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House Co-Sponsorship Memoranda
House of Representatives
Session of 2023 - 2024
Regular Session
MEMORANDUM
| Posted: | December 1, 2022 03:12 PM |
|---|---|
| From: | Representative Elizabeth Fiedler and Rep. Rick Krajewski, Rep. Ismail Smith-Wade-El |
| To: | All House members |
| Subject: | Eviction Record Sealing |
| Many tenants face eviction through no fault of their own, yet under current law that record will follow the person for years even when a court does not find that a tenant breached a lease. Having a frivolous eviction case on record makes it harder for people to get new housing and can negatively impact their credit score. It follows people regardless of the validity of the eviction filing. Renters aren’t the only ones hurt by the current state of affairs — the law as is makes it harder for small landlords who need accurate information about their tenants and who can’t afford to be misled by spurious eviction records. Our current eviction records law benefits a small number of bad-acting landlords who can threaten tenants with frivolous evictions to keep them from demanding safe and sanitary housing conditions. To help Pennsylvania families, our legislation establishes eviction record sealing procedures in certain cases. The bill would still allow eviction cases to be unsealed for five years if it was found that the tenant did indeed breach the lease. Any eviction cases dealing with a “not-for-cause” eviction or a foreclosure eviction would be automatically sealed. The bill will also retroactively seal all cases which meet the “not-for-cause” criteria, which will give a clean slate to many families who are looking for safe and affordable housing. We ask that you join us and support this legislation that will help Pennsylvania families access safe housing. |