Committee hears bill to keep minors off eviction records, but providers flag statutory conflicts

House File 3639, which would prevent minors from being listed as tenants on eviction filings and would shield children from having eviction records attached to their names, was presented and laid over for further work.

Representative Racine framed the bill around real-world cases in which minors—who have not been responsible for lease obligations—end up on eviction filings and then carry rental-record consequences into adulthood. "Children should never carry a burden of housing instability in their records," a committee supporter said.

Michael Dal, public policy director at Home Line, testified that the policy protects young adults who were wrongly listed on eviction filings and avoids lengthy and costly record-correction processes (he cited costs of about $300 to clear certain records). Dal said the bill aims to prevent minors from suffering long-term financial impacts they did not cause.

Cecil Smith of the Minnesota Multi Housing Association said his organization does not oppose the goal but raised two concerns: (1) the bill’s prohibition on listing minors on leases appears to conflict with Minnesota statute that requires landlords to list all tenants/occupants on lease documents; and (2) the bill’s proposed triple-damages penalty could be disproportionate for clerical errors arising from lease paperwork.

Court-process clarification from a legal testifier noted judges can dismiss filings against minors and filing fees can be waived, but committee members said statutory change is preferable to relying only on court correction.

Next steps: House File 3639 was laid over so sponsors can reconcile statutory conflicts and penalty language.