Thousands of Pennsylvanians carry eviction filing records who have never been evicted.
We are called to be aware of and concerned for people in our midst who are vulnerable to losing their housing. Neighborhood and community initiatives are needed. - ELCA Social Message on Homelessness
In Pennsylvania, eviction filings are publicly accessible and remain on a tenant’s record regardless of the outcome of that filing, including when a tenant is found not at fault by the court. Because eviction filings can automatically remove potential tenants from a pool of applicants, tenants with a record are forced to seek housing of last resort that is managed by less reputable landlords, in disrepair, unhealthy, less affordable, and increases the risk of future eviction and housing instability.
With average wages lagging far behind housing costs, eviction filings are now returning to pre-pandemic levels even as unemployment decreases. More families are being barred from accessing housing that is in increasingly short supply with no remedy to alleviate a long past eviction filing record.
- From 2001 – 2019, the median renter income in PA rose 5% while rents increased 16%.
- Over 1 million Pennsylvanians are working in positions that do not pay enough for rent when working 40 hours a week.
- Pennsylvania has the lowest unemployment rate in 47 years.
Pennsylvania continues to improve upon the highly successful Clean Slate law to seal minor criminal records and open both employment and housing opportunities for those with long past offenses. In keeping with the precedent for granting second chances, it is only fair that the Commonwealth provide a civil legal remedy that will help vulnerable Pennsylvania’s access the basic need for housing.
- In Pennsylvania, misdemeanors are sealed after 7 years and felonies after 10 years.
- Bankruptcy filings and missed payments are removed from credit reports after 7 years.
- State law provides no remedy to limit access to eviction filings.
HB1095/SB549 provide an Order of Limited Access for eviction filings. All landlord-tenant eviction cases will remain sealed from the time of filing until a court renders a decision. Cases found in favor of the plaintiff (landlord) will be accessible within 30 days. Decisions in favor of the defendant (tenant), or withdrawn, dismissed, or settled will remain under an Order of Limited Access. All cases will be sealed within seven years.
Eviction records can be the start of the cycle of poverty, not just for adults but also for their children. More than 114,000 Pennsylvanians had evictions filed against them between the summers of 2022 and 2023. This policy change would immediately provide limited access to over 35,000 eviction filings from the previous year and likely every year going forward.
HB1095/SB549 is a simple, effective change that will benefit thousands of Pennsylvania residents and make a real difference to those who are seeking safe, affordable housing. HB 1095 just passed the House Housing and Community Development Committee with overwhelming bipartisan support. It could go to the floor for a full vote soon!
Your letter will be most effective if you take a moment to personalize your message and the headline of your email. If you have a lived experience of being in eviction proceedings, or accompanying those who were, please share how having limited access policies would have effected the outcome. Personal stories really make a difference!
Thank you for your advocacy!
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[Posted: 5/5/2025]
