As Connecticut’s housing crisis rages on, residents are looking to state officials to find ways to fight the rising costs associated with buying or renting a home. They also want lawmakers to do more to address the state’s lack of housing inventory.
Many residents want to create change in their own communities.
One of the main ways to do this is by getting involved in local decisions, according to Shanay Fulton, secretary of Middletown’s Planning and Zoning Commission.
“It's as simple as going to a hearing and finding out if you can be there in person, if you can log in through Zoom and just becoming acquainted within the community, so much going on that a lot of people don't think that they can be a part of,” Fulton said.
Fulton was one of four panelists speaking at a discussion on local housing hosted by Connecticut Public Radio and the nonprofit Partnership for Strong Communities.
Logging onto a virtual meeting is an easy first step to making a difference, Fulton said. As a zoning commission member she has the power to change zoning laws, allowing more housing construction.
Being the first in a community to propose an innovative housing solution, such as an Accessory Dwelling Unit (ADU), or in-law apartment, on the property of a single family home can spark a broader change, Fulton said.
“You have to set a precedent, and we're going to have to open up public discussion for something like that to see, you know, how many people can afford that?” Fulton said. “There are lots of rules that go in, that there are times when, yes, we can approve something that normally we may not.”
Fulton spoke alongside Democratic State Rep. Jason Rojas, Connecticut Tenants Union Vice President Luke Melonakos-Harrison and Connecticut Fair Housing Center attorney Sarah White during the Sept. 25 panel at Trinity College.
The panel also addressed Connecticut’s lack of housing inventory and inflated housing costs making it difficult for people to purchase or rent a home.
Looking at the housing costs from the perspectives of both the tenant and landlord can help ease tension and create understanding as to why certain housing proposals, like an expansion of the Just Cause law have failed, Rojas said.
The Just Cause bill, which wasn’t brought to a vote during the last legislative session, would prevent landlords from evicting tenants without reason, such as unpaid rent or property damage.
“We often think about landlords in the context of these large corporate-type of apartment owners, but many apartment landlords are three-family-owned, two-family-owned. They're not these big, mega corporations that I think are easy to vilify,” Rojas said. “They're just people who own a small business and they rely on those rents to keep up the building. They're on those rents to replace the roof.”
Nevertheless, corporate landlords and apartment ownership are on the rise.
Increasing multi-family housing is one way to help ease the state’s housing crisis, alongside rental assistance programs, state Department of Housing Commissioner Seila Mosquera-Bruno said.
“Some people are talking about homeownership in a way that it can be in the city's apartments, condominiums, that can be able to provide that sense of that you own something and you belong to that community,” Mosquera-Bruno said.
