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HB05361 • 2026

AN ACT REVISING A PROVISION CONCERNING HOUSING.

AN ACT REVISING A PROVISION CONCERNING HOUSING.

Children Housing Land
Passed Legislature

This bill passed both chambers and reached final enrollment, even if later executive action is not shown here.

Sponsor
Housing Committee
Last action
2026-03-25
Official status
File Number 165
Effective date
Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

The bill text specifies it takes effect on October 1, 2026, which was not in the original candidate explanation.

Changes to Rules for Affordable Housing Programs

This law updates the rules requiring zoning commissions to ask city leaders to create a program that sets income limits and manages affordable housing sales or rentals.

What This Bill Does

  • Requires zoning commissions to tell city leaders after they adopt new regulations about affordable housing income limits.
  • Asks cities to establish or designate an agency within 120 days to manage the sale and rental of these affordable homes based on set income criteria.
  • Allows the local housing authority or another designated group to run the program if the city does not act in time after receiving notice from the zoning commission.
  • Mandates that programs must pick buyers or renters without discriminating based on age, gender, race, creed, color, national origin, ancestry, marital status, disability, place of residency, number of children, or veteran status.

Who It Names or Affects

  • Zoning commissions and municipal agencies with zoning powers
  • City legislative bodies responsible for passing local laws
  • Local housing authorities or other groups managing housing matters
  • People and families applying to buy or rent affordable housing units

Terms To Know

Zoning commission
A group of officials that decides how land can be used in a city, such as where homes can be built.
Legislative body
The elected leaders or council members who make laws and rules for the local municipality.
Affordable housing
Housing units that are sold or rented to people whose income meets specific limits set by law.

Limits and Unknowns

  • The text does not say how much money the state will give to help cities run these programs.
  • The bill does not explain what happens if a city fails to create an agency after more than one year has passed, only that another group takes over after 120 days.

Bill History

  1. 2026-03-25 LCO

    Reported Out of Legislative Commissioners' Office

  2. 2026-03-25 Connecticut General Assembly

    Favorable Report, Tabled for the Calendar, House

  3. 2026-03-25 Connecticut General Assembly

    House Calendar Number 140

  4. 2026-03-25 LCO

    File Number 165

  5. 2026-03-19 LCO

    Referred to Office of Legislative Research and Office of Fiscal Analysis 03/24/26 5:00 PM

  6. 2026-03-11 LCO

    Filed with Legislative Commissioners' Office

  7. 2026-03-10 HSG

    Joint Favorable

  8. 2026-02-27 Connecticut General Assembly

    Public Hearing 03/03

  9. 2026-02-26 Connecticut General Assembly

    Referred to Joint Committee on Housing

Official Summary Text

To revise the housing statutes of the state.

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text
House of Representatives
sHB5361 / File No. 165 1

General Assembly File No. 165
February Session, 2026 Substitute House Bill No. 5361

House of Representatives, March 25, 2026

The Committee on Housing reported through REP. FELIPE of
the 130th Dist., Chairperson of the Committee on the part of the
House, that the substitute bill ought to pass.

AN ACT REVISING A PROVISION CONCERNING HOUSING.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General
Assembly convened:

Section 1. Subsection (b) of section 8 -2g of the general statutes is 1
repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 2
1, 2026): 3
(b) Upon the adoption of any regulation under subsection (a) of this 4
section, the zoning commission or municipal agency exercising the 5
powers of a zoning commission shall notify the legislative body of the 6
municipality of such adoption and request that the municipality 7
establish or designate an agency to implement a program designed to 8
establish income criteria in accordance with said subsection (a) and 9
oversee the sale or rental of any units of affordable housing constructed 10
pursuant to said subsection (a) to persons and families satisfying such 11
income criteria. Any municipality may, by ordinance, establish or 12
designate a municipal agency to implement such program. If the 13
legislative body does not enact such ordinance [within] not later than 14
one hundred twenty days [following] after the date of such request, the 15
sHB5361 File No. 165

sHB5361 / File No. 165 2

zoning commission or municipal agency exercising the powers of a 16
zoning commission may notify the housing authority of the 17
municipality or, in any municipality which has not by resolution 18
authorized its housing authority to transact business in accordance with 19
the provisions of section 8-40, the municipal agency with responsibility 20
for housing matters that it has adopted such regulation. Upon receiving 21
such notice, the housing authority or municipal agency with 22
responsibility for housing matters shall implement such program. Any 23
such program shall provide for a method of selecting persons satisfying 24
such income criteria to purchase or rent such units of affordable housing 25
from among a pool of applicants which method shall not discriminate 26
on the basis of age, gender, race, creed, color, national origin, ancestry, 27
marital status, intellectual disability, physical disability, including, but 28
not limited to, blindness or deafness, place of residency, number of 29
children or veterans' status. 30
This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following
sections:

Section 1 October 1, 2026 8-2g(b)

Statement of Legislative Commissioners:
The title was changed.

HSG Joint Favorable Subst. -LCO

sHB5361 File No. 165

sHB5361 / File No. 165 3

The following Fiscal Impact Statement and Bill Analysis are prepared for the benefit of the members of
the General Assembly, solely for purposes of information, summarization and explanation and do not
represent the intent of the General Assembly or either chamber thereof for any purpose. In general,
fiscal impacts are based upon a variety of informational sources, including the analyst’s professional
knowledge. Whenever applicable, agency data is consulted as part of the analysis, however final
products do not necessarily reflect an assessment from any specific department.

OFA Fiscal Note

State Impact: None
Municipal Impact: None
Explanation
The bill makes technical changes which do not result in a fiscal impact
to the state or municipalities.
The Out Years
State Impact: None
Municipal Impact: None

sHB5361 File No. 165

sHB5361 / File No. 165 4

OLR Bill Analysis
sHB 5361

AN ACT REVISING A PROVISION CONCERNING HOUSING.

SUMMARY
This bill makes technical changes to a law related to affordable
housing construction.
EFFECTIVE DATE: October 1, 2026
COMMITTEE ACTION
Housing Committee
Joint Favorable
Yea 14 Nay 5 (03/10/2026)