Community Associations Institute (CAI) Connecticut Legislative Action Committee (CT LAC) spent the 2026 legislative session advocating on behalf of approximately 477,000 people who live in 189,000 homes in more than 5,200 community associations across the Nutmeg State.
Legislative Overview
The Connecticut legislature alternates between a short session that runs from early February to early May in even-numbered years, and a long session that runs from early January to early June in odd-numbered years. In even-numbered year sessions, bills may only be introduced related to budgetary, revenue and financial matters. In Connecticut, legislators and committees may introduce legislation. A bill becomes a public act when it passes both chambers of the General Assembly. Learn more about how laws are created in Connecticut.
The 2026 Connecticut legislative session, which ran from February 4 to May 6, 2026, marked the second year of a two-year biennium, allowing for the carryover of unpassed bills from 2025. Learn more about CT LAC’s work in 2025 by reviewing the legislative session report.
This session, CT LAC tracked more than 50 pieces of legislation in the Nutmeg State, directly advocating on those with potential implications on the community association industry. Below are the highlights:
Priority Legislation
CAI Legislative Action Committees (LACs) support legislation that aligns with CAI’s public policy positions and opposes legislation that does not. If a LAC believes it may need to consider or adopt any legislative or regulatory position that would conflict with these official positions, it must submit a request for a deviation to be considered by CAI’s Government & Public Affairs Committee and/or Board of Trustees.
CT LAC opposed this legislation, which sought to prohibit executive board members and candidates for the board in common interest community associations from accepting gifts exceeding $50 annually that could influence their decision-making. This legislation also would have barred managing agents, association management service providers, and contracting service providers from campaigning for board candidates.
CT LAC viewed this legislation as overly broad, unnecessary, and likely to create more issues than it resolves. The proposed imposition of strict restrictions on the acceptance of gifts by executive board members by prohibiting items valued at more than $50 from unit owners or vendors fails to account for the practical realities of community association operations. Under this legislation, even innocuous items like holiday cards, baked goods or modest gift baskets from neighbors or vendors could have become violations when exceeding the arbitrary cost threshold established. The legislation would have also created an additional obstacle to recruiting and retaining volunteer board members.
Status: Bill successfully died.
CT LAC opposed this legislation, which would have required an affirmative vote of a majority of all unit owners in order to secure passage of the proposed budget or a proposed special assessment in a common interest community and altered the process that permits a unit owner to request and receive a list of names and addresses of the other unit owners.
CT LAC believed that this legislation created unnecessary administrative obstacles, delayed critical decisions, compromised resident privacy, and disrupted the efficient operation of common interest communities. The proposed changes to an association’s budgetary process neglected the reality that many owners rarely attend budget approval meetings. The current process, which allows a budget to be approved unless rejected by a majority of all owners, appropriately balances the association’s need for reliable income with owners’ rights to oppose an overreaching budget.
Impacts of this legislation would have included deferred maintenance, escalating repair costs, and potential safety risks by eliminating the current provision that allows executive boards to levy special assessments without unit owner input, provided the total special assessments in a calendar year do not exceed 15% of the association’s last adopted budget.
For large common interest communities (those established before July 3, 1991, with more than 2,400 residential units), the bill sought to remove the specialized voting thresholds for both budgets and special assessments. This proposed change risked reducing accountability, as proposals could pass with minimal participation, leading to disputes, litigation, and diminished trust between boards and owners.
This bill also introduced new requirements regarding the availability of unit owner contact information, compelling executive boards to provide a list of names and addresses to any requesting unit owner, disregarding serious privacy and security concerns.
Status: Bill successfully died.
HB 5507 – An Act Promoting the Development of Accessory Dwelling Units
CT LAC opposed this legislation as initially introduced, changing its position to neutral and continued to monitor the bill once it was favorably amended during the legislative process.
Once successfully amended, the bill aligned with CAI’s public policy on accessory dwelling units. Legislation like HB 5507 must recognize the need for a particular community association to develop reasonable rules and regulations for accessory dwelling units consistent with that community’s unique design, development, and operation. Such rules and regulations would necessarily include restrictions upon the design, materials used, size, and location of accessory dwelling units. CAI opposes legislation that prohibits community associations from adopting reasonable rules governing accessory dwelling units.
Status: Bill died.
CT LAC opposed this legislation upon introduction. As introduced, the bill would have imposed a $100 cap on the fee management companies are able to charge for the preparation of a lender’s questionnaire. While CT LAC supported the underlying intent of the bill around providing for court-ordered accountings of association financial records and revising disclosure requirements, the group strongly opposed an arbitrary cap being placed on fees an association or management company can charge for specific services, including fees that can be charged for lender’s questionnaires. The practical impact of a cap on professional service fees would have been a shift of costs from those requesting a questionnaire to all homeowners in Connecticut’s community associations.
Failing to properly disclose a debt owed by the unit or a pending special assessment could have resulted in the preparer being obligated to pay incorrectly disclosed debt or fees. Were the fee for a lender’s questionnaire to be capped, the additional costs of such questionnaires would have been absorbed by all homeowners in community associations instead of the individual owner requesting the service.
CAI’s public policy on assessment increase limitations states the board of an association, not a third-party public or governmental agency, has the obligation and is in the most informed position to manage the finances of its own private community. It is essential for a board to retain the discretion to increase assessments when reasonably necessary to fulfill its obligations in accordance with its community’s particular needs, including association bylaws, and to comply with applicable laws. CAI also knows that transparency and accountability are critical in a community association. Associations’ adopted budgets, financial records, and governing documents should be accessible to all owners upon reasonable request or as required by the association documents. Boards have processes in place to appropriately make and execute decisions affecting community finances.
CT LAC changed its position to neutral once the language imposing a cap on a fee for preparation of a lender’s questionnaire was successfully removed in the substitute bill approved by the Insurance and Real Estate Committee.
Status: Passed both chambers of the legislature.
Monitoring
CAI LACs monitor legislation with the potential to impact those living and working in community associations across their state, as well as legislation that may indirectly or unintentionally impact community associations.
CT LAC monitored this legislation that permits municipalities and water pollution control authorities to waive or refund interest on delinquent property taxes and sewer usage charges for large common interest communities with more than 500 units that are under court-ordered receivership. This bill applies primarily to a large cooperative association located in the city of Bridgeport that navigated financial trouble resulting from mismanagement by the association’s governing board. Said association is currently operating under a receiver, who is trying to restructure the association’s financial obligations. The legislation would impact the Bridgeport association and its members.
Status: Passed House.
Get Involved in CAI’s Connecticut Advocacy Work through Your Local Chapter!
In addition to strong and effective advocacy work in Hartford, CAI’s Connecticut Chapter provides information, resources, education programs and best practices designed to help you and your communities throughout Connecticut thrive. Incorporated in 1976, the Connecticut Chapter has more than 1,500 members.
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| Track CT Legislation
CAI tracks legislation throughout the year, so you can stay informed. You can check the legislation that CAI is monitoring around the clock here. |
CAI OR Legislative Resources and Chapter Contact Information
Connecticut Legislative Resources CT Chapter Executive Director – Ms. Kim McClain (860) 633-5692 – kim@caict.org |
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| CAI’s 2026 Congressional Advocacy Summit on Sept. 24 in Washington D.C.
This exclusive members-only event brings together industry leaders and advocates to engage directly with members of Congress and their staff. As the premier advocacy event of the year for the community association housing model, CAI’s Advocacy Summit offers a unique opportunity to meet face-to-face with federal lawmakers and help shape public policy impacting the industry. |
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