Conn. Gen. Stat. § 47a § 47a-54a
(Formerly Sec. 19-346). Overcrowding in tenement and lodging houses.
Operative Text
If a room in a tenement, lodging or boarding house is overcrowded, the board of health or other enforcing agency may order the number of persons sleeping or living in such room to be so reduced that there shall not be less than five hundred cubic feet of air to each person over twelve years of age who occupies such room, and three hundred cubic feet of air to each child under twelve years of age who occupies such room.
Under Conn. Gen. Stat. § 47a-54a, when a room in a tenement, lodging, or boarding house is found to be overcrowded, a local board of health or other authorized enforcing agency has the power to order a reduction in the number of occupants. The standard used to define adequate space requires at least 500 cubic feet of air per occupant over age twelve and at least 300 cubic feet per child under twelve. This provision sets a minimum air-space threshold as the measure of lawful occupancy density in covered residential settings.
Plain English — not legal advice.
Property owners and managers operating tenement, lodging, or boarding houses in Connecticut should be aware that Conn. Gen. Stat. § 47a-54a empowers local health authorities to intervene when rooms fall below the air-space minimums the statute establishes. Compliant operators generally calculate the cubic footage of each sleeping or living room and ensure the number of residents does not cause the per-person air space to drop below the thresholds set for adults and children respectively. Maintaining records of room dimensions and occupancy levels is a practice commonly associated with demonstrating compliance if a board of health inspection occurs.
General guidance for property managers — not legal advice for your specific situation. Consult an attorney for advice on your case.
Conn. Gen. Stat. § 47a-54a gives tenants in tenement, lodging, or boarding houses a basis to raise concerns when a room they occupy may be overcrowded under the air-space standards the law establishes. Tenants who believe their living conditions fall below those minimums may report the situation to their local board of health or other designated enforcing agency, which has authority to order a reduction in occupancy. Tenant-rights organizations in Connecticut can provide general information about how this provision interacts with other housing protections and what options are generally available to occupants in overcrowded conditions.
General guidance for tenants — not legal advice for your specific situation. Consult a tenant-rights organization or attorney for advice on your case.
Generated September 17, 2026 — auto-generated, not yet human-reviewed. See /transparency for methodology.
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