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sHB5505 / File No. 337 1
General Assembly File No. 337
February Session, 2026 Substitute House Bill No. 5505
House of Representatives, April 1, 2026
The Committee on Planning and Development reported
through REP. KAVROS DEGRAW of the 17th Dist.,
Chairperson of the Committee on the part of the House, that the
substitute bill ought to pass.
AN ACT CONCERNING THE USE OF CERTAIN COMMERCIAL
WAREHOUSES FOR THE HOUSING OR SHELTER OF PERSONS.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General
Assembly convened:
Section 1. (NEW) (Effective from passage) (a) As used in this section: (1) 1
"Commercial warehouse" means any building or structure that (A) 2
exceeds twenty-five thousand square feet, and (B) is primarily designed 3
for, or has previously been used for, the importation, storage or 4
distribution of goods in commerce, (2) "municipality" has the same 5
meaning as provided in section 7 -148 of the general statutes, and (3) 6
"person" has the same meaning as provided in section 7 -148hh of the 7
general statutes. 8
(b) (1) Notwithstanding the provisions of any municipal charter, 9
ordinance, regulation or resolution, any special act or any provision of 10
the general statutes, no person shall use, operate or permit the use of a 11
commercial warehouse to house or provide shelter to any individual for 12
a period exceeding twenty -four hours without first obtaining a permit 13
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from the municipality in which such warehouse is located. A 14
municipality shall designate an officer or board of the municipality to 15
review any permit application and issue any such permit pursuant to 16
the provisions of this section. 17
(2) The officer or board designated by the municipality shall hold a 18
public hearing on any permit application submitted pursuant to 19
subdivision (1) of this subsection and approve or deny the application 20
not later than one hundred eighty business days after the submission of 21
such application. Any such permit applicant shall deliver notice of the 22
permit application, by certified or registered mail, to each person 23
appearing of record as an owner of property that abuts the property 24
upon which the commercial warehouse proposed for use or operation 25
as housing or shelter is located. Such notice shall be given not later than 26
three business days after the submission of any permit application 27
pursuant to this subdivision. 28
(c) No officer or board designated by the municipality pursuant to 29
subsection (b) of this section shall issue a permit pursuant to this section 30
unless the applicant demonstrates that each individual to be housed or 31
sheltered in the commercial warehouse shall have continuous access to: 32
(1) Sanitary restroom and shower facilities; 33
(2) Potable drinking water; 34
(3) Sleeping accommodations, including a bed, cot or elevated 35
sleeping surface with clean bedding materials, and adequate space to 36
maintain health and safety; 37
(4) Sufficient heating and cooling systems to maintain a comfortable 38
indoor temperature; and 39
(5) Storage sufficient to secure personal belongings. 40
(d) No commercial warehouse shall be used or operated as housing 41
or shelter pursuant to this section unless such commercial warehouse: 42
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(1) Complies with the requirements of the State Building Code, Fire 43
Prevention Code, Fire Safety Code and Public Health Code applicable 44
to public lodging accommodations; and 45
(2) Provides not less than two hundred square feet of space inside 46
such warehouse for each individual housed or sheltered in such 47
warehouse. 48
(e) Following the issuance of a permit pursuant to this section, the 49
municipality may require that the permit holder provide written 50
evidence of compliance with this section as long as the commercial 51
warehouse remains in use or operation as housing or shelter. Evidence 52
of compliance may be obtained through an inspection of such 53
warehouse by the municipality, including by the zoning enforcement 54
officer, any public health official or any code official employed by the 55
municipality. 56
(f) The officer or board designated by the municipality pursuant to 57
subsection (b) of this section may revoke or suspend a permit issued 58
pursuant to this section if the permit holder violates any provision of 59
this section. 60
(g) A municipality may, by vote of its legislative body or, in a 61
municipality where the legislative body is a town meeting, by vote of 62
the board of selectmen, prohibit the issuance of permits for the use or 63
operation of a commercial warehouse as housing or shelter. 64
(h) Nothing in this section shall be construed to limit the use or 65
operation of a commercial warehouse as housing or shelter (1) in 66
connection with a declaration of an emergency or a major disaster by 67
the Governor pursuant to title 28 of the general statutes, (2) for use as a 68
temporary warming or cooling shelter, (3) if such warehouse has been 69
converted into a residential property pursuant to section 8 -2t of the 70
general statutes, or (4) if such commercial warehouse was in use as 71
housing or shelter on or before the effective date of this section. 72
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This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following
sections:
Section 1 from passage New section
Statement of Legislative Commissioners:
In Subsec. (g), "the issuance of" was added after "prohibit", for clarity.
PD Joint Favorable Subst.
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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:
Municipalities Effect FY 27 $ FY 28 $
All Municipalities Potential
Revenue
Gain
Potential Potential
All Municipalities Potential
Cost
Potential Potential
Explanation
The bill requires anyone planning to use a commercial warehouse to
provide shelter or housing that meets certain requirements to obtain a
municipal permit and hold a public hearing. This results in a potential
revenue gain to municipalities beginning in FY 27 to the extent more
municipal permits are issued and fees are collected. The bill also results
in a potential cost to municipalities beginning in FY 27 associated with
holding a public hearing.
The bill allows municipalities to opt out of requiring these permits
via a vote. This eliminates any potential revenue gain to municipalities
to the extent they vote to opt out.
The Out Years
The annualized ongoing fiscal impact identified above would
continue into the future subject to the number of permits issued and
public hearings held.
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OLR Bill Analysis
sHB 5505
AN ACT CONCERNING THE USE OF CERTAIN COMMERCIAL
WAREHOUSES FOR THE HOUSING OR SHELTER OF PERSONS.
SUMMARY
With certain exceptions, this bill requires anyone who plans to use a
commercial warehouse for over 24 hours to provide shelter or housing
for people to first get a municipal permit . Before issuing a permit,
municipalities must hold a public hearing and ensure certain health and
safety requirements will be met. But m unicipalities, by vote of the
legislative body or selectmen, can opt to prohibit issuing these permits.
The bill specifically exempts the following housing or sheltering
activities from its provisions, including the permitting process:
1. continuing to use a warehouse for housing or shelter if it is being
used for that purpose when the bill takes effect,
2. providing housing or shelter after the governor declares an
emergency or major disaster,
3. temporarily providing a warming or cooling shelter, or
4. converting c ommercial b uildings into dwellings under a local
option zoning regulation that makes the municipality eligible for
greyfield revitalization program grants.
EFFECTIVE DATE: Upon passage
COVERED ENTITIES, STRUCTURES, AND USES
Regardless of conflicting state laws and local laws and resolutions,
the bill prohibits anyone from using a commercial warehouse for more
than 24 hours to house or shelter people, unless a local permit is
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obtained first or the use is exempt (see above). The bill applies broadly
to individuals, legal or business entities, and government agencies and
entities subject to state law. The permitting requirement applies to
anyone who wants to use, operate, or permit the use of (“use”) a
commercial warehouse for housing or sheltering purposes.
(Presumably, only one permit is required for each covered warehouse.)
Under the bill, “commercial warehouses” are buildings or structures
that are over 25,000 square feet and were primarily designed, or
previously used, for importing, storing, or distributing commercial
goods.
LOCAL PERMIT REQUIRED
The bill requires anyone covered by the permitting requirement to
obtain a permit from the municipality before starting to use a warehouse
for housing or sheltering purposes. Each municipality is responsible for
designating the individual or board with responsibility for reviewing
applications and issuing permits.
As part of the permitting process, the designated officer or board
must hold a public hearing. Additionally, within three business days of
submitting the application , the applicant must notify each owner of
property bordering the warehouse about it by certified or registered
mail.
The permitting authority has 180 business days to make a decision
after the permit application’s submission.
Required Health and Safety Assurances
A permit cannot be issued unless the applicant demonstrates that
anyone housed or sheltered in the warehouse will have continuous
access to:
1. adequate space to maintain health and safety;
2. sanitary restroom and shower facilities and potable drinking
water;
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3. sleeping accommodations (including a bed, cot , or elevated
sleeping surface with clean bedding);
4. sufficient heating and cooling to maintain a comfortable indoor
temperature; and
5. sufficient storage to secure personal belongings.
Additionally, the bill requires that these warehouses:
1. comply with the state’s building, fire prevention, fire safety, and
public health codes as they apply to public lodging
accommodations; and
2. have at least 200 square feet of indoor space for each person
housed or sheltered.
Verification, Inspections, and Permit Revocation
Municipalities may require anyone with such a permit to submit
written evidence that the use continues to comply with the bill’s health
and safety requirement s. Municipalities (including their code
enforcement employees) may verify this by inspecting the warehouse.
The bill allows the local permitting authority to revoke or suspend a
permit if the permittee violates the bill’s requirements.
COMMITTEE ACTION
Planning and Development Committee
Joint Favorable Substitute
Yea 13 Nay 8 (03/13/2026)