HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES STAFF ANALYSIS
BILL #: CS/HB 1193 Court Records of Eviction Proceedings
SPONSOR(S): Justice Appropriations Subcommittee, Aloupis
TIED BILLS: HB 1195 IDEN./SIM. BILLS: SB 1746
REFERENCE ACTION ANALYST STAFF DIRECTOR or
BUDGET/POLICY CHIEF
1) Civil Justice & Property Rights Subcommittee 18 Y, 0 N Brascomb Jones
2) Justice Appropriations Subcommittee 15 Y, 0 N, As CS Smith Keith
3) Judiciary Committee 16 Y, 0 N Brascomb Kramer
SUMMARY ANALYSIS
A lease is an estate interest in real property held under a rental agreement by which the owner (landlord) gives
another (tenant) the right to occupy or use land for a period of time. Section 83.56, F.S., establishes the
circumstances under which a residential landlord or tenant may terminate a rental agreement. A landlord may
terminate a tenancy early and evict a tenant for a number of reasons, including not paying rent, violating the
lease or rental agreement, or committing an illegal act.
There is currently no public records exemption for eviction-related court records. An eviction on a public court
record may prevent a family from relocating to safe, affordable housing because landlords often screen
applicant background criteria including credit history, criminal history, and eviction history before renting a
property. Increasingly, landlords search court websites and purchase reports from tenant screening
companies, which collect information from eviction courts and aggregate it with other publicly available data.
Some tenant screening companies make recommendations based solely on the existence of a court case,
regardless of whether the case resulted in a judgment against the tenant.
CS/HB 1193 creates s. 83.626, F.S., authorizing a tenant or mobile home owner who is a defendant in an
eviction proceeding to file a motion with the court to have the records of such proceedings sealed and to have
his or her name substituted with the word “tenant” on the progress docket if:
The parties file a joint stipulation.
The case was dismissed.
The case was resolved by settlement or stipulation of the parties and the defendant has complied with
the terms of the agreement.
A default judgment was entered against the defendant, and the defendant has satisfied any monetary
award included in the judgment.
A judgment was entered against the defendant on the merits at least 5 years before the motion was
filed under this subsection, and the tenant has satisfied any monetary award included in the judgment.
The bill also requires a court to grant such motion if the parties file a joint stipulation or the case was
dismissed. In a mobile home park lot eviction proceeding under s. 723.061, F.S., the court must substitute the
defendant’s name on the progress docket with “tenant” if the court entered a judgment in favor of the
defendant.
The bill has no fiscal impact on state and local governments.
The bill has an effective date of July 1, 2021, and applies to any judgment entered before, on, or after that
date.
This document does not reflect the intent or official position of the bill sponsor or House of Representatives .
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FULL ANALYSIS
I. SUBSTANTIVE ANALYSIS
A. EFFECT OF PROPOSED CHANGES:
Background
Residential Tenancies
A lease is an estate interest in real property held under a rental agreement by which the owner
(landlord) gives another (tenant) the right to occupy or use land for a period of time.1 Section 83.56,
F.S., establishes the circumstances under which a residential landlord or tenant may terminate a rental
agreement. A landlord may terminate a tenancy early and evict a tenant for a number of reasons,
including not paying rent, violating the lease or rental agreement, or committing an illegal act. To
terminate the tenancy, the landlord must first give the tenant written notice. The type of notice is
determined by the reason for the termination as follows:
If the tenant fails to pay rent, then the landlord can give the tenant a three-day notice to pay rent
or terminate the rental agreement.
If the tenant violates the lease or rental agreement and the violation can be corrected, then the
landlord can give the tenant a seven-day notice to cure.
If the tenant intentionally destroys the rental property or other tenants’ property, creates
unreasonable disturbances, or repeats the same lease violation within a 12-month period, an
unconditional quit notice allows the landlord to terminate the tenancy at the end of a seven-day
period and proceed with the eviction without giving the tenant time to cure a violation.
Public Records
The state Constitution guarantees each person the right to inspect or copy any public record made or
received in connection with the official business of the legislative, executive, or judicial branches of
government.2 The Legislature, however, may provide by general law for the exemption of records from
the constitutional requirement.3 The general law must state with specificity the public necessity
justifying the exemption and must be no broader than necessary to accomplish the stated purpose of
the law.4 A bill enacting an exemption must pass by a two-thirds vote of the members present and
voting.5
Public policy regarding access to government records is addressed further in the Florida Statutes.
Section 119.07(1), F.S., guarantees each person a right to inspect and copy any state, county, or
municipal record. Further, the Open Government Sunset Review Act (Act) provides that a public record
exemption may be created or maintained only if it serves an identified public purpose.6 In addition, the
exemption may be no broader than is necessary to meet one of the following purposes:
Allowing the state or its political subdivisions to effectively and efficiently administer a
government program, which administration would be significantly impaired without the
exemption;
Protecting personal identifying information that, if released, would be defamatory or would
jeopardize an individual’s safety; or
Protecting trade or business secrets.7
1 West’s Encyclopedia of American Law, Leasehold (2008), https://legaldictionary.thefreedictionary.com/leasehold (last visited Apr. 1,
2021). See s. 689.01, F.S.
2 Art. I, s. 24(a), Fla. Const.
3 Art. I, s. 24(c), Fla. Const.
4 Id.
5 Id.
6 S. 119.15, F.S.
7 S. 119.15(6)(b), F.S.
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The Act also requires the automatic repeal of a public record or public meeting exemption on October
2nd of the fifth year after its creation or substantial amendment, unless the Legislature reenacts the
exemption.8
There is currently no public records exemption for eviction-related court records. An eviction on a public
court record may prevent a family from relocating to safe, affordable housing because before renting a
property, landlords often screen applicant background criteria including credit history, criminal history,
and eviction history. 9 Increasingly, landlords search court websites and purchase reports from tenant
screening companies, which collect information from eviction courts and aggregate it with other publicly
available data.10 Some tenant screening companies make recommendations based solely on the
existence of a court case, regardless of whether the case resulted in a judgment against the tenant.11
Reliance on screening company reports may have also increased due to the decision by the three
major credit bureaus in 2017 to not include the vast majority of civil judgments on a standard consumer
credit report without other identifying information, such as a birthdate or social security number.12
Effect of Proposed Changes
CS/HB 1193 creates s. 83.626, F.S., authorizing a tenant or mobile home owner who is a defendant in
an eviction proceeding to file a motion with the court to have the records of such proceedings sealed
and to have his or her name substituted with the word “tenant” on the progress docket if:
The parties file a joint stipulation.
The case was dismissed.
The case was resolved by settlement or stipulation of the parties and the defendant has
complied with the terms of the agreement.
A default judgment was entered against the defendant, and the defendant has satisfied any
monetary award included in the judgment.
A judgment was entered against the defendant on the merits at least 5 years before the motion
was filed under this subsection, and the tenant has satisfied any monetary award included in the
judgment.
If the defendant files a motion to seal because the case was settled or the defendant satisfied the
monetary award in a default judgment, the bill requires the defendant to serve a copy of the motion on
all parties to the proceeding. If a party files a written objection within 30 days after such service, the
court must schedule a hearing. If no written objection is filed within 30 days or after the court
determines that the defendant is eligible for relief, the court must grant the motion.
The bill also requires a court to grant such motion without a hearing if the parties file a joint stipulation
or the case was dismissed. In a mobile home park lot eviction proceeding under s. 723.061, F.S., the
court must substitute the defendant’s name on the progress docket with “tenant” if the court entered a
judgment in favor of the defendant.
The bill applies to any judgment entered before, on, or after July 1, 2021.
The bill has an effective date of July 1, 2021.
B. SECTION DIRECTORY:
Section 1: Creates s. 83.626, F.S., relating to court records of eviction proceedings.
Section 2: Provides an effective date of July 1, 2021.
8 S. 119.15(3), F.S.
9 Lawyers’ Committee for Better Housing, Prejudged: The Stigma of Eviction Records, Housing Action Illinois (March 2018),
http://housingactionil.org/downloads/EvictionReport2018.pdf (last visited Apr. 1, 2021).
10 Id.
11 Id.
12 Id.
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II. FISCAL ANALYSIS & ECONOMIC IMPACT STATEMENT
A. FISCAL IMPACT ON STATE GOVERNMENT:
1. Revenues:
None.
2. Expenditures:
None.
B. FISCAL IMPACT ON LOCAL GOVERNMENTS:
1. Revenues:
None.
2. Expenditures:
None.
C. DIRECT ECONOMIC IMPACT ON PRIVATE SECTOR:
None.
D. FISCAL COMMENTS:
None.
III. COMMENTS
A. CONSTITUTIONAL ISSUES:
1. Applicability of Municipality/County Mandates Provision:
Not Applicable. This bill does not appear to require counties or municipalities to spend funds or take
action requiring the expenditures of funds; reduce the authority that counties or municipalities have
to raise revenues in the aggregate; or reduce the percentage of state tax shared with counties or
municipalities.
2. Other:
None.
B. RULE-MAKING AUTHORITY:
Not applicable.
C. DRAFTING ISSUES OR OTHER COMMENTS:
None.
IV. AMENDMENTS/ COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE CHANGES
On March 30, 2021, the House Justice Appropriations Subcommittee adopted one amendment and
reported the bill favorably as a committee substitute. The amendment removed the portion of the bill
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prohibiting the clerk of the court from charging a filing fee for the sealing of certain eviction records
specified in the bill.
This analysis is drafted to the committee substitute as passed by the House Justice Appropriations
Subcommittee.
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