March 18, 2016
1. Evictions
a. Sealing pending eviction actions until disposition
i. Stat. § 484.014 Subd. 1(3) provides that a “court file” means the court file created when an eviction action is filed. Because of this language, eviction actions are immediately visible to the public upon the landlord’s filing a complaint with the court. The eviction action is immediately available regardless of
merit. Proposed amendment: Eviction actions shall not be made viewable or available to the public until disposition (This proposal would make eviction cases similar to criminal cases, where charges are not made public in the court system until disposition). Mandatory expungement of eviction actions if resolved in the tenant’s favor
i. Stat. § 504B.345 provides that when a court or jury finds for the defendant/tenant, the court may expunge the records relating to the action upon motion. Proposed amendment: To avoid the tenant having to pay filing fees and go to court on a motion to expunge an eviction action deemed to be without merit, the statute should be amended to require the court to automatically and immediately expunge an eviction case when it is resolved in a tenant’s favor. c. Automatic expungement after seven years
i. The Fair Credit Reporting Act provides that tenant screening agencies may cite records of an eviction for seven years after the eviction action is filed. Proposed amendment: Require the court to seal the eviction record seven years after the eviction action is filed consistent with the spirit of FCRA. d. Prohibition of use of evictions from other states after seven years. i. A landlord may deny housing based on an eviction that is decades old and from a different state. Proposed amendment: Prohibit landlords from denying housing based on an eviction out of any state when the eviction is more than seven years old.
