So Tell Me, Have You Ever Been Evicted?

Invariably, when filing out a rental application, one is asked, “Have you ever been evicted?”

Just as there are credit reporting agencies such as EquiFax to scour through public records looking for money judgments, so too are there agencies who send people to courthouses to research eviction records. Such companies as First Advantage Corporation and Core Logic maintain a database of tenant evictions often regardless of whether the case was settled, dismissed, or won by the tenant. Generally, evictions are on a tenant “blacklist” for seven years.

An eviction on a tenant’s record can preclude a rental applicant, even if they won the eviction lawsuit, from leasing new housing, particularly in the Bay area’s hot rental market where prospective applicants are competing to lease an apartment.

Before January 1, 2017, an eviction complaint filed with the court was sealed from public view for 60-days. When the lawsuit was filed, the court clerk sent a letter to the tenant noting the 60-day restriction. However, because of unfair tenant blacklists and the fact that the courts, overburdened with cases and underfunded, are unable to quickly move eviction proceedings to conclusion within the first 60-days after the eviction lawsuit was filed, a new law was enacted this year.

As of January 1, 2017, eviction records are masked from public view unless the landlord won the eviction lawsuit within 60-days or if the landlord obtained a judgment in the eviction proceeding after 60-days of filing the complaint with narrow exceptions. The Nolo Press article, “California Tenants Protected When They Win Eviction Lawsuits” provides an excellent recap of the new law.

If you have ever gone through an eviction proceeding in the past, even if you won or settled the case or the case was dismissed, it would be a good idea to check the court records yourself to see if your record is available for public view. If it is available for public view, you may want to retain an attorney to “seal” the records from public view if you can show that you have been or will be negatively impacted by the eviction record.

You can also purchase your rental record background report from First Advantage Corporation (who acquired UD Registry in 2004) and competitive entities to see if the damage has already been done and if you need to have the eviction removed from your record. But beware, removal of eviction information from your record can be another major battle!