If there were any lingering doubts as to whether Section 47a-11 of Connecticut’s Landlord and Tenant Statutes applied to commercial tenancies, this issue has now been definitively determined. In a recent decision, Vidiaki LLC v. Just Breakfast and Things!!! LLC, 133 Conn. App. 1; 2012 Conn. App. LEXIS 16 (Conn. App. Ct. 2012), Connecticut’s Appellate Court for the very first time affirmatively held that Section 47a-11 “does not apply to commercial tenancies.” How is this decision relevant in the commercial context?

Section 47a-11, which is contained in Chapter 830 of Connecticut’s Landlord and Tenant Statutes, imposes certain statutory obligations on tenants (defined as “Tenant’s Responsibilities”) regarding the general upkeep of the premises. This essentially means that even if the lease agreement in effect may not have contained these specific statutory obligations, a tenant would nonetheless be considered in default if the tenant failed to comply with the following enumerated statutory obligations: compliance with building, housing, and fire codes; maintaining the premises in a clean and safe condition; removing garbage, rubbish, or other waste from the premises; maintaining the upkeep of plumbing fixtures and appliances; using all electrical, plumbing, heating, ventilating, and other facilities including elevators in a reasonable manner; not willfully or negligently destroying or damaging the premises; and not disturbing the peaceful enjoyment of other tenants.

Before Vidiaki, a commercial landlord may have defaulted a tenant for the tenant’s failure to comply with one or more items listed in Section 47a-11. However, the Appellate Court has now ruled that Section 47a-11 was intended by the legislature to apply only to residential tenants and not to commercial tenants. In Vidiaki, the landlord has specified a violation of 47a-11 as one of the statutory grounds in its Notice to Quit and the subsequent eviction complaint against the tenant. The tenant prevailed at the trial level, and the Appellate Court affirmed the trial court’s decision.

The import of the Vidiaki decision is that a commercial lease should not contain any references to Section 47a-11 in its default provisions. Further, no landlord should default a commercial tenant based on that tenant’s “failure to comply with its statutory responsibilities under Section 47a-11” because under Connecticut law, no such obligations are applicable to commercial tenants.