Early this morning, the Connecticut General Assembly passed H.B. 8002, An Act Concerning Housing Growth, marking a significant step forward in addressing our state's housing crisis. The bill, which now awaits Governor Lamont's signature, represents the culmination of months of negotiation and collaboration among those committed to making housing more accessible and affordable for all Connecticut residents. 

 

This legislation reflects the growing recognition that housing is central to Connecticut's long-term affordability, economic competitiveness, and community well-being. Housing is no longer a background issue, it's at the center of public debate and action. That momentum is cause for hope. 

 

H.B. 8002 establishes a framework for coordinated, regional housing planning and targeted state investment. It includes several key provisions designed to support housing growth, modernize outdated local requirements, and encourage communities to plan proactively for future housing needs. Among its many provisions, the bill: 
  • Creates a Regional and Local Housing Growth Planning System led by the Councils of Governments (COGs), in partnership with towns, to set local and regional housing goals and strategies. 
  • Establishes a Housing Growth Fund to help towns make infrastructure investments associated with new housing development. 
  • Updates local parking requirements to reduce costs and better align with modern land use and transportation goals. 
  • Facilitates conversion of vacant commercial spaces into new homes, allowing communities to revitalize underused properties. 
  • Expands the state's capacity to support housing development, including a new Council on Housing Development and new authorities for the Department of Housing to partner on affordable housing projects. 
  • Invests in targeted supports for residents experiencing homelessness and expands access to housing information for tenants. 

These are meaningful steps toward a more inclusive and functional housing system, one that begins to tackle the supply shortage, modernize land use regulations, and expand housing opportunity to every part of the state. But they are also only steps. 

 

Connecticut still faces a severe housing shortage, rising costs, and widening disparities that demand greater urgency and ambition. Many of the actions envisioned under this new planning framework will take years to realize. Families are struggling today, with rent due this month, mortgages stretching paychecks thin, and too many residents living without a stable place to call home. 

 

We remain committed to working with our partners to advance the policies and resources that will make a meaningful difference for families now: expanding rental assistance, strengthening just cause and other tenant protections, and continuing land use reform that unlock housing opportunity in every community. 

 

To everyone who has worked tirelessly since the summer to make this progress possible, legislators, staff, advocates, municipal partners, and residents who raised their voices, thank you. Your persistence and partnership mean that housing is receiving the attention it deserves. 

 

This is not the finish line. It is a foundation to build upon. Together, we will continue to push for the bold, sustained actions needed to make Connecticut a state where every person has a safe, stable, and affordable home. 

 

 

An abbreviated summary of H.B. 8002 follows below. A detailed analysis of the bill is available on our website here. Join us at the Legislative Roundtable at the Connecticut Affordable Housing Conference Monday 11/17 at 11:00 AM to hear directly from elected officials on the passage of the bill and its impacts.

 

SUMMARY OF H.B. 8002: AN ACT CONCERNING HOUSING GROWTH

 

AFFORDABILITY

Initiatives for Homebuying Residents

  • First-Time Homebuyers Savings Program. Creates new tax-benefited savings accounts for first-time homebuyers.
  • CHFA Smart Rate Pilot. Restarts the Smart Rate program, with reduced interest rates for first-time homebuyers with student debt.

Creates or Reestablishes Various Rental Assistance Programs

  • Direct Rental Assistance Pilot. Allows DOH and PHAs to grant funds to nonprofits to deliver cash payments for housing assistance to households eligible for housing vouchers.
  • Reestablishes Open Choice Voucher Pilot Program. Reestablishes program offering up to 20 vouchers for participating students.

New Housing Authority Reporting Requirements

  • Public Housing Authority Annual Reporting. PHAs must post required annual reports to DOH online, including income targeting and waitlist information.

CREATION

New Housing Creation Incentive Programs

  • Regional Planning Incentive Account Modifications. COGs are eligible for $200K for housing planning and technical support, and $200K for storm management/flood mitigation or waste/recycling management.
  • Housing Growth Grant Program. Infrastructure funding for towns advancing housing growth plans, TODs, or CMDA zones.
  • New Water Quality Loan Program. Wastewater improvement loans for smaller towns making housing plan progress or operating TOD/CMDA zones.
  • School Construction Reimbursement Rate. 5% reimbursement increase for towns advancing housing growth plans or operating TOD/CMDA zones.
  • New COG Transit Infrastructure Grant. OPM may establish a grant program for COGs for transit, bicycle, or pedestrian infrastructure projects.
  • Greyfield Revitalization Program Modification. Prioritizes funding for towns that already allow commercial-to-residential conversion as of right.

Creates or Reestablishes Various Housing Development Programs

  • Middle Housing Development Grant Program. PHAs can receive grants to develop middle housing (e.g. duplexes, triplexes, or townhomes) in towns with fewer than 50,000 people. Bonding of $50M authorized in PA 25-174.
  • Affordable Housing Program for Construction Industry Employment Program. DOH can use $12.5M in annual bond funds for affordable housing projects that create employment opportunities in the construction industry and meet certain requirements.
  • Affordable Housing Real Estate Investment Trust Pilot Program. DOH will provide grants for CHFA, PHAs, or nonprofits to buy existing homes and impose deed-restrictions on the units. $2M was authorized in PA 25-174.

Parking

  • Minimum Parking Requirements Applicability. Prohibits towns from enforcing minimum parking requirements for residential developments with less than 16 homes. Larger projects require a parking needs assessment.
  • Conservation and Traffic Mitigation Districts. Towns may create up to two "conservation and traffic mitigation districts" where it can extend parking minimums to developments of less than 16 homes.
  • Fees in Lieu of Parking Changes. Towns may allow applicants to pay a fee instead of providing the required parking spaces in developments with at least 16 homes.

Streamlining Housing Development

  • Middle Housing Development Permitted. Allows 2-9 unit housing by streamlined approval in commercial/mixed-use zones; towns may extend to residential zones.
  • Manufactured Home Protections. Requires equal zoning treatment to comparable housing.
  • Protest Petition Modifications. Protest petitions to prevent housing development must include at least half of impacted residents and neighbors, up from 20%.
  • DOH as Statewide Housing Authority. DOH may develop housing projects on state land and may sell or lease land for housing projects, while giving right of first refusal to that jurisdiction's PHA.
  • Statewide Wastewater Capacity Study. Requires a statewide wastewater capacity study to be completed by July 1, 2026.

CHOICE

Housing Growth Planning                          

  • Housing Growth Planning. Towns must adopt a plan or join their COG's regional plan detailing strategies to increase affordable homes.
  • Council on Housing Development. Establishes the Council on Housing Development, which will evaluate and enforce towns' housing growth plans and coordinate housing growth policies statewide.
  • Regional Housing Needs. Assigns COGs the responsibility to set town-by-town affordable housing goals, informed by OPM housing needs assessments and technical support.
  • Housing Growth Grant Program. Towns making progress towards their housing growth plans can apply for funds to build necessary public infrastructure.

Transit-Oriented Development

  • Zoning for Transit Oriented Development. Allows as-of-right, denser housing within ½ mile of transit stations.
  • Transit Oriented Development Funding Incentives. Towns with Transit Oriented Districts gain access to additional grants, CMDA funding, school construction reimbursement rates, and sewer loans.

Section 8-30g Updates

  • Easier Path Towards 8-30g Moratoriums. Towns receive moratorium points for creating "priority housing development zones" and allowing other towns' housing authorities to build locally.
  • Updating 8-30g Moratorium Points to Account for Zoning Changes. Reduced moratorium thresholds for towns allowing summary-review of middle housing in residential areas.
  • Evaluate Exemption Methods. Initiates a study to evaluate other methods of calculating exemptions.

STABILITY

Fair Rent Commissions

  • Fair Rent Commission Expansion. Towns over 15,000 residents must establish an FRC by 2028; regional and joint FRCs permitted.

Tenant Protections and Housing Quality

  • Ban on Algorithmic Rent Setting. Prevents landlord use of a revenue management device to set rental rates or occupancy levels.
  • Eviction Protections Due to Landlord Error. Landlords may not evict for nonpayment of rent due to problems with an online payment system.
  • Housing Discrimination Relief. Extends judicial relief under anti-discrimination laws to Attorney General.
  • Expands Use of Health Homes Fund. Expands beyond lead abatement to other hazards.

Initiatives for Homeless Residents

  • Portable Showers and Laundry Facilities Pilot Program. Funding of $150K annually is already appropriated in PA 25-168.
  • Hostile Architecture Prevention. Prohibits towns from installing structures designed to prevent homeless individuals from sitting or lying down.

A detailed analysis of the bill is available on our website here.