Subcommittee advances compromise to remove eviction filings from public index after five years

The Domestic Relations, Business and Probate Laws Subcommittee on Tuesday gave House Bill 42 70 a favorable report as amended, advancing a compromise measure that would authorize automatic removal of certain eviction filings from publicly accessible court indexes after five years.

Representative Carla Schuessler, the bill sponsor, said the proposal grew out of housing-policy discussions and work with Appleseed Justice and a set of stakeholders that included Realtors, the Apartment Association and tenant advocates. "Eviction filings, whether they are pursued or settled, as well as writs of ejectments, do not come off the public index — they're on there indefinitely," she said, arguing that the permanent public indexing can block tenants from moving to safer or more affordable housing.

Testimony included tenants, landlords and housing advocates. Bailey Byram of the South Carolina Tenants Union described employees in her cleaning business who face housing instability and argued that automated tenant-screening systems treat old filings as disqualifying. "This bill would just create the mechanism, basically, so folks can apply to get their eviction records sealed after a set amount of time," Byram said. Michael Burns, a teacher who grew up experiencing household instability, said an eviction filing after his family left a rental in 2018 continued to obstruct his mother's housing searches years later.

Stakeholders also supported the compromise timing. Meredith Oh, a property manager, said eviction records older than five years do not meaningfully improve prediction of future rental default and supported the bill's five‑year removal window. "When we're assessing a tenant candidate ... eviction records from more than 5 years ago do not meaningfully improve my ability to determine whether they will pay rent today," she said. Lindsay Hutto of the South Carolina Realtors and Katie Lechner of the South Carolina Apartment Association both voiced support for the compromise language vetted by housing providers and consumer advocates.

Civil-rights advocates urged a stronger, automatic-sealing approach. Jordan Thompson of the Legal Defense Fund recommended amendments to automatically seal filings that do not result in an eviction order, to seal records resolved by settlement or payment within 30 days, and to require automatic sealing after five years or less. Thompson noted disproportionate impacts on Black renters and argued quicker sealing would limit collateral consequences.

Chair Bernstein offered and the committee adopted a strike‑all amendment that relocates the proposal from Title 60 to Title 30 of the South Carolina Code (Title 30 governs public records) and revises the removal timeframe to five years; the amendment also removed a 30‑day removal provision for cases where no eviction occurs. After discussion and a recorded roll call, the committee reported the bill favorably by a 5–0 vote (Representatives Bernstein, Calhoun, Guest, King and Martin recorded aye votes).

Representative David Martin praised the breadth of testimony and described the bill as a bipartisan, "second chance" measure that will help families pursue stable housing. The subcommittee did not take further changes at the hearing; the bill will move to further consideration in the legislative process.