There are a few different ways to look up public eviction records for free, including searching court cases online, visiting the courthouse, or even contacting prior landlords.
Why Do Eviction Records Matter?
Successful landlords usually pull eviction record reports during the tenant screening process. Tenants should also know their own eviction record so they can address the issue head-on with prospective landlords.
A Screening Tool for Landlords
Landlords often use eviction records to weed out undesirable applicants. However, landlords can find records of eviction cases that didn’t actually result in an eviction in these circumstances:
- A judge could have ruled in the tenant’s favor, allowing them to remain in the rental.
- The case could have been dismissed because the landlord didn’t pursue it, documents weren’t served correctly, or it was settled out of court.
- The landlord and tenant may have worked out an agreement before the actual hearing.
In some instances, these court cases may be found in the system, but a landlord who isn’t thorough may conclude that an actual eviction resulted.
Tenants who received cash for keys will not have an eviction record. These are people who were paid by a landlord to leave the property rather than going through an eviction.
Squatters may not have an eviction record, depending on the state.
Some states have differing regulations around eviction cases:
- Washington state – Tenants can petition the court to prevent tenant screening companies from including their eviction cases in reports.
- New York – Landlords should know they cannot reject an application because an eviction case was filed against them. In addition, courts are not allowed to sell eviction information to third parties, such as tenant screening companies.
Tenants Can Verify the Information Is Accurate
Tenants will want to access their own eviction record to ensure that the information contained in the record is accurate. There may be other renters out there with similar names who get lumped into the same eviction report.
Or, as noted above, the tenant may not actually have a prior eviction. There might be a case file that resulted in an outcome other than the tenant’s eviction.
Tenants should know what’s on their report so they can address the information with their landlord.
Landlords Might not Want to Reject Applicants for an Eviction
Some landlords reject applicants with an eviction, no matter what else is on the application. However, it’s possible the landlord is rejecting a perfectly good tenant.
The applicant was evicted 6 years ago because they got severely sick and lost their job. Since then, the applicant has had no financial issues whatsoever and has a pristine application other than the single eviction.
Many landlords like to include a spot on the application for a tenant to explain negative events like bankruptcies, prior evictions, or a low credit score. This gives more people a fair shot at getting the lease.
How to Look Up Eviction Records for Free or Low Cost
There are a few ways tenants and landlords can look up an eviction record.
1. Ask the Tenant and Prior Landlords
The simplest way to find out if a tenant has a prior eviction is to ask the tenant on a rental application or during an interview. If the tenant says yes, then the landlord can ask clarifying questions.
It’s possible the tenant could have been evicted through no fault of their own. This can happen through discrimination, retaliation, or through the actions of a former roommate.
Confirm this information by contacting the involved landlord and ask about their experiences with the tenant. To do this, be sure to ask for prior addresses and landlord contact information going back several years on the application.
2. Have the Tenant Submit Their Rental History Report
Once every 12 months, consumers can request a free copy of their rental history from the major credit bureaus (Experian, TransUnion, and Equifax). You can then ask your applicants to submit these reports to you.
The problem is that it’s possible for a tenant to falsify a report or send you one that they pulled months ago without the latest information. A paid tenant screening report will always be your best option, but it’s certainly pricier.
3. Online Court Case Search
Another way to find out a tenant’s eviction record is on your state’s court website or the website for the court located in the same city or county as the rental unit.
Evictions are public record in most states, so landlords can legally access eviction records.
Several states, such as Missouri, will allow you to look up case information online for free. You’ll need to know at least one of the following pieces of information:
- Name of tenant
- Name of landlord/property management company
- The case number
Typically, the tenant is the defendant in the case, and the landlord is the plaintiff. Enter the information you have into the appropriate search fields.
Some states provide little case information online. Others include the date the eviction order was issued, whether the tenant was ordered to pay any money to the landlord (such as past-due rent), the amount ordered, and whether the debt has been paid off.
4. In-Person Court Case Search
You can also go into the courthouse in person and ask to view or copy the case file, though most states do charge a fee for these services.
This is the best way to view the entire case file and see every document filed by the landlord and the tenant, as well as every order issued by the court. This is important since most states won’t display this level of detail in their online case search programs.
Again, you’ll need to know the name of at least one of the parties involved or the case number.
5. Third-Party Company
There are many companies out there that will run an eviction records report for you. These companies are simply reviewing court records and then passing the information along to you, and they will always charge a fee for their services.
One benefit of using a third-party company is that they can access court records from other states. It’s also a much faster way to research multiple tenants.
A few of the national companies providing this service are:
- LexisNexis
- CoreLogic
- Experian (as RentBureau)
If the eviction case is removed from the court record (as outlined below), then the eviction records report will come up clean, with no evictions listed.
Expunging an Eviction from the Court Record
A few states allow tenants to expunge (or remove) an eviction case from the public record.
In those states, the former tenant must file a formal petition with the court to have the eviction case sealed, expunged, or suppressed (depending on the state).
In some states, tenants can only ask to expunge the case if there are no outstanding money judgments. This means that the tenant has paid in full any past-due rent, damages, or other fees, fines, and costs they were ordered to pay at the eviction hearing.
Other states will only allow the case to be sealed if it was dismissed, settled prior to the hearing, or if the court ruled in favor of the tenant.
If the expungement is granted, the eviction case will no longer appear on a rental history report or as part of the tenant’s eviction record. However, any unpaid judgment amounts will still show up on a credit report.
The following states allow tenants to seal their eviction cases:
- California
- Colorado
- Illinois
- Minnesota
- Nevada
- Ohio
- Oregon
- Texas (only applies to nonpayment of rent evictions due to COVID-19 issues)
In Wisconsin, if the eviction case is dismissed, it will be automatically removed from public records after two years.
New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and Washington, D.C., are currently considering legislation allowing tenants to seal an eviction case.
Several other states allow portions of civil cases to be sealed, but it’s unclear whether these laws would also apply to eviction cases.
Be sure to check the laws in your state to find out if it’s possible to have an eviction case removed from public access and what types of eviction cases are eligible for expungement.
Evictions and Credit Reports
There seems to be some confusion about whether a tenant’s eviction history shows up on a credit report. To set the record straight, a credit report does not include a tenant’s eviction record.
However, the credit report will show unpaid money judgments against the tenant, which could include:
- Unpaid past-due rent the tenant was ordered to pay at an eviction hearing.
- Unpaid damages the tenant was ordered to pay at an eviction hearing.
- Unpaid fines, fees, or court costs the tenant was ordered to pay at the eviction hearing.
If not paid off in full before then, these debts will stay on a tenant’s credit report for 7 years. Unpaid rental debts will negatively affect a tenant’s credit score.
Any debt that gets paid in full will be removed from the credit report, so as soon as the debt owed to the landlord (or the court) is paid in full, the debt amount will no longer appear on a tenant’s credit report.
