Oregon Courts Erase 47,000 Eviction Records, Giving Renters a Fresh Start

The Oregon Judicial Department indicated that around 47,000 evictions in the Oregon state courts system have been sealed, actioning House Bill 2001. The sealed eviction records will effectively disappear.

Oregon Court Eviction Records Set Aside

House Bill 2001, passed in the Legislature in 2023, addresses housing evictions that affect people’s records and affect their ability to access housing or rent.

By mid-December, the records of about 47,000 people had been sealed to comply with the bill. According to the bill, courts must start removing records that meet the criteria by the end of 2024.

Evictions, which could have led to the denial of rental applications, will no longer show up in background checks for the people whose records have been sealed and effectively purged.

The sealing applies to court judgments entered after January 1, 2014, but they must also meet other requirements and timelines.

Where monetary awards were made, the judgment must still be paid off, expired, or discharged in bankruptcy court.

The judicial department staff reviewed about 160,000 evictions manually to determine eligibility.

However, there is still a backlog of about 50,000 cases to review. The department has set a goal to seal eligible cases by the end of 2025, and new cases will be reviewed every year.

To find out if your past eviction was set aside and get a copy of the set-aside order, go to the judicial department’s eviction set-asides webpage.

In addition, Oregon Law Help offers free legal information from the Oregon State Bar. It can be approached to get more information about the eviction process and your rights.