We invite stakeholders, policymakers, organizers, and concerned community members to engage with the findings and practical recommendations outlined in this report, Advancing Pennsylvania’s Housing Futures: Sealing Eviction Records for Housing Stability and Economic Prosperity, in the collective endeavor to unlock the potential for housing stability and economic prosperity in Pennsylvania. This report illuminates the detrimental impacts eviction records have on individuals and communities. Additionally, Advancing Pennsylvania’s Housing Futures:

• Reviews Pennsylvania's proactive eviction-prevention strategies used during the first year of the Covid-19 pandemic (2020 to 2021). 
• Examines federal regulatory and state legislative actions that have influenced the national dialogue on tenant screening.
• Proposes actionable policy recommendations for Pennsylvania's legislators. 

The trends outlined in this report are not unique to Pennsylvania and echo troubling national patterns. Pennsylvania stands at a critical juncture. By building on policy advancements implemented during the Covid-19 pandemic and by leveraging the existing framework of the Clean Slate legislation, lawmakers can take decisive steps to seal eviction records and offer a lifeline to hundreds of thousands who grapple with the barriers to obtaining stable, affordable, and safe housing. 

More Information

To learn more about policies on eviction records and tenant screening, please review the following resources from PolicyLink and partners: 

• Anti-Displacement Toolkit: Sealing Eviction Records and Tenant Screening Regulations - PolicyLink
• Mapping the Growth of Eviction Record and Tenant Screening Protections - PolicyLink
• Digital Denials: How Abuse, Bias, and Lack of Transparency in Tenant Screening Harm Renters - National Consumer Law Center
• Salt in the Wound: How Eviction Records and Back Rent Haunt Tenant Screening Reports and Credit Scores - National Consumer Law Center
• How to Seal Eviction Records - Upturn

Have questions or want to discuss eviction record sealing policies in your state or city? Reach out to housing-team@policylink.org

Michigan residents have an opportunity to comment on how the state allocates its federal water infrastructure money, writes Victoria Loong, policy manager with We the People of Detroit.

We need to make sure those communities receive the full benefits the infrastructure bill brings, in the form of clean water and in the form of living wage careers, write Milwaukee Water Common's Joe Fitzgerald and Richard Diaz with Blue Green Alliance.