Bill Text: NJ S392 | 2022-2023 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Establishes confidentiality of landlord-tenant court records.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 2-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2022-01-11 - Introduced in the Senate, Referred to Senate Community and Urban Affairs Committee [S392 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2022-S392-Introduced.html
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
220th LEGISLATURE
PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 2022 SESSION
Sponsored by:
Senator RONALD L. RICE
District 28 (Essex)
Co-Sponsored by:
Senator Stack
SYNOPSIS
Establishes confidentiality of landlord-tenant court records.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
Introduced Pending Technical Review by Legislative Counsel.
An Act concerning the confidentiality of landlord-tenant court records and supplementing Title 2A of the New Jersey Statutes.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. As used in P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill):
"Landlord-tenant court record" means any court record containing information regarding a completed or pending landlord-tenant action, including but not limited to:
a. any information maintained by a court in any form in connection with a landlord-tenant case or proceeding, including but not limited to pleadings, evidentiary exhibits, indices, calendars, and dockets;
b. any order, judgment, or warrant related to a landlord-tenant action;
c. any official transcript or recording of a public landlord-tenant proceeding, in any form;
d. any information in a computerized case management system created or prepared by the court in connection with a landlord-tenant action; and
e. any record provided to, made or maintained by a judicial officer.
2. A landlord-tenant court record shall remain confidential and unavailable to the public until the landlord-tenant court issues a judgment for possession or the case is otherwise resolved or decided by the court. The landlord-tenant court record shall thereafter be made available to the public, except the court shall, consistent with its rules and procedures, order the landlord-tenant court record to remain confidential if one the following has occurred:
a. A tenant successfully asserts a breach of the warranty of habitability as a defense to an eviction action based upon nonpayment of rent; or
b. A tenant proves at trial that the rent due and owing alleged in the complaint was unlawful or was not valid.
3. a. Any New Jersey public entity that maintains a written or automated record or file of landlord-tenant court records shall take appropriate actions to ensure that these landlord-tenant court records are kept confidential and unavailable to the public in accordance with sections 2 and 3 pursuant to P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill).
b. A tenant involved in a landlord-tenant action that resulted in a judgment of possession may apply to the court and request that the court seal the landlord-tenant court records. For that application, which shall be granted for good cause, the court shall consider whether a judgment for possession was subsequently dismissed or vacated, and whether there have been any other subsequent landlord-tenant actions filed against the tenant. No fee shall be charged for filing the application to seal with the court.
c. After seven years from the date of entry of the judgment for possession, if not already sealed by the court on tenant's application, a landlord-tenant action shall be automatically sealed by the court and no longer accessible to the public.
d. The Supreme Court of New Jersey may adopt rules, and the Administrative Director of the Courts may issue directives and guidelines, to implement the purposes of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill).
4. a. When evaluating a prospective tenant, a landlord shall not consider previous landlord-tenant actions that are confidential or have been sealed.
b. A person, tenant screening service, or other entity, shall not knowingly provide court filing information or information contained in landlord-tenant court records that are confidential or have been sealed to a landlord or other entity involved in the rental of a dwelling unit.
5. Any person who knowingly violates section 4 of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill) by revealing to the public a confidential sealed record, shall, in addition to any other penalty provided by law, be liable for a civil penalty in an amount not to exceed $1,000 for the first violation, and $5,000 for each subsequent violation, plus reasonable attorney fees, collectible by the Attorney General in a summary proceeding pursuant to the "Penalty Enforcement Law of 1999," P.L.1999, c.274 (C.2A:58-10 et seq.).
6. This act shall take effect six months from the date of enactment.
STATEMENT
This bill would establish confidentiality requirements for landlord-tenant court records of a tenant.
The bill provides that a landlord-tenant court record would remain confidential and unavailable to the public unless and until the landlord-tenant court action results in the court issuing a judgment for possession.
Under the bill, any New Jersey public entity that maintains a written or automated record or file of landlord-tenant court records would be required to take appropriate actions to ensure that these court records are kept confidential and unavailable to the public. Additionally, a tenant involved in a landlord-tenant action that resulted in a judgment of possession may apply to court and request that the court seal the landlord-tenant court records, as described in the bill. For that application, the court would consider whether a judgment for possession was subsequently dismissed or vacated, and whether there have been any other subsequent landlord-tenant actions filed against the tenant. No fees would be charged for filling the application to seal these records with the court.
The bill provides that, after seven years from the date of entry of the judgment for possession, if not already sealed by the court on the tenant's application, a landlord-tenant action would be automatically sealed by the court and no longer accessible to the public.
Under the bill, when evaluating a prospective tenant, the bill prohibits a landlord from considering previous landlord-tenant actions that are confidential or have been sealed. The bill also expressly prohibits a person, tenant screening service, or other entity, from providing court filing information or information contained in court records that are confidential or have been sealed to a landlord or other entity involved in the rental of a dwelling unit. Any person who knowingly violates either of these prohibitions by revealing to the public a confidential sealed record, would, in addition to any other penalty provided by law, be liable for a civil penalty in an amount not to exceed $1,000 for the first violation, and $5,000 for each subsequent violation, plus reasonable attorney fees.
This bill would keep a landlord-tenant court record confidential and unavailable to the public until a judgment for possession has been issued by the court or the case has been resolved or decided by the court. Additionally, the landlord-tenant court record would remain confidential if the court has determined that the tenant has made a valid defense, as detailed in the amendment.
