Being evicted from a rental unit can be detrimental to not only your wallet, but also your credit score. When an eviction occurs and pings on your credit, you may struggle with obtaining a new place to live, and landlords may require additional deposits before allowing you to move into their unit. Utah has passed a law that can assist those with evictions on their records by expungement. Expunging a record means to destroy, obliterate or strike out records in a file.
Utah legislative has created a new system to assist the burden of renters being unable to find places to live due to evictions being on their credit scores. There are three ways an eviction expungement can occur: 1: Automatic expungement. 2: Asking for expungement by filing a petition and 3: Settlement expungement agreement with all parties to matter.
Automatic expungements occur automatically if; A. the entire case was dismissed, there is no appeal pending and at least three years have passed from the date the case was filed. B. the parties to the case agree to the expungement and file a stipulation with the Court that states the parties stipulate the Court to expunge the eviction. If a case is eligible for expungement under one of the automatic expungement requirements, the Court will order the expungement immediately once it qualifies. No party to the case receives any notice regarding the expungement. Mycase can be utilized to locate if the eviction has been expunged.
If an automatic expungement does not work for your case, the next way an eviction can be expunged is by asking for the expungement by filing a petition. In order to file a petition to request an expungement on an eviction, you must meet the following requirements: A. Your eviction was for nonpayment of rent or staying in the property after your lease expired (an unlawful detainer matter). B. If a judgment was entered against you, it has been satisfied and a Satisfaction of Judgment has been filed with the Court.
In the event the Court grants your expungement, either by automatic or requested expungements, the case should be treated like it never happened. Any third parties who have information about your case will be prohibited from giving out any information about your case. This includes, but is not limited to: government agencies, such as the sheriff and tenant screening agencies. The Court posts a list of case numbers that were expunged to inform third parties to remove the case from their files.[1]
Not every eviction matter will be eligible for expungement. In the event a case is not eligible, there are still options to pursue! If your eviction is causing you difficulty in finding a place to live, you can A: try to pay down the debt owed. This can be difficult for some, but a judgment on your credit report can make finding a place to live more difficult. Paying off the debt and reporting the payoff to the credit reporting agency can make the judgment less harmful. If you are struggling to manage your debts, you can contact Fair Credit[2] to see if they can assist you. Ask for a letter of reference from a previous landlord or others to show prospective landlords. Contact 2-1-1 Utah[3] for help and connection to other resources.
If all fails and you need to know your legal rights under an eviction, do not navigate it alone! We are happy to assist you in this process. Please call our office at 801-612-9299 to speak with Brooke for more information and assistance.
https://www.utcourts.gov/en/self-help/categories/housing/landlord/expunge.html#:~:text= You%20can%20ask%20to%20expunge,been%20filed%20with%20the%20court
[1] https://apps.utcourts.gov/CourtsPublicWEB/index.jsp?option=EVICT
[2] https://faircredit.org/
[3] https://211utah.org/