Connecticut homeowners with crumbling foundations are facing a deadline to get help. The state has approved a final round of funding as some homeowners are still waiting for help.
Gov. Ned Lamont visited Abbott Place in Ellington for a status check on Connecticut’s crumbling basement crisis. Of the homes tested in the neighborhood, 20% of them had the problem of crumbling foundations.
NBC Connecticut Investigates broke the story more than a decade ago about a mineral used in hundreds of Connecticut basements that causes the concrete to crack and expand, leaving homes dangerous and degraded.
Sometimes the problem can remain hidden for decades.
The governor checked out one house that has the issue and another that got its basement replaced through a program that gives homeowners up to $200,000 to fix the problem.
“What I’ve seen in some of these houses is the cracks are gaping, it looks like there’s a risk and that’s why we’re coming in and saving them,” Lamont said.
The state has approved a final $100 million infusion to the program that helps homeowners. The program is supposed to sunset in 2030.
NBC Connecticut asked Lamont what happens if he’s told it’s not enough to help everyone.
“Well, I trust but verify…but at the end of the day, you can’t let a house crumble,” Lamont answered.
NBC Connecticut also asked Republican candidate for governor Ryan Fazio what he would do if the money runs out. Fazio sits on the State Bond Commission that approved funding for the program.
His campaign has not yet responded.
The big question going forward is exactly how many other structures have this defective concrete?
