Thousands of Massachusetts residents gained a new online tool in the search for stable housing as a law took effect allowing eligible tenants to have their past eviction records sealed.
The new law is intended to remove a major barrier to housing stability. Eviction records are publicly-accessible court records, which landlords can currently use to deny housing to prospective tenants. Records are public even if tenants won a case or reached an agreement with a landlord, advocates said.
Eviction sealing is not an automatic process under the new law. Tenants who win their case, have a case dismissed or had a no-fault eviction case can petition to have their records sealed immediately after the appeal period ends. Tenants will need to wait four years to petition after the end of a non-payment case, and seven years after a fault-eviction case.
The law also blocks credit and consumer reporting agencies from including information about sealed eviction records in their reports.
Nearly 5,000 evictions are filed annually in Boston. About 1,500 of those eviction filings turn into actual evictions, and it is really hard for those families to often times move on because of the records that they have acquired along the way.
Should you need assistance with the filing of a petition to seal your prior eviction record, contact the Law Offices of Renee Lazar at 978-844-4095 to schedule a FREE one hour no obligation to discuss your situation.
boston.com