Evicting a tenant in Connecticut takes 45 to 60 days in a straightforward, uncontested case. The process - formally called summary process - begins with a 3-day Notice to Quit served by a state marshal, followed by a Superior Court action with a $175 entry fee. There is no faster legal route, and the single most common cause of delay is not the court: it is a defective notice that forces the landlord to start again.
This is a procedural guide for Connecticut landlords. It is not legal advice, and eviction is one of the areas where an hour of a lawyer’s time is usually cheaper than a restart.
What has to happen before the Notice to Quit?
It depends on the reason, and getting this step wrong invalidates everything after it.
| Reason | Required first step |
|---|---|
| Non-payment of rent (monthly) | Wait out the 9-day grace period (C.G.S. 47a-15a) |
| Non-payment of rent (weekly) | Wait out the 4-day grace period |
| Curable lease violation | Serve a 15-day notice to remedy (C.G.S. 47a-15) |
| Serious nuisance | None - proceed directly to the Notice to Quit |
| Lapse of time / end of term | None - proceed directly to the Notice to Quit |
The 9-day grace period is the one landlords skip. Rent is late on day two, and it feels reasonable to act. Serving a Notice to Quit on day five for a monthly tenancy makes the notice defective, and the defect is not curable later in the case.
How is the Notice to Quit served?
By a state marshal or other proper officer. This is set out in C.G.S. 47a-23(c) and it is not a formality you can substitute your way around.
A Notice to Quit that you hand over yourself, tape to the door, or send by certified mail is not properly served. The case will be dismissed on it, and you will have spent the notice period for nothing.
Two further rules on counting the days:
- The tenant gets three full days. You do not count the day of service, and you do not count the move-out day.
- Sundays and legal holidays are excluded from the count.
Hire the marshal early. They serve on their schedule, not yours, and the clock does not begin until service is complete.
What does the court stage involve?
Once the Notice to Quit expires and the tenant is still in the property, you file a summary process action in Superior Court, heard in a Housing Session where one exists.
The sequence:
- File the Summons and Complaint with the original Notice to Quit and the marshal’s signed Return of Service. These are filed with the Clerk three days before the Return Date. The Judicial Branch publishes the specific forms - the JD-HM series - at jud.ct.gov. Generic templates from elsewhere are a common cause of rejection.
- Pay the $175 entry fee (C.G.S. 52-259). A fee waiver is available on form JD-CV-120.
- The tenant has two days after the Return Date to file an Appearance. If they do not, you may move for a default judgment.
- If contested, the case is scheduled and both sides present evidence. Your ledger, lease, notices and correspondence are the case.
- On judgment for possession, the tenant has five days to move before a state marshal can execute the eviction.
Nothing in that list can be compressed by being firm with the tenant. It is a court timetable.
What are the mistakes that restart the whole thing?
These five account for most of the failed evictions in the state.
1. Miscounting the three days. Counting the day of service, or counting a Sunday, invalidates the notice. Start again.
2. Accepting rent after serving the Notice to Quit. This is the expensive one. If you accept any payment - including a partial payment - after the notice is served, the court may find you reinstated the tenancy. The eviction ends. Decide before you serve whether you want the money or the property, because after service you cannot have both.
3. Serving the notice yourself. Covered above. Use a marshal.
4. Self-help eviction. Changing the locks, removing belongings, or shutting off utilities is illegal in Connecticut and exposes you to penalties of your own. Whatever the tenant has done, the property comes back through a judgment and a marshal.
5. Using the wrong forms. The Judicial Branch requires its own JD-HM forms. Filling in something found online is a rejection.
Are there tenants who cannot be evicted without cause?
Yes, in a narrow category. Connecticut has no general statewide just-cause requirement, so for most tenancies a landlord may end the term or a month-to-month arrangement with a Notice to Quit for lapse of time, without stating a reason.
The exception is C.G.S. 47a-23c: tenants who are 62 or older, or who have a disability, living in buildings with five or more units have just-cause protection. For those tenants, the tenancy cannot be ended without a legally valid ground.
Separately, retaliatory eviction is prohibited. Moving to evict shortly after a tenant complains about conditions or contacts a housing authority invites a defence you will have to answer.
What does it actually cost?
| Item | Typical cost |
|---|---|
| Marshal service of Notice to Quit | Varies; budget a modest fee per service |
| Court entry fee | $175 (C.G.S. 52-259) |
| Attorney (uncontested) | Varies widely by firm |
| Marshal execution after judgment | Additional fee |
| Lost rent, 45-60 days at $2,000/mo | $3,000-$4,000 |
The filing fee is the small number. The lost rent is the real cost, and it is why the arithmetic almost always favours resolving the situation earlier if there is any realistic route to doing so.
Is there anything better than evicting?
Frequently, yes - and it is worth being unsentimental about the maths rather than the principle.
A payment plan that recovers the arrears over several months costs you nothing but patience. An eviction costs 45-60 days of rent plus fees plus a turnover.
Cash for keys - an agreed sum for the tenant to leave by a date, in writing, with the unit clean - regularly costs less than two months of vacancy and produces a faster, quieter result. It is not weakness; it is arithmetic.
Neither works when the tenant will not communicate, the arrears keep growing, or there is damage or nuisance in play. Then file, and file correctly the first time.
The single best predictor of never needing any of this is how carefully the tenant was screened before they moved in.
What to do first, today
If you are at the start of this:
- Read your lease and identify the exact ground and the exact grace period.
- Diary the grace period. Do not serve early.
- Instruct a marshal - do not serve it yourself.
- Stop accepting payments if you intend to proceed.
- Assemble the ledger, lease, and every message, in date order.
- Talk to a Connecticut attorney before filing. One consultation costs less than one restarted case.
If you would rather this sat with someone who runs the process regularly, handling notices, marshals and court administration is part of full management. Tell us the situation and we will give you a straight read on it.
This article summarises Connecticut summary process as of August 2026, with reference to C.G.S. 47a-15, 47a-15a, 47a-23, 47a-23c and 52-259. Statutes and fees change. This is general information, not legal advice - consult a Connecticut attorney about your specific case.