Section 8 or other subsidy involved, or when the property is in a city with right to counsel. The attorneys listed for Connecticut below represent landlords in the housing sessions and can usually quote a flat fee for an uncontested case.

Sources

• Conn. Gen. Stat. Title 47a, Chapter 830 (Landlord and Tenant) and Chapter 832 (Summary Process), including §§ 47a-15, 47a-15a, 47a-23, 47a-23c, 47a-26, 47a-37, 47a-42, 47a-43.
• Connecticut Judicial Branch, Housing Session forms and guidance (jud.ct.gov).
• Connecticut State Marshal Commission Manual, Section 6, Evictions.