If you’ve looked at the real estate listings lately, you know Connecticut has a housing crisis.

Top Democrats at the state Capitol pledged to make the issue a top priority on Monday. But it may be tough to agree on a solution – even within their own party.

Connecticut is famous for its small town charm, but it comes at a steep cost. At a news conference on Monday, Democratic leaders said the housing shortage will be one of their top issues this session.

“Too many people are spending too much money every month on their rent or their mortgage because house prices are so high,” said state Senate Majority Leader Bob Duff (D-Norwalk).

But can Democrats from inner cities and wealthy suburbs unite on a solution?

In 2023, Fairfield County Democrats helped kill a controversial “Fair Share” quota that would have forced most communities to build a certain amount of affordable housing. It would have used a mix of incentives and penalties to force towns to comply – including lawsuits. The policy has been used in New Jersey since the 1970s.

Instead, the legislation was stripped down to contain “fair share” goals, but no mandates or penalties. Republicans vowed to fight the idea this year.

"[The Democrats] want to go back to concepts that failed in previous years such as Live, Work, Ride, and the next stages of Fair Share," said state Rep. Tony Scott (R-Monroe), the top Republican on the General Assembly's Housing Committee. "This is just more of the same – a one size fits all mandate from the state regardless of local ability, need or wants."

Instead of strict zoning mandates, Gov. Ned Lamont suggested a compromise during his State of the State speech last week.

“Time is money,” he told lawmakers. “Speed up the permitting process. Get those shovels in the ground.”

Some of Lamont’s fellow Democrats hope to find a middle ground this year.

“They say that they want to keep what ‘their town looks like,’ so maybe they don’t want the big apartment housing,” said state Sen. Martha Marx (D-New London). “They certainly build some really big, big, big houses with lots and lots and lots of acres.”

Another area that may come up? Protections for renters, including two other controversial bills that would ban “no cause” evictions and cap rent increases.

Last year, landlords warned that both proposals could backfire – driving them out of the rental business and leading to even fewer apartments available.

“It’s going to make a landlord think twice about who to rent to, whether or not to rent the unit or leave it vacant,” said landlords, like state Rep. Joe Polletta (R-Watertown). “And it could actually result in less housing.”

Democrats also announced they will focus on school funding – especially special education, which can eat up a third or more of a school district’s budget.

“Special education is in need of immediate special attention,” said state Sen. Sujata Gadkar-Wilcox (D-Trumbull).

Legislative leaders suggested overhauling the state’s Excess Cost Grant formula, which reimburses local schools for special education expenses. A Select Committee on Special Education has been looking at possible adjustments.

The idea appears to have bipartisan support from Republicans.

Beyond special education, Connecticut’s largest cities are calling for more money overall. Mayors and school leaders from Bridgeport and Stamford came to the state Capitol on Monday, asking for half a billion new dollars for schools.

“We are very big on access and opportunity for our students to get everything that they need,” said Stamford Public Schools superintendent Tamu Lucero. “But the problem is that we have to make really hard decisions if, indeed, the state funding doesn’t come in completely, the federal money does not come in completely.”

Lamont said he met with the mayors last week.

“It’s going to be a priority for us in our upcoming budget,” Lamont told reporters on Monday. “I’m going to sit down and talk to the mayors. And maybe they have some ideas in addition to just more funding.”

Any extra money will likely come with more state oversight, especially in chronically low-performing districts.

“Fifty-four percent of them cannot read on grade level right now. That’s in our entire state,” said state Sen. Doug McCrory (D-Hartford). “We’ve got to look at what outcomes we're getting for those children who are in these programs. We've got to look at the cost of these programs."

Another big question: Can lawmakers pay for all this without busting the state’s strict spending caps, known as the “fiscal guardrails?” House Speaker Matt Ritter thinks they can, although cuts from the Trump administration could make that significantly harder. Ritter would not commit to the $500 million that larger cities are asking for.