Collier Bill Seals Eviction Records When The Tenant Wins

The text as introduced · 531 words

89R7020 JBD-F

By: Collier
H.B. No. 2223

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to the confidentiality of eviction case information.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:

SECTION 1. Chapter 24, Property Code, is amended by adding

Section 24.012 to read as follows:

Sec. 24.012. CONFIDENTIAL EVICTION CASE INFORMATION. (a)

In this section:

(1) "Consumer reporting agency" has the meaning

assigned by Section 20.01, Business & Commerce Code.

(2) "Eviction case" means a lawsuit brought under this

chapter to recover possession of leased or rented real property

from a tenant, including a tenant at will or a tenant at sufferance.

(3) "Eviction case information" means all records and

files related to a filing of an eviction case, including petitions

and their dispositions.

(b) Concurrently with a judgment or order of dismissal in an

eviction case, a court shall enter an order protecting the

confidentiality of the eviction case information pertaining to a

defendant if:

(1) a judgment is entered in favor of the defendant;

(2) the case is dismissed without any relief granted

to the plaintiff; or

(3) the defendant is a residential tenant not

otherwise in default and the eviction case is brought by the

successor in interest following foreclosure.

(c) On petition of a defendant in an eviction case after a

judgment or order of dismissal has been entered, a court shall enter

an order protecting the confidentiality of the eviction case

information pertaining to a defendant if a confidentiality order

was not issued and:

(1) a judgment was entered in favor of the defendant;

or

(2) the case was dismissed without any relief granted

to the plaintiff.

(d) On perfection of appeal by any party in an eviction

case, a court shall enter an order protecting during the pendency of

the appeal the confidentiality of the eviction case information

presented in the trial court.

(e) If an order is entered to protect the confidentiality of

eviction case information under this section:

(1) a court or clerk may not disclose the eviction case

information, except:

(A) to a judge or court personnel of the trial

court presiding over the eviction case;

(B) to the parties to the suit or the parties'

counsel; or

(C) in a form that omits any personal identifying

information of the parties, to any other person, agency, or

institution approved by the court with a legitimate and

noncommercial interest in the decisions of the court; and

(2) except to the extent permitted by federal law, a

consumer reporting agency, a person, other than a landlord, who

regularly collects and disseminates eviction case information, or a

person who sells eviction case information may not:

(A) disclose the existence of the eviction case;

or

(B) use the eviction case information as a factor

in determining a score or recommendation in a tenant screening

report regarding the defendant.

(f) A person who knowingly violates Subsection (e)(2) is

liable to an injured party for:

(1) actual damages; and

(2) reasonable attorney's fees and court costs.

(g) This section does not prohibit a party to an eviction

case from abstracting the judgment in the case.

SECTION 2. This Act takes effect September 1, 2025.