The State of North Dakota Signs Eviction Record Sealing Protections Into Law This Legislative Session

In March, North Dakota Governor Kelly Armstrong signed into law stronger protections for tenants, ensuring that renters with eviction records can access safe, stable, and affordable housing opportunities free from undue obstacles. Sponsored by Senators Ryan Braunberger (SD-010), Jeff Barta (SD-043), Claire Cory (SD-042), as well as Representatives Austin Foss (HD-044) and Mary Schneider (HD-021), “Senate Bill 2238” stipulates that a renter who has faced an eviction due to nonpayment of rent or damage to the property can apply to have their eviction record sealed with the court – given that all applicable judgements have been satisfied with the landlord and court – seven years after the eviction case (in so long as the tenant does not face a new eviction during this waiting period). The law also grants new protections to survivors of domestic violence ensuring that those evicted due to violence, stalking, or harassment are not disproportionately punished due to the presence of an unlawful detainer on a tenant’s public record. With the passage of North Dakota’s new eviction sealing law, North Dakota joins 19 states, including the District of Columbia, and three localities to have enacted such protections for tenants.  

Evictions, as well as a resulting eviction record brought on by an eviction case, can have negative consequences for renter households. Once an unlawful detainer – or eviction – has been filed against a tenant with the courts, it becomes a matter of public record accessible to third parties including future landlords. The mere presence of an eviction record on a tenant’s public record, especially as it is documented on a tenant screening report or background and credit check when applying for new housing opportunities, can often result in the automatic denial of a tenant – despite an eviction record not being a good indicator of whether a tenant can pay rent or uphold the provisions of a lease agreement. The resulting consequences for families, the lowest-income renters, people with disabilities, and seniors is that even fewer housing options are available and accessible to them. Such circumstances can result in renters compromising on housing that lacks safety, affordability, and accessibility, and can even impact life beyond housing, resulting in an inability to access reliable transportation, quality schools, and work opportunities. 

To mitigate the lasting – and sometimes permanent - consequences of evictions, lawmakers have passed eviction record sealing and/or expungement protections both at the state and local levels. Eviction record sealing and expungement protections are a critical tool for protecting renters over the long-term. Once eviction record sealing protections are passed, a tenant’s eviction record is hidden from public view, making it accessible to a select group of authorized individuals such as lawyers, the tenant, or academic researchers. By comparison, expungement protections are more permanent in that they erase a tenant’s eviction record altogether, making it seem as though the eviction filing was never there. By sealing or expunging a tenant’s eviction record, a tenant is given a clean slate – giving them an opportunity to secure new housing opportunities without the social stigma associated with evictions.  

While some eviction sealing laws passed across the country allow for the automatic sealing of eviction records, such as in Colorado, which passed “House Bill 20-1009” in 2020 to allow for eviction records to be suppressed as an eviction case moves through the court, some localities require tenants to adhere to a waiting period before applying or petitioning the courts to have an eviction record sealed. In Idaho, for example, “Senate Bill 1327,” which was passed in 2024, states that for eviction cases that take place on or after January 1, 2025, a tenant may be eligible to have their eviction record sealed if more than three years have passed since the eviction case. Under North Dakota’s new eviction record sealing law, tenants must wait seven years before their eviction record can be eligible for sealing.  

North Dakota’s new eviction record sealing law only applies to eviction cases under two specific circumstances, including if the tenant was evicted due to nonpayment of rent or if the tenant caused damage to the residential property. Further, North Dakota’s eviction record sealing law also offers protections to survivors of domestic violence. For tenants who were evicted due to domestic violence, an eviction record can be sealed immediately under the conviction of the perpetrator of violence, the issuance of a court-ordered disorderly conduct restraining order, sexual assault restraining order, or domestic violence protection order against the perpetrator. 

To learn more about North Dakota’s new eviction record sealing law, please visit the state legislature’s website here. 

To learn more about eviction record sealing and expungement protections, including their core components, where such protections have been passed, and how such laws can be strengthened, NLIHC released a toolkit on such protections in 2023. The toolkit can be accessed here.