HB 1095 — An Act amending Title 42 (Judiciary and Judicial Procedure) of the Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes, in dockets, indices and other records, providing for limited access to eviction information; and requiring the Administrative Office of Pennsylvania Courts to process records.

PRINTER'S NO.   1190

                     THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA



                         HOUSE BILL
                         No. 1095
                                                 Session of
                                                   2025

     INTRODUCED BY SMITH-WADE-EL, FIEDLER, J.HARRIS, KRAJEWSKI,
        SANCHEZ, RABB, McNEILL, HILL-EVANS, HOHENSTEIN, KENYATTA,
        BOROWSKI, KINKEAD, D. WILLIAMS, POWELL, MADDEN, KHAN, BOYD,
        CEPEDA-FREYTIZ, WARREN, OTTEN, GIRAL, GREEN, WAXMAN, WEBSTER,
        KAZEEM, MAYES, RIVERA, GUZMAN, T. DAVIS, ABNEY, SHUSTERMAN,
        STEELE AND MAJOR, MARCH 31, 2025

     REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON HOUSING AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT,
        MARCH 31, 2025


                                     AN ACT
 1   Amending Title 42 (Judiciary and Judicial Procedure) of the
 2      Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes, in dockets, indices and
 3      other records, providing for limited access to eviction
 4      information; and requiring the Administrative Office of
 5      Pennsylvania Courts to process records.
 6      The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
 7   hereby enacts as follows:
 8      Section 1.    Chapter 43 of Title 42 of the Pennsylvania
 9   Consolidated Statutes is amended by adding a subchapter to read:
10                                SUBCHAPTER C
11                   LIMITED ACCESS TO EVICTION INFORMATION
12   Sec.
13   4331.   Definitions.
14   4332.   Eviction case limited access.
15   4333.   Prohibition on disclosure of information in limited
16               access eviction file.
17   4334.   Procedures.
 1   § 4331.    Definitions.
 2      The following words and phrases when used in this subchapter
 3   shall have the meanings given to them in this section unless the
 4   context clearly indicates otherwise:
 5      "Disseminate."     The oral or written transmission or
 6   disclosure of a court file or any portion of a court file to
 7   individuals or agencies other than the court that retains the
 8   information.
 9      "Eviction case."       An action brought under Article V of the
10   act of April 6, 1951 (P.L.69, No.20), known as The Landlord and
11   Tenant Act of 1951.
12      "Eviction information."       Information collected by the court
13   arising from the initiation of an eviction case consisting of
14   identifiable descriptions and dates of parties involved in the
15   eviction case, documents filed in the eviction case and
16   information or record of activity associated with the eviction
17   case.
18      "Limited access eviction file."        Eviction information barred
19   from dissemination.
20   § 4332.    Eviction case limited access.
21      (a)    General rule.--Except as provided under subsection (b),
22   a court or the Administrative Office of Pennsylvania Courts
23   shall not disseminate or post on an Internet website a limited
24   access eviction file that is subject to an order for limited
25   access under section 4334 (relating to procedures).
26      (b)    Exception.--A court may disseminate a limited access
27   eviction file to:
28             (1)   a party to the eviction case, including a party's
29      attorney;
30             (2)   a resident of the premises who provides the court

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 1      with a party's name or the case number and presents
 2      documentation to support a claim of occupancy;
 3            (3)   a person that, upon a showing of good cause, obtains
 4      a court order from a court of common pleas to access a
 5      limited access eviction file;
 6            (4)   an attorney or person acting on behalf of an
 7      attorney seeking to review a court file for purposes of
 8      providing legal advice, evaluating or representing a party to
 9      the eviction case, an occupant of the premises at issue in
10      the eviction case or a person collecting a money judgment
11      related to the eviction case, but in no case for an
12      alternative commercial or business purpose under this
13      paragraph;
14            (5)   a nonprofit entity or educational institution
15      seeking court files exclusively for research purposes that
16      are in no way connected to commercial activities. In addition
17      to the prohibitions under section 4333 (relating to
18      prohibition on disclosure of information in limited access
19      eviction file), court files requested for research purposes
20      under this paragraph shall not be furnished by the nonprofit
21      entity or educational institution to any outside
22      organizations and the nonprofit entity or educational
23      institution may not publish any individual tenant names in
24      public reports or other communications; or
25            (6)   other parties or entities if the parties to the
26      eviction case agree in writing to the satisfaction of the
27      court that the limited access eviction file may be
28      disseminated.
29      (c)   Limited access eviction file.--Subject to section 4334,
30   eviction case information in all cases shall be placed under

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 1   limited access after seven years have elapsed since the filing
 2   date of the eviction case.
 3      (d)    Disclosure.--An individual may not be required or asked
 4   to disclose information about a limited access eviction file. An
 5   individual required or asked to provide information in violation
 6   of this subsection may respond as if the limited access eviction
 7   file does not exist. This subsection shall not apply if Federal
 8   law, including rules and regulations, requires the dissemination
 9   of information contained in a limited access eviction file.
10   § 4333.   Prohibition on disclosure of information in limited
11                access eviction file.
12      (a)    Prohibition.--A person may not disseminate any
13   information contained in a limited access eviction file. This
14   subsection does not apply to a tenant or other resident in the
15   eviction case.
16      (b)    Furnishing information.--A person that regularly and in
17   the ordinary course of business furnishes information to a
18   consumer reporting agency, including a tenant screening service,
19   and has furnished information that the person knows or
20   reasonably should know, is contained in a limited access
21   eviction file, shall promptly notify the consumer reporting
22   agency of that determination and shall cease furnishing
23   information contained in the limited access eviction file.
24      (c)    Court order to limit access.--Notwithstanding any other
25   provision of this chapter, upon petition of a tenant or on the
26   court's own motion, the court of common pleas in the
27   jurisdiction in which the eviction case was heard may enter an
28   order that the eviction case record at the court of common pleas
29   and magisterial district court is subject to limited access.
30      (d)    Vacating an order for limited access.--Upon petition to

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 1   the court of common pleas which issued the order, and with
 2   notice to the opposing party and opportunity to be heard, if the
 3   court determines that the order issued under subsection (c) was
 4   erroneously entered, the court shall vacate an order for limited
 5   access.
 6      (e)    Disclosure prohibited.--A consumer reporting agency,
 7   including a tenant screening service, shall not disclose the
 8   existence of a limited access eviction file in a report or
 9   communication or consider the limited access eviction file as a
10   factor to determine any score or recommendation to be included
11   in any consumer report, including a tenant screening report.
12      (f)    Private cause of action.--A tenant may bring a private
13   cause of action compelling compliance with this section, in
14   which the tenant has the right to recover an amount equal to and
15   not more than two months' rent or $5,000, whichever is less, and
16   reasonable attorney fees.
17      (g)    Construction.--Nothing in this section shall prohibit
18   the dissemination of information regarding a money judgment for
19   the sole purpose of collection.
20      (h)    Applicability.--This section applies to all eviction
21   case files deemed limited access on or after the effective date
22   of this subsection.
23      (i)    Waiver.--The rights and duties enumerated in this
24   section may not be waived by any provisions of a written or oral
25   agreement. Any agreement attempting to limit rights under this
26   section shall be void and unenforceable in the courts of this
27   Commonwealth.
28   § 4334.   Procedures.
29      (a)    Case identification.--On a monthly basis, the
30   Magisterial District Court and prothonotary shall identify all

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 1   eviction case court files eligible for limited access in
 2   accordance with section 4332(c) (relating to eviction case
 3   limited access). Within 20 days, each court of common pleas
 4   shall issue an order for limited access to any eviction case
 5   file in its judicial district for which limited access shall be
 6   given under section 4332(c).
 7      (b)   Transmission.--The Administrative Office of Pennsylvania
 8   Courts shall quarterly transmit to an entity that regularly
 9   collects and disseminates court records a list of any eviction
10   case file for which limited access has been given and to which
11   the Administrative Office has access. This subsection shall not
12   be interpreted to require the Administrative Office of
13   Pennsylvania Courts to provide or update eviction case file
14   information for cases for which an appeal has been filed with
15   the court of common pleas.
16      Section 2.   Within 365 days of the effective date of this
17   section, the Administrative Office of Pennsylvania Courts shall
18   identify and complete the processing of records that, on the
19   effective date of this section, are eligible for limited access.
20      Section 3.   This act shall take effect in 180 days.




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