Manchester, CT Rental Inspections: Inspection Programs (2026)

Code of Ordinances § 242-21B states that "no person shall operate a rooming house or tenement unit unless he holds a current, unrevoked rooming house or tenement unit license issued by the code official." To obtain or renew that license, § 242-21C requires the applicant to "agree in his application to such inspection as the code official may require to determine whether the rooming house or tenement unit... is in compliance with the applicable provisions." Section 242-21D bars issuance unless the unit is "found after inspection to meet all applicable requirements," though a temporary license valid for up to 60 days may issue where an unmet requirement does not present a serious or immediate hazard.

Licenses must be displayed conspicuously in the dwelling and expire one year from issuance, renewable for successive one-year periods. A license holder who sells, transfers or gives away the property must notify the code official in writing within 24 hours, and the new owner must apply to transfer the license within 48 hours of taking control. Denial of a license carries a right to a hearing before the Municipal Board of Appeals under § 242-21E, referencing the appeal procedure in § 242-11. The section separately sets minimum habitability conditions tied to licensure: at least one flush water closet, lavatory basin and bathtub or shower for every two tenement units, or one such set per five persons in a rooming house, with facilities kept off the below-grade floor where a rooming house has only one bathroom, under § 242-21H.