Residents bring 2,500 petitions, say tenants face mold, mice and delayed inspections; call to end current rental licensing

Millie Arsenegas, executive director of Hartford Parent University, told the Court of Common Council during public comment that the organization had collected more than 2,500 petitions from tenants reporting unsafe and unsanitary conditions in affordable housing across Hartford.

"They're living in filth day in and day out," Arsenegas said, describing tenant complaints that include mice, mold and delayed municipal responses. She said tenants who call 311 are often told an issue "doesn't fall under the municipal code" or are passed from agency to agency.

Arsenegas said the petitions ask the council to end the city's rental licensing program as currently implemented; she said landlords with four or more units often avoid inspections for up to four years because of the program's cadence. "Get rid of it," she said, adding that the group is asking the council to require yearly inspections so landlords are held to code.

Several residents described firsthand conditions. Tamaris (Tamaris/Tamaris spelling in transcript) Bororing said she conducted home visits and called attention to health risks for children living in the affected units. Another resident, who identified himself as a long-term tenant at Betty Knox housing, said he and his neighbors experience drug activity in hallways, lack of night security and trouble getting assistance with paperwork; he said he recently received an eviction notice after attempting to submit certification documents.

Arsenegas asked for council staff assistance compiling the petition data; she said she had been told to submit information on an internal spreadsheet but lacked the capacity to do so herself.

Why it matters: Petitioners said thousands of tenants live in conditions that they say violate municipal housing standards and that delayed inspections and enforcement leave residents in hazardous conditions. They asked the council to revisit the rental licensing structure and to increase inspections and staffing. No council vote or formal direction occurred during public comment.