The housing crisis in Connecticut takes many forms. Whether it’s a lack of starter homes for young families, a shortage of units for employers looking to grow their workforce or the devastating increase in homelessness, the state is suffering on multiple levels.
There is no one policy that could solve all the state’s housing problems. But there are steps Connecticut could take this year that would address immediate concerns while laying the groundwork for more ambitious proposals in years to come.
Such large-scale plans will be necessary if Connecticut is to turn around its housing plight. The current situation is not new; it’s been building for decades, based on policy decisions made by generations of lawmakers and held in place by inertia. But we’ve reached an unsustainable point, and to get us out requires big thinking.
The first step is acknowledging the severity of the crisis. In his speech opening the 2024 legislative session on Feb. 7, Gov. Ned Lamont spent more time on housing than any other topic, returning several times to the ways the crisis is holding back our state. “We have too many people who cannot find a place to live — it is not available, or it is not affordable,” he said.
It’s vital, then, that the solutions meet the challenges we face. That requires actual investment.
To that end, Open Communities Alliance, in partnership with other organizations in the Growing Together CT coalition, is proposing a range of policies in 2024 that will help alleviate the immediate challenges our state is facing while building toward bigger things in the future.
Included in the agenda is $20 million to shore up Connecticut’s homelessness response system. There’s never a good time to be living on the streets, but the sight of families without a roof over their heads in winter should spur everyone to action. Connecticut can do much more to see that everyone can stay warm and dry.
Another proposal calls for an overhaul of the state’s eviction procedures. Today, it is illegal for a landlord to evict senior citizens without just cause, such as nonpayment of rent. That protection should be extended to all tenants. No one should have to worry their home will be taken from them for no good reason and with no recourse.
[RELATED: CT advocates push for just cause evictions, transit-oriented housing]
Among the state’s most effective programs for helping low-income families are vouchers that help defray the cost of rent. Such vouchers are supposed to help recipients live in any community in the state, but too often, people have trouble finding a home anywhere but the highest-poverty areas — and recently, even that has been challenging.
The state can do more to ensure people get the help they need and that vouchers keep up with rising rents. Especially with the shortage of units in the state, we must ensure that everyone who has a voucher is able to use it.
Yet another proposal worth supporting is the Housing Growth Fund. This investment would dedicate millions of dollars to support municipalities that allow affordable housing to be built, and help ensure there are enough units to support all the people in need.
Finally, we need support for infrastructure. Too often, towns use a lack of sewers as a reason why multifamily housing is unfeasible, even as there’s plenty that can be done with septic systems. By creating a new fund that would allow towns to build or connect to existing sewer lines to support affordable housing creation, we can do even more to see that the housing density we need comes to fruition.
These plans, if approved, would go a long way toward solving the immediate crisis in Connecticut, but to tackle the long-term challenges will require more. Growing Together CT last year supported Fair Share, a plan that would involve all towns in solving the state’s housing crisis by letting each community decide how and where it would contribute to allowing new affordable units to be built.
This year, with an election in the fall and a short legislative session, is not the best time to bring back Fair Share. But it will be on the agenda in 2025.
Taken together, this year’s plans would be both effective and feasible in a short session. Fair Share will be a bigger task next year, but the scope of the crisis requires a solution on the same scale.
What no one can do is pretend we’re not in a crisis. Housing should be Connecticut’s No. 1 priority this year, and with this slate of proposals, we can begin turning the tide in the direction of affordability and fairness.
Erin Boggs is Executive Director of Open Communities Alliance which coordinates the Growing Together CT consortium of organizations.