LaFayette Apartments on Main Street in Butler. Butler Eagle File Photo

A proposal from Gov. Josh Shapiro aims to help those who have faced eviction in the past remain able to find housing is facing some criticism.

Earlier this month, as part of his annual budget proposal for 2025-26, Shapiro proposed a measure that would seal eviction records for those who faced proceedings but haven’t been legally evicted. The proposal aims to prevent residents who may have an eviction notice on their record from being denied a chance at housing even though they were never actually evicted.

While the idea hasn’t led to any actual proposed legislation so far, it has received public support, mostly from Democratic members of the General Assembly. This includes Rep. Ismail Smith-Wade-El, D-49, who sponsored a bill in 2024 which would seal no-fault eviction records. The bill made no progress before the end of the session.

Shapiro’s proposal has run into some opposition from those on the other side of the aisle, as well as those in the real estate sector in Western Pennsylvania. This includes Ed Benz, president of the Active Community of Real Estate Entrepreneurs, or A.C.R.E., a real estate association which covers the greater Pittsburgh area.

“I understand the reason why the governor is trying to do it,” Benz said. “He feels that everybody should have a right to housing, and we agree.”

But Benz said that if the proposal were to go into effect, it would do more harm than good for both landlords and tenants. He contends that if more eviction records in Pennsylvania were sealed, landlords would have to tighten their standards for finding people to occupy their properties to avoid the risk of having to evict someone later.

This would worsen the problem that the state was trying to mitigate by making it harder for some renters to find a home.

“I personally have set the threshold for credit scores below what most banks set for a loan, because I understand that people sometimes have a bad divorce or a bad disease,” Benz said. “When we can't see evictions and can't use that as one of the determining factors, all the other factors that we look at tighten up. The credit score will go up. The amount of income will tighten up.”

At least one Republican member of the General Assembly, Rep. Aaron Bernstine, R-8th, has harshly criticized Shapiro’s proposal, echoing the sentiments of Benz.

“This is another example of the Democrats and Josh Shapiro working to have people not held accountable for their actions, and putting those who were doing the right thing behind the eight-ball,” Bernstine said. “Landlords should know the types of people that they're running to in their past history so they know if they're going to have to deal with a similar situation.”

Both Benz and Bernstine say that the majority of evictions result from the tenant either failing or refusing to pay rent.

“You are assuming that there are no costs to a property owner when they end up with somebody who's constantly evicted for nonpayment of rent, because that's the primary reason for eviction,” Benz said. “When you have a serial non-payer, every time we have to turn the property over, it costs us money, which raises the cost of rent.

“Oftentimes when somebody receives an eviction notice, it’s because they either haven’t maintained the property to the proper standards or they have not paid the rent,” Bernstine said. “At that point, they often leave before the eviction is actually served. That being said, they still owe that past rent amount.”

Benz pointed to some instances where legislation similar to what has been proposed by Shapiro has become a reality, leading to the sealing of eviction records. According to PolicyLink, 19 states and Washington, D.C., have some laws on the books regarding the sealing or expungement of eviction records.

“We’ve seen these results in other states,” Benz said. “It has the exact opposite effect. By sealing the eviction records, you end up tightening other scoring criteria. They've actually tightened up scoring and made it harder for people to find houses.”

“People need to be held accountable for their actions,” Bernstine said. “That's been my position, that’s always been my position, and that will continue to be my position moving forward.”