WHAT YOU DON’T KNOW WILL HURT YOU
The Massachusetts Eviction Record Sealing Law
BY JEFFREY C. TURK, ESQ.
Despite our best efforts…the eviction sealing bill was signed into law which will fundamentally change a property owner’s ability to screen tenants for past evictions. The law will take effect on May 5, 2025 and, at its core, will allow tenants to have any record of certain eviction cases hidden from public view and will prohibit credit reporting agencies from reporting them on a tenant’s credit report. This includes evictions for non- payment of rent, no-fault evictions, as well as evictions for material lease violations and criminal activity. The following is a synopsis of the new law and how it will affect your ability to screen tenants for prior evictions.
The basics:
The new statute (“Statute”) establishes a system to seal eviction records based on the type of eviction case filed, specifically, whether the case was based on: 1) non-payment of rent; 2) no-fault; 3) fault; and 4) G.L. c. 139 §19 Voiding of Tenancies. For each such category, the Statute establishes a timeline to seal the record and certain conditions for sealing. However, a late-filed amendment to the Statute also requires the sealing of records in ALL eviction cases which are “dismissed”, which significantly alters these timeframes.
What does it mean to “seal” the eviction record?
Once a case is “sealed”, any record of the case will be removed from the court’s systems. In other words, all evidence that a case was even filed, or the reason or outcome of the case, will disappear. The court will literally remove the case from its system and will black out all of the names from the paper file. Once a case is sealed, it will be impossible for anyone to see that the tenant had an eviction case filed.
When can a case be sealed?
When a case will be sealed depends on the kind of case filed and how the case was resolved.
1. No-Fault Evictions:
A “no-fault” eviction is an eviction action where termination was based on conduct which was not a material violation of a lease. This would include terminations of tenancies at will or evictions based on the failure to vacate after the non-renewal of a lease. A tenant may request their no-fault eviction case to be sealed immediately upon the conclusion of such case. In other words, at the conclusion of a trial or after resolution of the case by an agreement, the tenant has a right to have the record of such case immediately sealed so that any future landlord would not know of the existence or outcome of the case.
A tenant may request their no-fault eviction case to be sealed immediately upon the conclusion of such case. In other words, at the conclusion of a trial or after resolution of the case by an agreement, the tenant has a right to have the record of such case immediately sealed so that any future landlord would not know of the existence or outcome of the case.
2. Non-Payment Evictions:
A non-payment of rent eviction is a case which is based solely on the tenant’s non- payment of their rent.
A non-payment of rent case may be sealed immediately if the tenant pays the judgment. If the tenant has paid the judgment, the landlord is required to file a “satisfaction of judgment” within 14 days and if the landlord fails to do so, the tenant has the right to request the court to deem the judgment satisfied. Once the satisfaction of judgment is filed, the Court is required to immediately seal the record. Thus, even though the tenant had defaulted on their rental obligations, once they pay the balance due, all record of the non-payment of rent will be sealed.
In cases where the judgment is NOT satisfied (i.e. the tenant never pays the landlord what is owed), the tenant can still request the record to be sealed on the following terms:
(a) Four (4) years must have passed since the judgment entered;
(b) No other non-payment of rent cases have been filed against the tenant during that four (4) year period; and
(c) The Tenant must affirm to the court that the non-payment of rent was based on an economic hardship which made them unable to pay the judgment.
If the landlord believes that the tenant has failed to satisfy the above conditions, the landlord may file an objection within seven (7) days of the tenant’s request and the court will conduct a hearing Otherwise, the record of the case, and the fact that the balance was not paid, will be sealed administratively.
3. Fault Evictions:
A “fault” eviction is an action based on a material lease violation(s), such as smoking, assaults, unauthorized occupancy, fraud, or any other alleged violation of the lease, other than non-payment of rent.
A tenant has the right to have their “cause” eviction case sealed on the following terms:
(a) Seven (7) years must have passed from the conclusion of the case; and
(b) No other cause eviction actions may have been filed against the Tenant during that seven (7) year period.
A landlord can file an objection to the record being sealed within seven (7) days of the tenant’s request, but the only basis to object would be that another cause eviction had been filed against the tenant in the seven (7) year period.
4. G.L. c. 139 §19 Eviction Actions
“G.L. c. 139 §19” is the fast-track eviction statute that permits an owner to void the tenancy of a tenant that has engaged in certain serious criminal activities. These include possession of illegal drugs, illegal firearms, prostitution, and physical assaults in subsidized housing. The statute enables a landlord whose tenant engages in such conduct to void the tenancy and seek an immediate injunction barring the tenant from the property based on the egregious conduct which threatens the health and safety of others.
A tenant has the right to have the record of such an action sealed if they demonstrate the following to the court:
(a) Seven (7) years have passed since the conclusion of the case;
(b) No other G.L. c. 139 §19 or cause eviction has been filed during such seven (7) year period;
(c) The tenant has not been convicted of a criminal offense listed in G.L. c. 139 §19 during such seven (7) year period (e.g. drugs, firearms, assault, prostitution); and
(d) The court finds that the sealing of the record is in the interest of justice and public safety.
A landlord has the right to notice of a tenant seeking to seal such an action and to oppose the sealing of the record based on the above conditions.
5. Dismissed Cases
While the foregoing provisions establish a time frame to seal eviction cases, Section e1/2 of this law, which was added just prior to its passage, contains a significant exception to these waiting periods. Specifically, this amendment requires a case to be sealed immediately and without notice to any party if the action is “dismissed”. Of course, eviction cases may be dismissed for a variety of reasons unrelated to the merits of the case. For example, an eviction case must be dismissed if the tenant moves out prior to trial. As such, based on this section of the law if a tenant vacates the premises owing a landlord money or following allegations of serious criminal conduct or lease violations, any record of that case would immediately be sealed once the case is dismissed. Similarly, cases that are dismissed following the tenant’s completion of a probationary agreement would be immediately sealed. For example, in a cause eviction action based on smoking, the parties may enter into an Agreement for Judgment where the tenant agrees not to smoke for some period of time and, at the end of the Agreement, the case is dismissed. Based on the amendment, while the other provisions of the Statute would require the tenant to wait four (4) years without any additional cause evictions filed in order to have the case sealed, this later provision would require the case to be sealed immediately when they comply with the terms of the Agreement. As such, this provision supersedes the other requirements of the Statute which are intended to ensure some balance between clearing someone’s housing record and ensuring that owners are able to screen prospective tenants in order to protect the safety and quiet enjoyment of the other residents.
How will this impact a landlord’s ability to screen applicants?
A. Applicants
Effective May, 2025, a landlord will be prohibited from asking about eviction cases which have been sealed. Specifically, all applications for housing are required to contain the following language:
“An applicant for housing or credit with a sealed record on file with the court pursuant to section 16 of chapter 239 of the General Laws may answer ‘no record’ to an inquiry relative to that sealed court record.”
In addition, if an applicant for housing is asked whether they have ever been evicted, the applicant may answer “No” if their eviction has been sealed. In other words, the Statute allows them to provide a false response to such an inquiry if their record has been sealed.
B. Credit Reports
Credit agencies are prohibited by this law from disclosing the existence of any sealed evictions. Once a case is sealed, it must be removed from the person’s credit report and cannot be disseminated to any person. Thus, credit reports will no longer include records of evictions once they are sealed. Of course, this requirement will require credit agencies to track the sealing of records and may actually cause many of the credit agencies to stop reporting evictions as a violation of the Statute carries significant penalties for these companies.
CONCLUSION
This Statute will clearly have a significant impact on an owner’s ability to screen an applicant for housing. Any record of evictions will be sealed, even in cases where the landlord prevails and demonstrates that the tenant engaged in criminal conduct or other serious lease violations. While the public safety and basic fairness of this law are extremely concerning, based on the passage of this law, owners should take the following actions:
(a) Applications: All applications for housing must be amended to include the new notice referenced above by May, 2025;
(b) Tenant Selection Plans: Owners must amend their Tenant Selection Plans (TSP) to comply with this law.
(c) Agreements for Judgment: As noted above, the Housing Court has traditionally required a case to be dismissed once a tenant complies with the terms of an Agreement for Judgment. However, there is no actual law or rule that requires a judgment for the landlord to be vacated, and a dismissal entered, in cases where the tenant has signed an Agreement for Judgment. We are already in conversation with the Housing Court to confirm how the Statute will change this procedure and whether they will continue to request parties dismiss cases upon compliance with an Agreement for Judgment.
d) Lease Compliance: Clearly, this law will likely result in landlords accepting applicants who have previously been evicted. This includes not only tenants that have not paid their rent, but also tenants that have engaged in serious behavior which has interfered with the safety and/or quiet enjoyment of other residents. Given that these cases were even filed will now be hidden from view, owners may want to place greater importance on credit scores, income requirements, and screenings for criminal convictions. Tenant Screening has always been an important part of ensuring lease compliance, and this law will clearly create serious challenges in this process.
The foregoing article is intended for information purposes only and should not be considered or relied upon as legal advice.
Please feel free to contact our office if you have specific questions or if you require legal assistance.