Senator Rahman Leads Passage of Blight Enforcement Bill

HARTFORD — Senator MD Rahman (D-Manchester), Senate Chair of the Planning and Development Committee, led passage Wednesday of Senate Bill 272, legislation that gives municipalities stronger tools to act against blighted properties that have become a persistent problem in their communities.

Under current law, municipalities must wait until a third blight violation within a twelve-month period before they can take immediate enforcement action without first providing written notice and an opportunity to remediate. SB 272 lowers that threshold to a second violation, allowing towns and cities to move faster against property owners who have already received notice and failed to address blighted conditions.

“Blighted properties don’t just hurt the people who live next door to them. They undermine the stability of entire neighborhoods and put responsible property owners at a disadvantage,” Senator Rahman said. “This bill is a practical fix: if a property owner has already been put on notice and the problem keeps coming back, our towns shouldn’t have to wait for a third strike before they can act. I’m proud to have led this bill through the Senate and I look forward to seeing it signed into law.

The bill passed the Planning and Development Committee on a unanimous vote and received support from municipal officials across Connecticut, who testified that faster enforcement authority gives communities better leverage against violations that continue to be ignored.