Connecticut runs a two-document system with a waiting period bolted to the front of it: a nine-day grace period on the rent, then — depending on the ground — a fifteen-day pretermination notice, and then a Notice to Quit that has to be served by an officer. Each piece has its own rules and its own way of going wrong.
Start a CT Notice — $49.99 See all 50 statesThe table paraphrases commonly cited residential provisions in Title 47a. It is background information, not a determination that any of these applies to your tenancy.
| Situation | What the statute describes | Citation |
|---|---|---|
| Rent unpaid when due | The landlord may proceed under §§ 47a-23 to 47a-23b only after the tenant fails to pay within nine days after the due date — four days for a one-week tenancy. The statute calls this the "grace period." | C.G.S. § 47a-15a |
| Material noncompliance with the lease, with § 47a-11, or with rules adopted under § 47a-9 | Before starting a summary process action, the landlord delivers written notice specifying the acts or omissions and stating the rental agreement terminates on a date not less than fifteen days after receipt | C.G.S. § 47a-15 |
| Breach that is remedied within the fifteen days | If the breach is remediable by repairs or payment of damages and the tenant adequately remedies it in that window, the rental agreement does not terminate | C.G.S. § 47a-15(1) |
| Substantially the same act or omission recurs within six months | The landlord may terminate under §§ 47a-23 to 47a-23b — no second pretermination notice described | C.G.S. § 47a-15(2) |
| Nonpayment of rent, serious nuisance, or a violation of § 47a-11(h) | Expressly outside the fifteen-day pretermination requirement — the landlord may elect to go directly to the Notice to Quit | C.G.S. § 47a-15 (opening clause) |
| Notice to Quit | At least three days before the termination of the lease, or before the time specified in the notice to quit possession; must be in substantially the statutory form and state the reason using the statutory language or words of similar import | C.G.S. § 47a-23(a), (b) |
| Service of the Notice to Quit | An attested copy served by a proper officer to each lessee or occupant, or left at the lessee's or occupant's place of residence; delivery may be made on any day of the week | C.G.S. § 47a-23(c) |
Section 47a-15a provides that where rent is unpaid when due and the tenant fails to pay within nine days thereafter — four days for a one-week tenancy — the landlord "may terminate the rental agreement in accordance with the provisions of sections 47a-23 to 47a-23b." The corresponding ground in § 47a-23(a)(1)(D) is framed as "nonpayment of rent within the grace period." A Notice to Quit for nonpayment served before that grace period has run is served on a ground that has not yet matured.
There is also a recent addition worth knowing: effective January 1, 2026, § 47a-23(a)(1)(D) carries an exception providing that the nonpayment ground does not apply if the owner's or lessor's online rental payment system prevented the payment of rent within the grace period. If you collect rent through a portal, that sentence is about you.
Section 47a-15 opens by carving out three situations: nonpayment of rent, conduct constituting a "serious nuisance," and a violation of § 47a-11(h). For everything else within its scope — material noncompliance with § 47a-11 that materially affects the health and safety of other tenants or the physical condition of the premises, material noncompliance with the rental agreement, or material noncompliance with rules adopted under § 47a-9 — the statute says the landlord "shall deliver" the pretermination notice before commencing summary process.
"Serious nuisance" is a defined term, not a description. The statute lists: inflicting bodily harm on another tenant or the landlord, or threatening to inflict such harm with the present ability to do so under circumstances that would lead a reasonable person to believe the threat will be carried out; substantial and wilful destruction of part of the dwelling unit or premises; conduct presenting an immediate and serious danger to the safety of other tenants or the landlord; and using or allowing the premises to be used for prostitution or the illegal sale of drugs (with a broader radius rule where the landlord is a housing authority). Deciding that your facts fit one of those categories is a legal call — and Connecticut appellate decisions have turned on whether the ground charged in the notice matched the ground the court relied on.
Section 47a-23(b) requires the Notice to Quit to state the reason "using the statutory language or words of similar import." Connecticut courts have treated that as more than a drafting preference: where a notice charged one subparagraph of the serious-nuisance definition and the judgment rested on a different one, the Appellate Court found the court lacked subject matter jurisdiction to evict on a ground not charged. Pick the ground before you draft, not after.
For nonpayment, § 47a-15a requires the landlord to wait out a nine-day grace period (four days for a one-week tenancy) before proceeding under §§ 47a-23 to 47a-23b. The Notice to Quit itself must be given at least three days before the termination of the lease or the time specified in the notice, under § 47a-23(a). For most curable lease violations, § 47a-15 requires a separate pretermination notice stating termination on a date not less than fifteen days after receipt.
The current subsection (c) of § 47a-23 provides that an attested copy shall be served by a proper officer, to each lessee or occupant or left at the place of residence. Certified mail is not described there as a method of serving the Notice to Quit. We will not tell you that any EvictServe product satisfies § 47a-23(c), because we do not believe it does. Engage a state marshal.
No — § 47a-15 expressly excepts the case in which the landlord elects to proceed under §§ 47a-23 to 47a-23b to evict based on nonpayment of rent, on serious nuisance, or on a violation of § 47a-11(h). For nonpayment, the grace period in § 47a-15a governs the timing instead.
Section 47a-15 provides that if the breach is remediable and the tenant adequately remedies it within the fifteen-day period, the rental agreement does not terminate; but if substantially the same act or omission for which notice was given recurs within six months, the landlord may terminate under §§ 47a-23 to 47a-23b. Whether the second incident is "substantially the same" is a legal judgment.
Connecticut's summary process statute lists "lapse of time" as a ground for a Notice to Quit and sets the notice at least three days before the time specified — it does not, on its face, prescribe a separate thirty-day notice for ending a residential month-to-month tenancy the way many states do. Your lease may say something different, and other provisions or local rules may bear on it. Ask a Connecticut attorney rather than assuming the thirty-day default you may have seen elsewhere.
Section 47a-23(b) sets out a statutory form and requires the reason to be stated using the statutory language or words of similar import. The Connecticut Judicial Branch publishes a Notice to Quit form (JD-HM-7). Section 47a-23(e) also addresses combining a federally required termination notice, and the wording of a use-and-occupancy disclaimer. Whether your notice is adequate is a legal judgment.
Yes. Effective January 1, 2026, the nonpayment ground in § 47a-23(a)(1)(D) does not apply if the owner's or lessor's online rental payment system prevented the tenant from paying rent within the grace period. If your portal was down, locked, or rejecting payments, that is a fact worth documenting before anyone serves anything.
In Connecticut, a landlord seeking possession brings a summary process action in Superior Court after the Notice to Quit period has run, under §§ 47a-23a and following. Self-help removal is not available. Where a § 47a-15 pretermination notice is required, a dated record of what was sent, to whom, and when is a form of delivery documentation commonly referenced in landlord-tenant filings — and Connecticut's fifteen-day period runs from receipt, which makes the record of delivery more than administrative housekeeping. For the Notice to Quit itself, the officer's return is the record, and that is a marshal's job rather than ours. Whether any particular court accepts a given record, and whether your notices, their grounds, their dates, and their service are correct, are matters for the landlord and the landlord's attorney to evaluate.
EvictServe is not a law firm, does not practice law, and does not give legal advice. We provide a self-service document-and-mail tool. In Connecticut, the honest version of our pitch is a narrow one: we can help with the pretermination notice, and we will tell you plainly to hire a state marshal for the Notice to Quit.
C.G.S. § 47a-23 (Notice to quit possession or occupancy; form; delivery) — Justia (2025)
C.G.S. § 47a-15 (Noncompliance by tenant; remedy of breach; landlord's remedies) — Justia (2025)
C.G.S. § 47a-15a (Nonpayment of rent by tenant; landlord's remedy; charges for late rent) — Justia · FindLaw
C.G.S. § 47a-23b (Service if lessee is a nonresident or whereabouts unknown) — CounselStack
Notice to Quit (End) Possession, form JD-HM-7 — Connecticut Judicial Branch
Residential Summary Process (Eviction) — Landlord, Self-Represented Parties Information Series — Connecticut Judicial Branch
Enter the tenant and property details and we print and mail it today by USPS Certified Mail with tracking — or send a courier who returns photo and GPS proof of delivery. For a Notice to Quit under § 47a-23, contact a Connecticut state marshal instead.
Email support@evictserve.com — typically same-day response during business hours (CT).