Gov. Henry McMaster signed legislation Tuesday that effectively seals older eviction records of renters in South Carolina.
Tenants in the state will be able to get evictions and eviction filings taken off the public index once they are seven years old.
Proponents of the legislation say it’s the first major win for South Carolina tenants in more than a decade.
“This is a huge victory for tenants,” said Sue Berkowitz, director of policy at Appleseed Legal Justice Center, and one of the measure’s main advocates. “We are going to be working with the [South Carolina] Tenant Union on their agenda to improve the lives of tenants, to build on their rights, and make safe, quality and affordable housing a priority.”
Tenants with evictions or filings on their rental histories often have trouble getting nicer places to live. Renters with troubled rental histories frequently run up against limited options, higher rents, and unsafe living conditions.
Berkowitz called the new law, which will now allow renters with long-settled eviction issues to enter a fairer rental market, a first, but key, step.
The legislation’s chief architect, State House Rep. Carla Schuessler (R, Horry), also considers the measure to be the first step in a broader suite of actions that can better protect tenants from haunting eviction records.
“We gave [officials] through the end of the year to implement the system,” Schuessler said. “We'll allow that to run its course and see … if there's opportunity to revisit it and separate the actual writs of ejectment versus the filings.”
Earlier versions of the legislation looked to set different time frames for when eviction filings and actual writs of ejectment could be removed from the public index. Schuessler wanted filings to be removed much earlier, but a series of compromises ultimately settled on seven years for both filings and writs.
If there is a step forward to take from this legislation, it might be that very separation of timelines.
“I do think there's an appetite for that,” Schuessler said. “Many people were more on board with that … being a shorter timeframe. Even those that were concerned and wanted a longer timeframe for the actual writ of ejectment.”
The legislation does not change a landlord’s ability to evict tenants, nor does it alter the fee -- typically $40 -- that it costs a landlord to file to the begin eviction process. Schuessler said the legislation protects landlords too, by allowing them to still have access to rental records that could show a history of issues with a tenant.
“It is not trying to hide rental history from a landlord that would prevent them from being able to make good decisions,” she said.
Schuessler said that the legislation is an example of how a lot of work, across all interests, can lead to real steps forward.
”It's a good bill and it's a good law,” she said. “Compared to several other states, it's less complicated. It's easier to understand.”
She also said that the signing of the legislation shows that the state’s lawmakers do listen to the people they serve.
“I hope they feel heard,” she said.
At least one renter who has been plagued by long-settled eviction issues that have kept her from finding better housing in the past few years is Quentoria Jonhes, who lives in Greenville. We reported on Jones’s story last fall, when H-4270, the bill that has now been signed by Gov. McMaster, was still collecting support.
Jones was never evicted, but had eviction proceedings filed against her She said that she does feel heard and is happy to know that eviction records now have a deadline in South Carolina.
“Now they can be removed after so many years,” Jones said. “I won my case so I don’t feel I should have to wait.”
