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.

PRIOR PRINTER'S NO. 1190 PRINTER'S NO. 1948
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, MAJOR, TWARDZIK, TAKAC AND DALEY, MARCH 31, 2025
AS AMENDED ON SECOND CONSIDERATION, HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES,
JUNE 17, 2025
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.
The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
hereby enacts as follows:
Section 1. Chapter 43 of Title 42 of the Pennsylvania
Consolidated Statutes is amended by adding a subchapter to read:
SUBCHAPTER C
LIMITED ACCESS TO EVICTION INFORMATION
Sec.
4331. Definitions.
4332. Eviction case limited access.
4333. Prohibition on disclosure of information in limited
access eviction file.
4334. Procedures.
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§ 4331. Definitions.
The following words and phrases when used in this subchapter
shall have the meanings given to them in this section unless the
context clearly indicates otherwise:
"Disseminate." The oral or written transmission or
disclosure of a court file or any portion of a court file to
individuals or agencies other than the court that retains the
information.
"Eviction case." An action brought under Article V of the
act of April 6, 1951 (P.L.69, No.20), known as The Landlord and
Tenant Act of 1951.
"Eviction information." Information collected by the court
arising from the initiation of an eviction case consisting of
identifiable descriptions and dates of parties involved in the
eviction case, documents filed in the eviction case and
information or record of activity associated with the eviction
case.
"Limited access eviction file." Eviction information barred
from dissemination.
§ 4332. Eviction case limited access.
(a) General rule.--Except as provided under subsection (b),
a court or the Administrative Office of Pennsylvania Courts
shall not disseminate or post on an Internet website a limited
access eviction file that is subject to an order for limited
access under section 4334 (relating to procedures).
(b) Exception.--A court may disseminate a limited access
eviction file to:
(1) a party to the eviction case, including a party's
attorney;
(2) a resident of the premises who provides the court
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with a party's name or the case number and presents
documentation to support a claim of occupancy;
(3) a person that, upon a showing of good cause, obtains
a court order from a court of common pleas to access a
limited access eviction file;
(4) an attorney or person acting on behalf of an
attorney seeking to review a court file for purposes of
providing legal advice, evaluating or representing a party to
the eviction case, an occupant of the premises at issue in
the eviction case or a person collecting a money judgment
related to the eviction case, but in no case for an
alternative commercial or business purpose under this
paragraph;
(5) a nonprofit entity or educational institution
seeking court files exclusively for research purposes that
are in no way connected to commercial activities. In addition
to the prohibitions under section 4333 (relating to
prohibition on disclosure of information in limited access
eviction file), court files requested for research purposes
under this paragraph shall not be furnished by the nonprofit
entity or educational institution to any outside
organizations and the nonprofit entity or educational
institution may not publish any individual tenant names in
public reports or other communications; or
(6) other parties or entities if the parties to the
eviction case agree in writing to the satisfaction of the
court that the limited access eviction file may be
disseminated.
(c) Limited access eviction file.--Subject to section 4334,
eviction case information in all cases shall be placed under
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limited access after seven years have elapsed since the filing
date of the eviction case. THE SOONER OF:
(1) SEVEN YEARS SINCE THE FILING DATE OF THE EVICTION
CASE, UNLESS OTHERWISE RESTRICTED FROM ACCESS IN ACCORDANCE
WITH OTHER APPLICABLE AUTHORITY; OR
(2) THE ADJUDICATION ON THE MERITS IN FAVOR OF THE
OCCUPANT OF THE PREMISES AT ISSUE IN THE EVICTION CASE.
(d) Disclosure.--An individual may not be required or asked
to disclose information about a limited access eviction file. An
individual required or asked to provide information in violation
of this subsection may respond as if the limited access eviction
file does not exist. This subsection shall not apply if Federal
law, including rules and regulations, requires the dissemination
of information contained in a limited access eviction file.
(E) APPLICABILITY.--THE ELIGIBILITY FOR LIMITED ACCESS UNDER
SUBSECTION (C) SHALL APPLY TO EVICTION CASE INFORMATION
COLLECTED BEFORE, ON OR AFTER THE EFFECTIVE DATE OF THIS
SUBSECTION.
§ 4333. Prohibition on disclosure of information in limited
access eviction file.
(a) Prohibition.--A person may not disseminate any
information contained in a limited access eviction file. This
subsection does not apply to a tenant or other resident in the
eviction case.
(b) Furnishing information.--A person that regularly and in
the ordinary course of business furnishes information to a
consumer reporting agency, including a tenant screening service,
and has furnished information that the person knows or
reasonably should know, is contained in a limited access
eviction file, shall promptly notify the consumer reporting
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agency of that determination and shall cease furnishing
information contained in the limited access eviction file.
(c) Court order to limit access.--Notwithstanding any other
provision of this chapter, upon petition of a tenant or on the
court's own motion, the court of common pleas in the
jurisdiction in which the eviction case was heard may enter an
order that the eviction case record at the court of common pleas
and magisterial district court is subject to limited access.
(d) Vacating an order for limited access.--Upon petition to
the court of common pleas which issued the order, and with
notice to the opposing party and opportunity to be heard, if the
court determines that the order issued under subsection (c) was
erroneously entered, the court shall vacate an order for limited
access.
(e) Disclosure prohibited.--A consumer reporting agency,
including a tenant screening service, shall not disclose the
existence of a limited access eviction file in a report or
communication or consider the limited access eviction file as a
factor to determine any score or recommendation to be included
in any consumer report, including a tenant screening report.
(f) Private cause of action.--A tenant may bring a private
cause of action compelling compliance with this section, in
which the tenant has the right to recover an amount equal to and
not more than two months' rent or $5,000, whichever is less, and
reasonable attorney fees.
(g) Construction.--Nothing in this section shall prohibit
the dissemination of information regarding a money judgment for
the sole purpose of collection.
(h) Applicability.--This section applies to all eviction
case files deemed limited access on or after the effective date
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of this subsection.
(i) Waiver.--The rights and duties enumerated in this
section may not be waived by any provisions of a written or oral
agreement. Any agreement attempting to limit rights under this
section shall be void and unenforceable in the courts of this
Commonwealth.
§ 4334. Procedures.
(a) Case identification.--On a monthly basis, the
Magisterial District Court and prothonotary shall identify all
eviction case court files eligible for limited access in
accordance with section 4332(c) (relating to eviction case
limited access) . , UNLESS THE EVICTION CASE COURT FILE IS
OTHERWISE RESTRICTED FROM ACCESS IN ACCORDANCE WITH OTHER
APPLICABLE AUTHORITY. Within 20 days, each court of common pleas
shall issue an order for limited access to any eviction case
file in its judicial district for which limited access shall be
given under section 4332(c).
(b) Transmission.--The Administrative Office of Pennsylvania
Courts shall quarterly transmit to an entity that regularly
collects and disseminates court records a list of any eviction
case file for which limited access has been given and to which
the Administrative Office has access. This subsection shall not
be interpreted to require the Administrative Office of
Pennsylvania Courts to provide or update eviction case file
information for cases for which an appeal has been filed with
the court of common pleas.
Section 2. Within 365 days of the effective date of this
section, the COURTS SHALL, WITH THE ASSISTANCE OF THE
Administrative Office of Pennsylvania Courts shall, identify and
complete the processing of records that, on the effective date
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of this section, are eligible for limited access.
Section 3. This act shall take effect in 180 days.
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