West Haven, CT Rental Property Rules: Rental Registration (2026)

Chapter 156 of the West Haven Code, adopted by the City Council of the City of West Haven on 3-12-2007 and amended in its entirety on 6-6-2014, requires registration from nonresident owners of rental real property. Section 156-2A covers occupied and vacant rental property. An individual owner files his or her own current residential address and contact information. If the owner is a corporation, partnership, trust or other legally recognized entity owning rental real property in the state, the filing is the current residential address and contact information of the agent in charge of the building. The Department of Planning and Development holds the file.

The definitions in § 156-1 fix what gets filed. Contact information is the name, address and telephone number(s) of the nonresident owner and the agent in charge, if any. An address is the full street number, if any, the street name, the city or town, and the state, and a mailing address such as a post office box does not qualify. An agent in charge is one who manages real estate, including the collection of rents and supervision of property. A dwelling unit is any house or building, or portion of one, rented, leased or hired out as the home of one or more persons living independently of each other and cooking on the premises.

When the residential address changes, notice of the new address goes to the office of the City Tax Assessor not more than 21 days after the change. The fees under § 156-2B are $25 for each initial registration and $10 for each notice of residential address change. If an owner or agent never files, the address where the city mails property tax bills for the rental property is deemed the current address. Under § 156-3, service of state or municipal orders about maintenance or code compliance at the address on file, or the deemed address, is sufficient proof of notice in any later criminal or civil action against the owner or agent.