BILL NUMBER: S9911
SPONSOR: HOYLMAN-SIGAL
 
TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the real property actions and proceedings law, in
relation to the sealing of eviction proceeding records; and to amend the
judiciary law, in relation to directing the chief administrator of the
courts to develop certain forms
 
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:
Mandates the sealing of certain court records related to eviction
proceedings, provides for access to sealed court records under cert ain
circumstances, and forbids consumer reporting agencies and tenant
screening bureaus from disclosing information from sealed court records
for consumer reports or tenant screening reports.
 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
Section 1 adds a new section 748 to article 7 of the real property
actions and proceedings law to require court records of an evictio n
proceeding be sealed one year after a final judgment has been entered,
and all rights of appeal have been exhausted. In certain ins tances,
court records must be sealed immediately after the conclusion of a case.
Sealed court records can be accessed at the discreti on of the court for
certain purposes, such as journalism and scholarly research. Consumer
reporting agencies and tenant screening bureaus shall not use or
disclose court-records sealed under this section. The attorney general
is empowered to enforce this section.
Section 2 adds two new subdivisions ff and gg to section 212 of the
judiciary law to authorize the office of court administration to promul-
gate forms and processes for individuals to request eviction procedure
records be sealed, as well as request access to sealed records.
Section 3 provides that the bill shall take effect on the one hundred
eightieth day after it shall have become law.
 
JUSTIFICATION:
In 2019, the Housing Stability and Tenant Protection Act (HSTPA) made it
illegal for a property owner or landlord in New York State to deny a
rental application based on the applicant's Housing Court record. The
HSTPA also stopped the Office of Court Administration from selling
tenant court data to third parties. Though these were significant
reforms, barriers to enforcement still exist. For inst ance, potential
tenants may not know if their Housing Court record has been requested by
a future landlord. Applicants might also not take the extra step of
making a complaint to the Attorney General's office. Housing court data
can still be obtained manually from publicly available information.
Publicly-accessible records of eviction cases can have severe financial
consequences for tenants. For instance, judgements recorded in Housing
Court may negatively affect a tenant's credit score, making it even
harder for New Yorkers to find housing and access finan cial products.
The risk to a tenant's credit score may also discourage them from seek-
ing recourse in the court system.
17 states have implemented measures to seal eviction records, including
California, Maryland, Massachusetts, and Connecticut. These policy
developments build on research that shows that the use of housing court
records by tenant screening bureaus and consumer report ing agencies
facilitates discrimination (Shriver Center on Poverty and Law, 2020) and
hinders efforts to address poverty and homeless ness (Center for Ameri-
can Progress, 2021). Furthermore, the information contained in tenant
screening reports is often "inaccurate, incomplete, or misleading" (New
York State Bar Association).
By sealing housing court records, New York State would augment enforce-
ment of existing antidiscrimination law, promote economic mobility, and
keep New Yorkers housed.
 
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
New bill.
 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS FOR STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS:
None.
 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately on the one hundred eightieth day
after it shall become law.

Statutes affected:
S9911: 212 judiciary law, 212(2) judiciary law