Sec. 47a-18a. Judicial relief if landlord unlawfully enters.
Sec. 47a-18a. Judicial relief if landlord unlawfully enters. If the landlord makes
an entry prohibited by section 47a-16 or 47a-16a, or makes repeated demands for entry
otherwise lawful but which have the effect of unreasonably harassing the tenant, the
tenant may recover actual damages not less than an amount equal to one month's rent
and reasonable attorney's fees. The tenant may also obtain injunctive relief to prevent
the recurrence of the conduct or terminate the rental agreement.
(P.A. 79-571, S. 25; P.A. 89-254, S. 7.)
History: P.A. 89-254 restated provisions to clarify that the tenant does not have to obtain injunctive relief or terminate
the rental agreement in order to recover actual damages.
Cited. 32 CA 133. Cited. 45 CA 46. Term "one month's rent" includes all rent payments made to the landlord, regardless
of their source and therefore includes both tenant's portion and subsidized portion of rent payments made to the landlord.
88 CA 193. The attorney's fees provision found in Sec. 47a-18a is not limited to percentage of the award of damages.
Other factors relevant to reasonableness of an award of attorney's fees under the statute include work performed by counsel,
as documented by the attorney's affidavits, prevailing hourly rates or the award of attorney's fees in similar cases. Id.
Where damages awarded under section encompass the same conduct as for damages awarded pursuant to Sec. 47a-46, the
sum for actual damages may not be included in the award pursuant to both this section and Sec. 47a-46. 89 CA 836.
Cited. 38 CS 683.