The Region's Other Problem
Connecticut has a foundation crisis that has nothing to do with fire and everything to do with selling a house here.
Concrete poured in this part of the state between roughly 1983 and 2015 may contain pyrrhotite, an iron sulfide mineral that causes concrete to deteriorate slowly when exposed to oxygen and water. Foundations containing it develop cracks and gaps that expand over time, affecting the structure above.
The aggregate came from Becker's Quarry in Willington and was supplied through the J.J. Mottes Company. Around 41 Connecticut towns are potentially affected, and both companies later agreed with the state to stop selling materials containing that aggregate.
What Does That Have to Do With a Fire?
The full position is on our page covering the foundation and the disclosure.
There Is Real Money Available, and It Has a Rule Attached
Connecticut created CFSIC, the Connecticut Foundation Solutions Indemnity Company, as a nonprofit captive insurer under Public Act 17-2 for the sole purpose of assisting homeowners with pyrrhotite foundations. It launched in January 2019 and had replaced 1,000 foundations by October 2024.
CFSIC may pay up to $175,000 of the cost of remediation, and will reimburse a licensed engineer's inspection and half the cost of core boring testing up to $2,000. Funding comes from the Department of Housing and from a $12 surcharge on homeowners' insurance policies issued in Connecticut.
What Is the Rule That Catches People Selling?
And Connecticut Requires You to Say What You Know
The residential condition report that sellers must complete was expanded to require disclosure and explanation of any knowledge of pyrrhotite in the foundation, along with a statement that prospective buyers may have a concrete foundation inspected.
Subsequent legislation went further: it requires disclosure of all significant defects in a property's foundation even where the seller fails to complete the residential disclosure report, and it creates a private right of action allowing buyers to bring a civil suit to recover actual damages from sellers who fail to make the required disclosures.
What a Fire-Damaged Hartford Property Is Actually Worth
The Terms That Move the Number Here
When the foundation was poured. The first question, and the answer is on the town record.
Whether anybody has looked at it. An engineer's report is what unlocks both the assistance and the buyer's eligibility.
Which town. Proximity to the quarry matters far more than distance from Hartford.
How long the basement has been open. Oxygen and water are the mechanism.
What you already know. Because knowledge triggers a disclosure obligation.
Anyone quoting without asking about the foundation has priced a rebuild on something they have not looked at.
The Classes That Matter
To qualify for assistance a homeowner needs a report from a Connecticut licensed engineer giving a severity classification of Class 1, Class 2 or Class 3.
Class 3 rests on a visual examination where the engineer concludes that the visible cracking patterns are of the kind commonly associated with the deterioration, and it does not require a core sample. That matters practically, because it means an initial answer is obtainable without destructive testing.
Most Hartford City Housing Is Outside This
Worth saying plainly so owners in the city do not spend energy on the wrong question. The concern is concrete poured from 1983 onward, and the great majority of housing in Hartford's own neighbourhoods is a good deal older than that.
The towns east and north of the city sit closer to the centre of the problem. South Windsor has been described as being in the middle of the epicentre, and a claimant in Manchester was the thousandth foundation CFSIC replaced.
How the Timeline Runs
An open claim does not prevent a sale. What complicates a Hartford file is a foundation nobody has assessed and a disclosure obligation nobody has thought about.
If you are weighing several offers, how to tell local cash buyers apart covers the checks that separate them.
Questions Owners Ask
How Do I Find out When It Was Poured?
The town's building department and assessor hold the year. On a rebuild or an addition the foundation can be newer than the house, which is worth checking rather than assuming.
Should I Get It Tested Before Selling?
It cuts both ways and knowing is generally better. An engineer's report resolves what every buyer is currently discounting for, and a Class 3 assessment needs only a visual examination.
Can I Sell With an Open Claim?
Yes. Who keeps the insurance proceeds is a contract term rather than a legal barrier.
What If I Genuinely Do Not Know?
Then say so. The obligation is to disclose what you know, and answering honestly is a different thing from answering confidently.
Sources
- Connecticut Public Act 16-45 — assessor inspection and reassessment; insurance non-cancellation
- Public Act 17-2 JSS section 336 — establishment of CFSIC as a captive insurer
- Connecticut General Assembly Office of Legislative Research reports 2018-R-0239, 2019-R-0184 and 2024-R-0029
- CFSIC claim requirements, severity classes and reimbursement limits
- Connecticut Department of Housing crumbling foundations programme materials