Massachusetts tenants may now get the chance to wipe their eviction records (GBH)

 

Below is an excerpt from an article published by GBH on August 2. The article reveals how Massachusetts tenants facing housing difficulties due to prior evictions may soon have the opportunity to have their eviction records sealed under a new housing bond bill. Massachusetts Law Reform Institute’s Annette Duke is quoted.

---

Tenants in Massachusetts who struggle to find housing due to a prior eviction may now get the chance to have those records sealed.

The Legislature’s newly passed housing bond bill includes a provision that would allow tenants to petition a court to seal their eviction record in cases such as a no-fault eviction, a dismissed case, or a case the tenant won.

Currently, there is no eviction sealing in Massachusetts. Housing advocates say even one eviction can bar someone from finding housing for years because landlords consult those public records when picking a tenant.

“I think this is going to be a very big thing for renters. Right now it’s really hard to find a place to live, and eviction records have been a serious barrier to finding a place,” said Annette Dukes, a housing attorney with the Massachusetts Law Reform Institute.

Dukes said some tenants wind up locked out of the market and end up homeless.

“I think this will help many, many people access safe and decent, affordable housing at a time when it’s incredibly difficult to do that,” she said.

Read more at GBH.