State Sen. Lydia Edwards responds to a reporter's question at a press conference highlighting a new process for renters to seal eviction records. (Photo by Gintautas Dumcius)

RENTERS IN MASSACHUSETTS can now petition the courts to seal their eviction records online after a waiting period. 

The waiting period depends on the type of case and its outcome. Sealing the records means consumer reporting agencies cannot use the records in tenant background checks, allowing a fresh start. 

The record-sealing ability is the result of a law that was included as part of the Affordable Homes Act, signed last August by Gov. Maura Healey in a bid to increase housing supply amid high demand across the state. 

State Sen. Lydia Edwards, one of the proponents of the measure, compared eviction records to a “scarlet letter E.” Eviction court records are publicly available on the state Trial Court’s website, so even if a tenant won their case or it was dismissed, the record is accessible to everyone. 

Tenant advocates say people of color – Black and Latino households are twice as likely to rent – are disproportionately affected by eviction records, leading them to lose Section 8 vouchers or end up homeless because of the availability of the records. 

Black renters in Massachusetts are on average 2.4 times more likely to have an eviction filed against them than white renters, according to Attorney General Andrea Campbell, another supporter of the measure. 

“An eviction record, even one that has been dismissed, or brought in retaliation for a tenant exercising their legal rights, is a barrier to safe and stable housing that can have a long-term and devastating impact on a family and on an individual,” Campbell said. 

“As soon an eviction case is filed, the tenant has an eviction record even if they later win that case in court,” she added. “This law provides a process for tenants to not only petition a court to seal certain types of eviction records, but in doing so gives thousands of hard-working people across the commonwealth, with an eviction in their past, an opportunity to wipe that slate clean.” 

Edwards, Campbell, and state lawmakers joined renter advocates outside Edward Brooke Courthouse in Boston to bring public awareness to the new process going into effect this month. A new website lays out the process: SealMyEviction.org. 

Tenants can now petition to seal an eviction record immediately if they’ve won a case, had it dismissed, or it’s a no-fault case, meaning the landlord began an eviction even if the tenant paid rent on time and followed the rules. Landlords sometimes ask a tenant to leave if they’re seeking to sell or renovate the property, increase the rent, or allow their relatives to move in. 

Tenants can also petition to seal an eviction record after 4 years if it involves not paying rent due to financial hardship, and after 7 years for fault-based evictions which violate a lease or involve misconduct. 

Edwards, who represents parts of Boston, Revere, and Winthrop in the state Senate, has pushed the proposal for years, dating back to her time as a city councilor representing East Boston. “It’s about restoring dignity, opening doors, and recognizing that one tough chapter shouldn’t define a person’s future,” Edwards said. 

As part of her push, she had early meetings with Mike Moran, a state representative from Boston’s Brighton neighborhood, as well as Greg Vasil of the Greater Boston Real Estate Board, which represents business interests like landlords. 

Vasil said he welcomed the discussion. At the press conference on Monday, Vasil criticized the “crazy world” epitomized by Washington, D.C., where people from different sides don’t talk to each other.

“Our organization was grateful to be part of this process, where we talked over a number of years to come up with something that works for the people of Massachusetts,” he said. “Owners of property need tenants and tenants need a place to live. We need to work together.”