Why Being a Landlord in Connecticut Is a Nightmare, according to a New Report

I’ve been a landlord and I’ve been a renter—and from experience, I can tell you neither role is a walk in the park. Each comes with its own set of headaches.

According to a new study, though, being a landlord in Connecticut comes with way more headaches than being a tenant. Stacker just released its rankings of the Most and Least Landlord-Friendly States in the U.S.

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They based their findings on what actually matters to landlords: profit, risk, and how much of a pain it is to manage a property.

Evictions: States with fast, straightforward eviction processes scored higher. If a tenant stops paying or breaks the lease, you shouldn’t be tied up in court for months.

Taxes: Low property and income taxes were another big plus. The less you're forking over to the state, the better your cash flow and ROI.

Connecticut didn’t exactly shine in this study—it landed in the worst category. First, here’s a look at the states landlords might actually enjoy doing business in:

Most Landlord-Friendly States:

5. Alabama
4. Indiana
3. Arizona
2. Florida
1. Texas

Now, here are the places landlord's dread:

Least Landlord-Friendly States:

10. Connecticut
9. Massachusetts
8. Minnesota
7. Maryland
6. Illinois
5. Washington
4. Oregon
3. New Jersey
2. New York
1. California

So, why did Connecticut land in the bottom 10? Here’s what Stacker had to say:

“High property taxes, just cause eviction regulations, and local rent caps make Connecticut a costly, slow-moving state where landlords lose time and money fast.”

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Honestly, one of the most maddening things I can think of is those nightmare squatter stories. You’ve seen the headlines—“Squatter Living in Million-Dollar Mansion.” And in a lot of these cases, cops can’t even do anything. That’s what really gets me. Some of our laws are so backwards, they end up protecting people who are clearly gaming the system instead of the hard-working, law-abiding folks trying to do the right thing.

What’s even worse? These squatters are completely shameless. They’ll smile for the cameras and say, “We’re not leaving,” like it’s no big deal.

We are living in Bizarro World. Up is down, and good is bad.