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.

Connecticut changed a great deal in 2024 and 2025. Public Act 23-207, Public Act 24-143, Public Act 25-44, Public Act 25-78, Public Act 25-146 and November Special Session Public Act 25-1 all touched landlord-tenant law, and several of those changes took effect on January 1, 2026 or later. Be careful with older guides and with the Connecticut General Statutes website, whose "current" pages are the revision to January 1, 2025 and do not include the 2025 amendments; those sit in a separate 2026 Supplement.

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. See the warning below about online payment systems, which can extend both periods.
• 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.

The online payment trap, new for 2026. November Special Session Public Act 25-1 amended § 47a-15a effective January 1, 2026. The nine-day and four-day grace periods are extended by an additional five days if the landlord's own online rental payment system prevented the tenant from paying rent when due, for the week or month in which that happened. The same act amended § 47a-23(a)(1)(D) so that nonpayment is not an available ground for a notice to quit at all where the owner's online payment system prevented payment within the grace period. If you collect rent through a portal, confirm the portal was working and accepting that tenant's payment before you count a single day. A portal that was down, misconfigured, rejecting a payment method, or locked after a partial payment turns a nine-day count into fourteen, and can remove the ground entirely.

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 raised in the 2024, 2025 and 2026 sessions (SB 143, HB 6889 and SB 257 respectively) and each was reported favorably, tabled for the calendar and never called for a vote, so as of 2026 the protection still applies only to those protected classes.

The protected-tenant notice you owe. Under § 47a-23c(e), every time a unit in a five-or-more-unit building or complex, or in a mobile manufactured home park, is rented, or a rental agreement is entered into or renewed, you must give the tenant the Department of Housing's plain-language notice of these protections. This is an affirmative duty, not a formality.

2. The notice to quit

Every summary process case starts with a written Notice to Quit Possession (Judicial Branch form JD-HM-007). It must state the reason, give the tenant a quit date, and be served by a state marshal or other proper officer; landlords cannot serve it themselves. Public Act 25-78 rewrote § 47a-23(c) effective October 1, 2025: service must now be an attested copy delivered by a proper officer, and the old option of using an "indifferent person" has been deleted. If you have evicted before and remember that route, it no longer exists.

The notice period is short but counted strictly:

• The minimum is three full days after service, not counting the day of service and not counting the quit date itself. Sundays and legal holidays are counted; § 47a-23(c) expressly permits delivery on any day of the week. The Sunday-and-holiday exclusion that many guides repeat here belongs to § 47a-35, the appeal and stay window, not to the notice to quit. Serve on a Thursday and a Monday quit date is good, because Friday, Saturday and Sunday are three full days. When in doubt, give an extra day.
• Attach the Right to Counsel notice. See the compliance box below. In practice, attach it to every residential notice to quit.
• 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. Section 47a-23(e) lets you include a use-and-occupancy disclaimer, in the statutory form, in the notice to quit itself, so that later payments are not treated as rent.

Compliance box: the Right to Counsel notice. Under § 47a-75(f)(2), an owner, lessor, landlord, agent, housing authority or subsidy administrator shall attach a copy of the statutory Right to Counsel notice to a notice to quit and to a summons and complaint for summary process, as well as to a public or subsidized lease termination notice and a subsidy termination notice. The statute ties the duty to notices and complaints served on income-eligible tenants (a “covered individual” under § 47a-75(a)), but you cannot know a tenant's income in advance, so attach it to every residential notice to quit and summons. The Judicial Branch publishes the notice. Serving without it hands a tenant's attorney a clean procedural defect before the case has started, and it is the single most commonly missed step in Connecticut summary process.

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-032), the Complaint, the original notice to quit with the marshal's return, a copy of any written lease, and the Right to Counsel notice.

On the complaint form: the Judicial Branch publishes only two, and both are ground-specific. JD-HM-008 is the complaint for nonpayment of rent and JD-HM-020 is the complaint for termination of lease by lapse of time. For any other ground you draft the complaint yourself. The entry fee is $175 (§ 52-259).

The return date is the anchor for every later deadline. Under § 47a-23a(a) the writ, summons and complaint are made returnable six days, inclusive, after service, which means the day of service counts, so six inclusive days is five clear days. The papers must be returned to the clerk at least three days before the return day. 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.

Your ledger is the case. Two recent changes decide what the arrearage figure may lawfully be. Under § 47a-7d(e), added by Public Act 25-44, all payments a tenant makes under a rental agreement must be applied first to rent and only then to other fees or charges. Much property-management software does the opposite by default, and a ledger that pays a late fee before rent overstates the rent arrearage, which is the one number a nonpayment case turns on. Under § 47a-3a(d), added by Public Act 25-146 effective July 1, 2025, you must provide a copy of the ledger or an equivalent accounting on an occupant's request.

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 under § 47a-35. When a residential tenant appeals, the Superior Court must hold a hearing within 14 days of notice of the appeal and order the tenant to deposit use and occupancy with the court in monthly installments while the appeal is pending (only the tenant's share where a housing authority or agency pays part), and the stay of execution can be lost if the tenant does not comply (§§ 47a-35(b), 47a-35a, as amended by P.A. 24-108). 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 deposits the full arrearage with the clerk within five days of judgment, and then for no more than three months. No stay is available for nuisance, immoral or illegal use, or where the occupant had no right to occupy. 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-002). A state marshal serves it. Public Act 25-78 amended § 47a-42(b) effective October 1, 2025: the marshal must now make reasonable efforts to locate and notify the tenant not less than 24 hours before the removal. Before that change the 24 hours ran to the town's chief executive officer, so the practical notice to the occupant is new.

The execution must also now carry conspicuous boldface notice that a person still at the property when the marshal returns, who fails to vacate when directed, may be arrested for criminal trespass in the first degree under § 53a-107 (§ 47a-42(b)(3)). That is the one 2025 change that runs the landlord's way, and it is useful leverage at the lockout.

On the removal date the marshal supervises; 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).

Never do this yourself. Changing locks, shutting off utilities or removing doors without an execution exposes you on three fronts: § 47a-43 gives the tenant a civil forcible entry and detainer action, § 47a-46 allows double damages, and a utility shutoff under § 47a-13 lets the tenant terminate and recover two months' rent or double actual damages, whichever is greater. A lockout is also a crime in its own right, class C misdemeanor criminal lockout under § 53a-214. Let the marshal do it.

Typical timeline

Step	Typical time
Grace period (nonpayment)	9 days after due date, 14 if your payment portal blocked payment
Kapa pre-notice (lease violations only)	15 days
Notice to quit	3 full days, often 5 to 7 calendar days
Service to return date	6 days inclusive, commonly 1 to 2 weeks in practice
Return of papers to clerk	at least 3 days before the return day
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. Housing dockets are established under § 47a-70 in Hartford, New Britain, New Haven, Bridgeport, Waterbury and Stamford-Norwalk, and each has its own calendar and pace.

Recent law changes landlords should know

• Online payment systems and the grace period (Nov. Sp. Sess. P.A. 25-1, effective January 1, 2026). Covered above, and the most consequential change on this list for any landlord who collects rent through a portal.
• Forty-five days' notice of a rent increase (§ 47a-4e, P.A. 24-143, effective October 1, 2024). No rent increase is effective unless you gave written notice at least 45 days before it takes effect, or, for a term of one month or less, a period equal to the term. A nonpayment case built on an increase noticed on 30 days is a case with a wrong arrearage on its face.
• Payments apply to rent first (§ 47a-7d(e), P.A. 25-44). Check what your software does.
• Standardized rental terms summary (§ 47a-7d(d)). On and after April 1, 2026, a written rental agreement must carry a completed copy of the Department of Housing's standardized summary form as its first page. Violations of § 47a-7d carry a civil penalty of one month's rent plus the tenant's attorney's fees (§ 47a-7d(f)). The same section requires all-in rent advertising, with narrow carve-outs.
• Late fees (§ 47a-15a(b)). Capped at the lesser of $5 per day up to a maximum of $50, or five percent of the delinquent payment, charged once per missed payment. The per-day accrual is the binding limit early on: on $1,500 rent paid three days after the grace period the lawful cap is $15, not $50. An unlawful late charge is void under § 47a-4, and it contaminates the ledger you will rely on in a nonpayment case.
• Application fees (§ 47a-4d). Fees for processing, reviewing or accepting a rental application are banned outright, as are move-in and move-out fees. A tenant screening report fee is separately permitted up to $50 plus an annual CPI adjustment set by the Commissioner of Housing; confirm the current figure before charging it. If you charge it you must give the applicant a copy of the report or the information needed to request it, plus a copy of the vendor's receipt or invoice.
• Utilities without a separate meter (sSB 335 of 2026, effective October 1, 2026). For rental agreements entered into or renewed on or after that date, a lease may not require the tenant to pay for a utility that is not separately metered to the unit; the Office of Legislative Research notes a landlord may instead build an estimated utility cost into the rent.
• Revenue management software (§ 47a-4f, Nov. Sp. Sess. P.A. 25-1, effective January 1, 2026). Using revenue-management software that processes nonpublic competitor data to set residential rents or occupancy levels is an unlawful trade practice subject to CUTPA enforcement.
• Eviction records (§ 47a-26j). Summary process cases that are dismissed, withdrawn or decided for the tenant are removed from the Judicial Branch website within 30 days, and a removed record may not be disclosed for a commercial purpose including tenant screening. Two things this does not do: the courthouse file still exists, and pending cases are not removed and are retained or restored while there is activity or an appeal.
• Right to counsel (§ 47a-75). Income-eligible tenants are entitled to a free lawyer, phased in by zip code and priority criteria rather than by city. Greater Hartford is covered for any tenant. Parts of New Haven, Hamden and West Haven are covered on narrower terms. Roughly ninety other towns, including Bridgeport, Stamford, Norwalk, Danbury, Meriden, Middletown, New Britain, New London and Stratford, are covered only where the tenant is in subsidized housing, is 62 or older, has a disability, or has children in the household. Coverage is administrative and changes, so check the current program map rather than assuming this is a big-city issue. Separately, the notice attachment duty in § 47a-75(f)(2) has no zip code limit; it runs to income-eligible tenants, which in practice means attaching the notice every time.

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, when rent is collected through a portal and the tenant disputes that payment was possible, or when the tenant may qualify for appointed 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), Chapter 832 (Summary Process), Chapter 833 (Entry and Detainer) and Chapter 834 (Right to Counsel), including §§ 47a-3a, 47a-4, 47a-4d, 47a-4e, 47a-4f, 47a-7d, 47a-13, 47a-15, 47a-15a, 47a-23, 47a-23a, 47a-23c, 47a-26, 47a-26j, 47a-35, 47a-37, 47a-42, 47a-43, 47a-46, 47a-70 and 47a-75.
• Public Act 23-207; Public Act 24-143; Public Act 25-44; Public Act 25-78; Public Act 25-146; November Special Session Public Act 25-1 (HB 8002).
• Conn. Gen. Stat. § 52-259 (fees) and §§ 53a-107 and 53a-214 (criminal trespass and criminal lockout).
• Connecticut General Assembly 2026 Supplement to the General Statutes, which carries the 2025 amendments not reflected in the January 1, 2025 revision.
• Connecticut Judicial Branch, Housing Session forms and guidance (jud.ct.gov), including the Right to Counsel notice for tenants.
• Connecticut State Marshal Commission Manual, Section 6, Evictions.

This guide is general information about Connecticut procedure and is not legal advice. Connecticut law in this area changed substantially in 2024 and 2025 and several provisions took effect during 2026; confirm the current text before relying on any deadline here.