Can a tenant withhold rent for repairs in Connecticut?
In Connecticut, a tenant whose landlord fails to perform the landlord’s legal duties, such as making the repairs needed to keep the unit fit and habitable, may sue in the housing court at least twenty-one days after complaining to the local housing or health code agency, and must then deposit the rent with the court clerk on each due date instead of paying the landlord. The tenant may not bring the action if a still-effective notice to quit for nonpayment of rent was served before the action was filed. Each payment is due on the rent due date or within nine days after it (four days for a week-to-week tenancy), payment to the clerk counts as payment to the landlord, and no landlord may sue for possession for nonpayment while the clerk holds the rent due. The court may order the money used for repairs, appoint a receiver, or order a retroactive rent abatement, and it may dismiss the complaint if the tenant fails to deposit the rent. Repair-and-deduct is a different remedy with its own rules. This is Conn. Gen. Stat. § 47a-14h.
| What | Connecticut |
|---|---|
| Rent withholding | Sue, then pay rent to the court clerk |
| How it works | The rent is paid into court or an escrow account instead |
What the statute says
“… or, in the case of a week-to-week tenancy, within four days thereafter, the tenant shall deposit with the clerk of the court an amount equal to the last agreed-upon rent.”
Quoted word for word from the section’s text.
Source
Conn. Gen. Stat. § 47a-14h
Read the statute in the Connecticut General Statutes (Connecticut General Assembly): cga.ct.gov.
Checked against the statute on November 15, 2026.
This is a summary of a published statute, not legal advice. Rules change, local ordinances can add to them, and the terms of a specific lease may differ. Check the citation and speak to a lawyer before acting.
How Seayora uses this rule
Every deadline on this page runs from the tenant’s notice. A repair request filed in Seayora keeps the date it was made and every update after it, on the website and both phone apps, so owner and tenant are working from the same date.
Guides on this rule
- Rent Withholding Laws by State: When Tenants Can Withhold Rent — When a tenant may withhold rent or pay it into escrow over repairs, with the notice and conditions in each of the 19 states with a statute.
Compare this rule in every state
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The same question in other states
- California
- Delaware
- Florida
- Maryland
- Massachusetts
- Michigan
- Minnesota
- Nevada
- New Hampshire
- New Jersey
- New Mexico
- New York