HB2299 Summary

• Requires automatic impoundment of eviction court files upon filing, except for commercial tenancies and condominium unit evictions where the unit owner is a defendant.

• Establishes mandatory impoundment for cases not resulting in eviction orders, foreclosure-related evictions, and not-for-cause evictions, or when parties agree to impound.

• Allows courts to discretionarily impound files when interests of justice outweigh public records interests, including when judgment is $1,000 or less, prima facie defenses exist, or settlement occurred without plaintiff recovering possession.

• Requires automatic sealing of eviction actions by the clerk no later than 5 years after plaintiff's initial filing, except for commercial or condominium cases.

• Prohibits dissemination of information from sealed or impounded eviction files and prevents consumer reporting agencies from disclosing sealed evictions or using them in credit scoring; violators are subject to private lawsuits with damages up to $2,000 or twice actual damages, plus attorney's fees.