A bill to seal certain eviction records from the Public Index will go to a full committee hearing.
South Carolina House Bill 4270, a bipartisan bill with 18 cosponsors from both parties, will move to a full committee following a 5-0 favorable vote Tuesday from the House Domestic Relations, Business and Probate Laws Subcommittee.
Bill 4270 seeks to automatically seal eviction records that have been on the Public Index for at least five years. That time frame is down from seven years in the original version of the bill.
The bill’s lead sponsor, Rep Carla Schuessler (R, Conway), said the strength of the bill lies in its support across the housing industry.
“We pulled in members of Appleseed, Enrusted Foundation, South Carolina [Association of Realtors], South Carolina Apartment Association, and South Carolina Tenant [Union],” Schuessler said. “It was great to have concerned parties sit around the table and work together to achieve something. I can say everyone around that table is not only OK with the legislation, they are in support of it.”
Members of each of those groups spoke in support Tuesday.
Appleseed Legal Justice Center in Columbia, Entrusted Foundation in Greer, and the South Carolina Tenant Union in Charleston are organizations that serve tenants. These advocate groups have been speaking out for reform to the state’s eviction laws for years.
South Carolina has among the nation’s highest eviction rates at multiple levels -- large cities, small cities, rural communities -- according to Eviction Lab. It also has one of the least expensive fees to file an eviction, $40.
In South Carolina, once an eviction is filed, whether it leads to an actual eviction, that filing stays on the Public Index forever.
South Carolina Public Radio has reported on the effects this can have on a person trying to find new housing. Greenville resident Quentoria Jones told South Carolina Public Radio last year how having an eviction filing on her record has dogged her for years and led to her losing thousands of dollars in application fees for apartments she never got.
“Sixty dollars here, $100 here, $75 here,” Jones said.
In all, she estimates she lost between $5,000 and $7,000 applying for almost 100 places to live.
“And they all knew they weren't going to rent to me because of my eviction history,” she said.
Following the hearing, Jones said: ”I was very pleased to hear the news and the bill moving from subcommittee to the full committee is an important procedural step and signals that the issue is being taken seriously by lawmakers.”
SC Realtors and the South Carolina Apartment Association serve landlords and property owners. Lindsay Hutto spoke on behalf of the South Carolina Association of Realtors at Tuesday’s subcommittee hearing.
“ My organization supports H-4270 as amended,” Hutto said. “This language has been vetted by a group of stakeholders that included housing providers and consumer advocates, so we felt like there was a really good balance around the table as we were coming to a compromise on this language.”
A companion bill in the Senate could be amended to reflect the language of the House bill.
