Pennsylvania 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.

Bill Text

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 in