Fairfield, CT Rental Inspections: Tenant Complaint Process (2026)

The Fair Rent Commission was created by the Representative Town Meeting on June 26, 2023 under Fairfield Town Code § 87-1, pursuant to C.G.S. §§ 7-148b through 7-148f, 47a-20 and 47a-23c. Five members and two alternates, including one landlord and one tenant, are appointed by the Board of Selectmen with RTM approval. Under § 87-2, the Commission receives complaints about alleged excessive rental charges, retaliation, and whether a housing accommodation fails to comply with any municipal ordinance or state statute relating to health and safety, covering ordinary rentals and mobile manufactured home park lots, but excluding units rented on a seasonal basis of 120 days or less per year.

Once a tenant files, § 87-4 requires the Commission to notify all parties in writing, and if the complaint alleges conditions violating a housing, health or building code, the Commission notifies the relevant municipal office or agency, which may investigate concurrently; any hearing must then occur within 14 days after that agency's report. A hearing on the complaint overall must be scheduled within 30 days of filing, with at least 10 days' written notice to the parties. Municipal staff may first attempt informal conciliation between landlord and tenant.

At the hearing, parties may be represented, cross-examine witnesses, and present evidence under oath, and the Commission must render a decision at the same meeting or within 30 days. While a complaint is pending, the tenant's rent liability is frozen at the last agreed rent, and Fairfield's ordinance bars an eviction based on nonpayment of the disputed increase.