Fairfield and Westport CT Real Estate Guide

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FAIRFIELD CT BEACH AREA LANDLORDS: 3 LEGAL REMINDERS

CT Investment Opportunities, Fairfield County Real Estate, Fairfield CT Beach Area, Fairfield CT Beach Area Rental, Fairfield Summer Rental

From CT Realtors: 

Rental Real Estate / Important New Law and Reminders

If you are a landlord, or if you include residential leasing as part of your real estate practice, please be aware of an important upcoming new law as well as reminders for laws enacted in earlier years:

1. New – Lease Summary Form Required April 1, 2026: Effective April 1, 2026, Connecticut law requires attaching a specific summary form entitled “Standardized Rental Terms Summary Form” as the first page of any new or renewal lease agreement for residential dwellings. That form was developed by the Connecticut Department of Housing (DOH). You can find it on the DOH site at this link and it is being added to the CTR Forms library for April 1, 2026. Note: penalties for failure to provide this form include loss of one month’s rent.

2.  Reminder – Late Fees: As noticed to you in earlier communications and as a reminder, effective as of October 1, 2023,  the maximum late fee that landlords may charge is the lesser of 1) five dollars per day, up to a maximum of fifty dollars, or 2) five percent of the delinquent rent payment or, in the case of rent paid in whole or in part by a governmental or charitable entity, five percent of the tenant’s share of the delinquent rent payment. More than one late fee may not be assessed upon a delinquent rent payment, regardless of how long the rent remains unpaid.  CTR is making this addition to the lease agreement in our CTR Forms library.

3. Reminder – Pre-Occupancy Walk-Through: As a reminder, as of January 1, 2024, after a rental agreement is signed but before a tenant takes occupancy, landlords are required to offer tenants a pre-occupancy walk-through. If a tenant opts for a walk-through, the landlord must use the pre-occupancy walk-through checklist prepared by Department of Housing (DOH) that can be found at this link. 

March 16, 2026
CT REALTORS® | 90 State House Square, Suite 1120 | Hartford, CT 06103 US


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Linda Raymond, Realtor | 203-912-4440
William Raveis Real Estate | 2525 Post Rd. | Southport, CT