EVICTION RECORD SEALING AND EXPUNGEMENT TOOLKIT
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eviction lings from impacting the ability of tenants to
secure stable housing.
Currently, there are 10 states, including the District of
Columbia, with active legislation related to the sealing or
expunging of eviction records to protect renters, while
many other states and localities are working to enact such
protections in their jurisdictions.
II. WHAT CAUSES AN
EVICTION?
For decades, renters in the U.S. have experienced alarm-
ingly high rates of eviction. Using data collected over an
18-year period, the Eviction Lab at Princeton University
recently found that, on average, 3.6 million evictions had
been led annually since 2000 – that is, approximately
nine eviction lings for every 100 households.
6
Black and
Indigenous renter households and households of color
are more likely to have an eviction led against them than
white renters, with low-income Black women experiencing
the highest eviction rates. Over the course of their life-
time, one out of every ve Black women is evicted, while
one out of every 15 white women is evicted.
7
Low-income
households with children are also disproportionately more
likely to face eviction. More than 14% of children who live
in low-income households have experienced an eviction
by the time they are 15 years old.
8
Evictions can happen for many reasons. During or at the
end of a tenant’s lease term, a landlord can le to legally
remove a tenant from their residence for reasons such as
nonpayment of rent, violation of the lease agreement,
or criminal activity. The most common cause of eviction,
typically, is nonpayment of rent. In many states, clearing a
rental balance with a landlord is one of the only options for
diverting the threat of eviction once a “notice to quit” has
been issued against a tenant. However, because eviction
cases disproportionately impact low-income renters, many
tenants who are evicted for nonpayment of rent nd it dif-
6 Garnham, J., Gershenson, C., & Desmond, M. (2022, July 11). New Data Release Shows that 3.6 Million Eviction Cases were Filed in the United
States in 2018. Princeton University.
7 Lake, J. & Tupper, L. (2021, September 30). Eviction Record Expungement Can Remove Barriers to Stable Housing. Washington, DC: Center for
American Progress.
8 Benfer, E. (2022, November 2). U.S. Eviction Policy is Harming Children: The Case for Sustainable Eviction Prevention to Promote Health Equity.
Harvard University.
9 Vallejo, C. & Rabe-Thomas, J. (2022, April 14). Rent Paid, Still Evicted: the COVID-era Rise of No-Fault Evictions. Connecticut Public Radio.
cult to pay back any arrears and have their eviction case
dismissed. Consequently, a tenant who is aware that they
have not met this requirement will often not challenge
an eviction order brought against them. The tenant may
then choose not to appear in court, resulting in a default
eviction judgement against the tenant, usually in favor of
the landlord.
Lack of legal services, particularly for low-income rent-
ers, can also result in eviction judgements being brought
against tenants. Low-income families usually cannot afford
private lawyers, while legal aid attorneys are often unavail-
able due to high demand. (Indeed, approximately 50% of
individuals seeking representation through legal aid are
turned away.) As a result, in eviction cases nationwide,
approximately 82% of landlords are represented in court,
while only 3% of tenants are.
Eviction lawsuits can also be led against tenants without
good or “just” cause, meaning, landlords can evict tenants
for no reason – or fault of the tenant – whatsoever. In many
states and localities around the country, landlords are not
required to provide a reason for evicting a tenant at the
end of a lease term or for evicting a tenant without a lease
(i.e., a resident with a month-to-month tenancy). Moreover,
a landlord who is unable to evict a tenant during their
lease term may choose not to renew the tenant’s lease and
use the lease holdover as grounds for eviction. Only 10
states have just cause eviction laws that limit the causes
for which a landlord can evict a tenant or refuse to renew
a tenant’s lease when the tenant is not at fault or in viola-
tion of any law. While no-fault evictions are illegal in some
states, in others they are commonplace. In September
2021, of the 1,045 eviction cases led in the State of Con-
necticut that month, 537 were due to no-fault causes.
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