‘Second chance’: Delaware lawmakers consider legislation allowing evictions to be purged from people’s records

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Sharell Hayman said a past eviction is preventing her and her daughter from finding a place to live. She said they’re currently homeless.

“Before losing my job, I had a strong rental history. I paid my rent on time, kept my home up,” Hayman said. “But after one hardship, my daughter and I end up sleeping in the car.

Delaware lawmakers are considering legislation making it easier for people to expunge evictions from their public records, giving them a second chance at securing housing. It passed the state Senate and was released from a House committee Tuesday.

Under the bill sponsored by state Sen. Elizabeth “Tizzy” Lockman, D-Wilmington, people who were subject to eviction could have that information shielded from public view under certain conditions.

A court would be able to shield the defendant’s record if the judgment against them is 5 years old or older and the financial obligations have been satisfied. They would also need to be free of any similar judgments within the past five years.

Other conditions under which someone could also get their eviction removed from public view include if they fulfilled the terms of a stipulated agreement, the court dismissed the eviction complaint, the court ruled in the defendant’s favor or if it’s in the interest of justice.

House sponsor state Rep. Kendra Johnson, D-Bear, said once the court issues the shield order, it’s like the eviction had never been filed and the renter does not have to disclose it on future housing applications.

Hayman said she supports the legislation because she said families like hers are being left behind.

“The landlords reject families over one past eviction, even if we are working and fixing our credit at the moment,” she said. “The criterias are impossible, perfect credit, three times the rent, no vouchers. There’s no second chance, no compassion.”

Deianna Tyree-McDuffy, director of advocacy and policy for the Delaware Coalition Against Domestic Violence, said survivors are disproportionately impacted by eviction filings because often victims are forced to leave their homes to escape violence.

“The health, social and economic consequences of eviction can thus linger for years after an eviction filing, and the effects are particularly acute among already marginalized groups, such as black and female renters,” she said. “Eviction expungement pathway provides survivors with the opportunity to rebuild their lives without the permanent stain of trauma-inducing housing instability.”

State Rep. Stephanie Bolden voted to release the bill to a House vote, but said she was concerned that it did not address a problem happening in Wilmington where people are renting properties under someone else’s name and then conducting criminal enterprises out of those units.

Sarah Rhine, with the Community Legal Aid Society, Inc., argued that the conditions Delawareans must meet to get an eviction removed from their record is a high burden.

“They have to have five years that have passed since the judgment, they have to have paid all the money that they owe,” she said. “They have to have no similar filings, and then they have to go to court and make this motion. If someone is meeting the guidelines that are set out in the wording of this bill by our drafter and our sponsor, I would assume that that person has been living for five years doing a great job.”

The legislation allows the disclosure of the eviction records if requested by the Department of Justice, the defendant or if the court rules publishing a redacted copy of the filing is in the public interest.

The state Senate approved the bill earlier this month without opposition. It now moves to the House floor for consideration.

This story was supported by a statehouse coverage grant from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.