(a)(1) Upon default of the owner, agent, lessor or manager of a residential dwelling or dwellings who is billed directly by a water company or by a municipal water utility for water service furnished to such building or buildings, such company or municipal utility may petition the Superior Court or a judge thereof, for appointment of a receiver of the rents or payments for use and occupancy or common expenses, as defined in section 47-202, for any dwelling or dwellings for which the owner, agent, lessor or manager is in default. The court or judge shall forthwith issue an order to show cause why a receiver should not be appointed, which shall be served upon the owner, agent, lessor or manager or his agent in a manner most reasonably calculated to give notice to such owner, agent, lessor or manager as determined by such court or judge, including, but not limited to, a posting of such order on the premises in question. If a petition or petitions are filed by a single petitioner regarding more than one building under the same ownership, the court shall, if practicable, appoint a common receiver for all such buildings and, if filed as separate actions, may consolidate such petitions and treat them as a single action.
(2) A hearing shall be had on such order no later than seventy-two hours after its issuance or the first court day thereafter. The sole purpose of such a hearing shall be to determine whether there is an amount due and owing between the owner, agent, lessor or manager and the company or municipal utility. The court shall make a determination of any amount due and owing and any amount so determined shall constitute a lien upon the real property of such owner. A certificate of such amount may be recorded in the land records of the town in which such property is located describing the amount of the lien and the name of the party in default. When the amount due and owing has been paid, the company or municipality shall issue a certificate discharging the lien and shall file the certificate in the land records of the town in which such lien was recorded.
(3) Not more than ten days after receipt of the order of appointment by the receiver, such receiver shall provide written notice to all occupants of the building or buildings, delivered separately to each dwelling unit, stating that the receiver has been authorized to collect all rents or payments for use and occupancy or common expenses, as defined in section 47-202, due from such occupant and that the owner, agency, lessor or manager, as the case may be, is prohibited from collecting such rents or payments for use and occupancy or common expenses. The notice shall include the address to which payments are to be made and a telephone number at which the receiver can be contacted. The notice shall be in plain and simple language and shall be written in English and in Spanish. A copy of the court order appointing the receiver and authorizing the collection of rents shall be attached to the notice.
(4) The receiver appointed by the court shall collect all rents or payments for use and occupancy or common expenses forthcoming from the occupants of the building or buildings in question in place of the owner, agent, lessor or manager. The court may authorize the receiver to make reasonable repairs and provide reasonable maintenance to the premises, as determined by the court, the reasonable cost of which shall be added to the total amount due and owing from the owner, agency, lessor or manager. The receiver may also petition the court to obtain any remedy available under chapter 906 against such owner, agent, lessor or manager in order to recover amounts due as determined under subdivision (2) of this subsection and continuing charges for such water service until all such charges and other costs have been paid.
(5) The receiver shall pay to the petitioner, other supplier or receiver, as is appropriate, from such rents or payments for use and occupancy or common expenses from such building or buildings, in the following priority: (A) For electric, gas, telephone, water or heating oil supplied on and after the date of his appointment and for the reasonable cost of repairs and maintenance made or provided pursuant to subdivision (4) of this subsection; (B) for such reasonable fees and costs determined by the court to be due the receiver; (C) for reasonable attorney's fees and costs incurred by the petitioner; and (D) for any arrearage found by the court to be due and owing the company or municipal utility from the owner, agent, lessor or manager for service provided such building or buildings. The owner, agent, lessor or manager shall be liable for all such costs. Any moneys remaining thereafter shall be turned over to the owner, agent, lessor or manager. The court may order an accounting to be made at such times as it determines to be just, reasonable and necessary.
(b) Any receivership established pursuant to subsection (a) of this section, shall be terminated by the court upon its finding that the arrearage which was the subject of the original petition or petitions have been satisfied for all buildings subject to the receivership, or that all occupants of a building have agreed to assume liability in their own names for prospective service supplied by the petitioner, or that the building has been sold and the new owner has assumed liability for prospective service supplied by the petitioner.
(c) On motion by the receiver, the court may authorize the receiver to institute a summary process action pursuant to chapter 832 against an occupant, upon a prima facie showing that: (1) The occupant has received notice in accordance with subdivision (3) of subsection (a) of this section; (2) the receiver has made reasonable efforts to supplement such notice with other written and oral notice; (3) after the occupant has received notice in accordance with subdivision (3) of subsection (a) of this section, payments equal to one month's rent or use and occupancy have not been made by or on behalf of the occupant during the most recent sixty consecutive days; and (4) the duty to make such payments has not been suspended as a result of the condition of the premises or any applicable preoccupancy certification requirements. In any such summary process action, the receiver shall be subject to all claims and defenses that the occupant could assert against the owner, agent, lessor or manager of the dwelling.
(d) Nothing in this section shall be construed to prevent the petitioner from pursuing any other action or remedy at law or equity that it may have against the owner, agent, lessor or manager.
(e) Any owner, agent, lessor or manager who collects or attempts to collect any rent or payment for use and occupancy or common expenses, as defined in section 47-202, from any occupant of a building or buildings subject to an order appointing a receiver or who in any other way interferes with the receiver in the performance of his duties shall be found, after due notice and hearing, to be in contempt of court.
(f) If a proceeding is initiated pursuant to sections 47a-14a to 47a-14h, inclusive, or sections 47a-56 to 47a-56i, inclusive, or if a receiver of rents is appointed pursuant to chapter 735a or pursuant to any other action involving the making of repairs to residential rental property under court supervision, rent or use and occupancy payments and common expenses, as defined in section 47-202, shall be made pursuant to such proceeding or action without regard to whether such proceeding or action is initiated before or after a receivership is established under this section, and such proceeding or action shall take priority over a receivership established under this section in regard to expenditure of such rent or use and occupancy payments.
(P.A. 98-102, S. 2; P.A. 13-78, S. 11.)
History: P.A. 13-78 amended Subsec. (a)(4) to add provision re court petition to obtain remedy for amounts due and continuing charges for water service, effective June 5, 2013.
Structure Connecticut General Statutes
Title 16 - Public Service Companies
Chapter 283 - Telephone, Gas, Power and Water Companies
Section 16-228. - Telephone lines.
Section 16-229. - Excavation in highway.
Section 16-230. - Bond requirement.
Section 16-231a. - Cuts and permanent patches in highway. Inspections. Repairs. Certification.
Section 16-232. - Rights of companies organized under general law.
Section 16-233. - Use of gain by town, city, borough, fire district or Department of Transportation.
Section 16-235. - Control by local authorities. Orders. Appeals.
Section 16-236. - Appraisal of damages; costs.
Section 16-237. - No prescriptive right.
Section 16-238. - Wires may be cut; notice.
Section 16-239. - Dispatches transmitted in order. Exceptions.
Section 16-243. - Jurisdiction of authority over electricity transmission lines.
Section 16-243b. - Definitions. Jurisdiction.
Section 16-243bb. - Adjustment of electric distribution company residential fixed charge.
Section 16-243cc. - Energy storage deployment. Report.
Section 16-243d. - Project by private power producer deemed “industrial project”.
Section 16-243dd. - Energy storage project proposals.
Section 16-243g. - Assignment of electricity purchase agreements.
Section 16-243h. - Credit to residential customers who generate electricity; metering.
Section 16-243l. - Rebate for customer-side distributed resource projects that use natural gas.
Section 16-243m. - Measures to reduce federally mandated congestion charges.
Section 16-243o. - Waiver of back-up power rates.
Section 16-243q. - Class III renewable energy portfolio standards.
Section 16-243t. - Class III credits.
Section 16-243u. - Plan to build peaking generation.
Section 16-243w. - Advanced metering system plan and deployment.
Section 16-243x. - Time-of-use meters. Notice of availability.
Section 16-244. - Electric deregulation; findings and declarations.
Section 16-244a. - Rate freeze for electric service.
Section 16-244aa. - Performance-based regulation of electric distribution companies.
Section 16-244bb. - Sustainable materials management account.
Section 16-244cc. - Energy storage systems pilot program.
Section 16-244i. - Duties of electric distribution companies.
Section 16-244k. - Allocation of the proceeds of the retail adder.
Section 16-244l. - Modification of fuel cell electricity purchase agreements.
Section 16-244m. - Procurement Plan re standard service.
Section 16-244n. - Standard service contract buydown.
Section 16-244o. - Generation evaluation and procurement process.
Section 16-244p. - Transmission line project review.
Section 16-244q. - Request for proposal re reliability concerns.
Section 16-244u. - Virtual net metering.
Section 16-244w. - Grid-side system enhancements pilot program.
Section 16-244x. - Shared clean energy facility pilot program.
Section 16-244z. - Renewable energy tariffs.
Section 16-245a. - Renewable portfolio standards.
Section 16-245aa. - Renewable energy and efficient energy finance program.
Section 16-245bb. - Bond authorization.
Section 16-245cc. - Demand charge waiver for fuel cells.
Section 16-245dd. - Residential electric space heating tariff.
Section 16-245ff. - Residential solar investment program.
Section 16-245gg. - Master purchase agreement for solar home renewable energy credits.
Section 16-245hh. - Condominium renewable energy grant program.
Section 16-245ii. - Energy consumption data of nonresidential buildings.
Section 16-245j. - Rate reduction bonds and economic recovery revenue bonds; terms.
Section 16-245jj. - Town customer electricity and gas usage information.
Section 16-245kk. - Issuance of bonds, notes and other obligations by the Connecticut Green Bank.
Section 16-245ll. - Clean energy bonds.
Section 16-245m. - Energy Conservation Management Board. Conservation and Load Management Plan.
Section 16-245mm. - Special capital reserve funds.
Section 16-245nn. - Residential solar photovoltaic system permit.
Section 16-245q. - Changing electric suppliers.
Section 16-245r. - Discrimination by electric suppliers prohibited.
Section 16-245s. - Switching electric suppliers; procedures; penalties; regulations.
Section 16-245t. - Complaints to authority re electric suppliers; procedures; remedies.
Section 16-245y. - Annual reporting re status of electric deregulation.
Section 16-245z. - Internet links to Energy Star program.
Section 16-246. - Other companies which may sell electricity.
Section 16-246a. - Definitions.
Section 16-246f. - Electric company emergency assistance.
Section 16-246g. - Pilot program for electric generation.
Section 16-247. - Foreign telephone companies.
Section 16-247a. - Goals of the state. Definitions.
Section 16-247c. - Provision of intrastate telecommunications services. Civil penalty. Competition.
Section 16-247i. - Telecommunications service and regulation status report.
Section 16-247j. - Regulations.
Section 16-247o. - Consultant to test operations support systems interface.
Section 16-247p. - Quality-of-service standards. Performance standards.
Section 16-247t. - Customer inquiries and complaints regarding cellular mobile telephone service.
Section 16-248. - Rights of telephone company in operation May 23, 1985.
Section 16-250b. - Cellular mobile telephone service. Authority jurisdiction. Regulations.
Section 16-251. - Bonds of telephone company.
Section 16-252. - Bonds may be secured by mortgage.
Section 16-255. - General powers.
Section 16-256. - Notice of offense in party line usage in telephone directory.
Section 16-256a. - Directory assistance charge prohibited.
Section 16-256d. - Itemized telephone bills for business customers.
Section 16-256f. - Blocking service available to customers.
Section 16-256h. - Business to residential pricing ratio for basic exchange service.
Section 16-257. - Recording of agreement of consolidation or merger of electric and gas companies.
Section 16-258. - Standards concerning electricity and gas.
Section 16-258a. - Registration of natural gas sellers. Procedures. Penalties.
Section 16-258b. - Registration of electric generating facilities.
Section 16-258c. - Dual fuel capability requirements for electric generating facilities.
Section 16-258d. - District heating systems incentive program.
Section 16-259. - Inspection of meters.
Section 16-259a. - Inaccurate billing. Financial liability of customer. Payment plan.
Section 16-260. - Water meters may be required.
Section 16-261. - Extension of electric lines to unserved areas. Determination of rates.
Section 16-262. - Gas companies authorized to deal in natural gas.
Section 16-262b. - Notice of discharge of explosives or highway excavation to gas companies.
Section 16-262h. - Nonexclusivity of remedy.
Section 16-262i. - Regulations.
Section 16-262m. - Construction specifications for water companies.
Section 16-262p. - Improvements by acquiring entity.
Section 16-262q. - Compensation for acquisition of water company.
Section 16-262r. - Satellite management of water companies. Expedited rate proceedings.
Section 16-262s. - Voluntary acquisition of water company. Surcharges. Rate of return.
Section 16-262u. - Replacement and repair of water service connections. Granting of exceptions.
Section 16-262v. - Water company infrastructure projects: Definitions.
Section 16-262w. - Water company rate adjustment mechanisms.
Section 16-262x. - Termination of residential utility service. Requirements.
Section 16-262y. - Water company revenue adjustment mechanism.