House Study Bill 117 - Introduced HOUSE FILE _____ BY (PROPOSED COMMITTEE ON JUDICIARY BILL BY CHAIRPERSON HOLT) A BILL FOR An Act relating to court records for residential forcible 1 entry and detainer actions and including effective date 2 provisions. 3 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA: 4 TLSB 1583YC (2) 91 cm/jh
H.F. _____ Section 1. Section 648.22, Code 2025, is amended to read as 1 follows: 2 648.22 Judgment execution costs sealing of court 3 records . 4 1. If the defendant is found guilty, judgment shall be 5 entered that the defendant be removed from the premises, and 6 that the plaintiff be put in possession of the premises, and an 7 execution for the defendants removal within three days from 8 the judgment shall issue accordingly, to which judgment for 9 costs shall be entered in the judgment docket and lien index, 10 and to which shall be added a clause commanding the officer to 11 collect the costs as in ordinary cases. 12 2. In a residential forcible entry and detainer action, 13 the court records of the action shall be sealed not later than 14 three days from the date of the order, if any of the following 15 occurs: 16 a. The defendant is found not guilty. 17 b. The case is dismissed. 18 c. The plaintiff does not appear for the hearing. 19 3. In a residential forcible entry and detainer action, the 20 court shall enter an order sealing the court records of the 21 action not later than three days from the date of the order 22 if, by motion or upon the courts own determination, the court 23 finds there is no genuine issue of material fact between the 24 parties. 25 4. Upon application of a defendant found guilty in a 26 residential forcible entry and detainer action for nonpayment 27 of rent, the court shall enter an order sealing the record of 28 the action, the existence of the petition, all filings and 29 documentation within the case file, and any associated writs of 30 execution, if all of the following conditions are met: 31 a. More than seven years have passed since the date of the 32 finding of guilt. 33 b. The applicant has not been found guilty in a subsequent 34 forcible entry and detainer action in the five-year period 35 -1- LSB 1583YC (2) 91 cm/jh 1/ 5
H.F. _____ directly preceding the application. 1 c. The applicant has not previously been granted a sealing 2 of a finding of guilt under this chapter within ten years prior 3 to the application. 4 d. The applicant has paid all court costs, fees, fines, and 5 any other financial obligation ordered by the court or assessed 6 by the clerk of the district court in the case. 7 5. The application to seal the record of the action shall be 8 included in the record the defendant wishes to seal, using a 9 form prescribed by the supreme court. 10 6. In a residential forcible entry and detainer action for 11 nonpayment of rent in which the defendant is found guilty, the 12 court shall enter an order sealing the record of the action, 13 the existence of the petition, all filings and documentation 14 within the case file, and any associated writs of execution, if 15 all of the following conditions are met: 16 a. The application is filed jointly by the plaintiff and 17 defendant. 18 b. The defendant applicant has paid all court costs, fees, 19 fines, and any other financial obligation ordered by the court 20 or assessed by the clerk of the district court in the case. 21 7. Upon sealing, the existence of the petition, all filings 22 and documentation within the case file, and any associated 23 writs of execution shall be removed from any publicly 24 accessible location under the direction of the judicial branch 25 or county, as applicable. The clerk of court shall enter 26 satisfaction of judgment in the judgment docket and lien index. 27 Notwithstanding chapter 22, records sealed upon satisfaction 28 of the requirements specified in this section shall not be 29 available for public inspection except in one of the following 30 manners: 31 a. Upon request by the defendant or the attorney for the 32 defendant by filing a motion in the sealed case. 33 b. Upon application to the judicial branch using a form 34 prescribed by the supreme court for scholarly, educational, 35 -2- LSB 1583YC (2) 91 cm/jh 2/ 5
H.F. _____ journalistic, or governmental purposes only, provided that in 1 all cases, the names of minor children shall remain sealed 2 at all times, and that the names and personally identifiable 3 information of all persons named as defendants or included in 4 the plaintiffs petition shall be redacted and remain sealed 5 unless the court determines that release of such information is 6 necessary to fulfill the scholarly, educational, journalistic, 7 or governmental purpose of the request. 8 c. State court administration shall maintain a record in 9 the aggregate of all filings and the final disposition of any 10 such actions, to include dismissal, default judgment, and writs 11 associated with disposition. State court administration shall 12 make available to the public and report annually such aggregate 13 information in such a manner prescribed by the supreme court as 14 to protect the identity of the parties while still providing 15 the public with information regarding eviction proceedings. 16 8. Subsections 4 through 7 do not apply to a money judgment 17 awarded for an action that was filed with a forcible entry 18 and detainer action or arising from the same set of facts and 19 circumstances. 20 9. Subsections 3 through 7 do not create an independent 21 cause of action by a tenant for use of lawfully obtained 22 information. 23 Sec. 2. EFFECTIVE DATE. This Act takes effect July 1, 2026. 24 EXPLANATION 25 The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with 26 the explanations substance by the members of the general assembly. 27 This bill relates to sealing court records of residential 28 forcible entry and detainer actions (eviction actions). 29 The bill requires a court to seal the court records of an 30 eviction action not later than three days from the date of the 31 order if any of the following have occurred: the defendant is 32 found not guilty, the case is dismissed, the plaintiff does not 33 appear for the hearing, or if, by motion or upon the courts 34 own determination, the court finds there is no genuine issue of 35 -3- LSB 1583YC (2) 91 cm/jh 3/ 5
H.F. _____ material fact between the parties. 1 The bill provides that upon application of a defendant found 2 guilty in an eviction action for nonpayment of rent, the court 3 shall seal the court records if more than seven years have 4 passed since disposition, the applicant has not been found 5 guilty in a subsequent eviction action in the five-year period 6 preceding the application, the applicant within the last 10 7 years has not been granted a sealing of eviction court records, 8 and the applicant has paid all costs. The application to seal 9 shall be included in the sealed court records. 10 The bill requires the court in an eviction action for 11 nonpayment of rent in which the defendant is found guilty to 12 enter an order sealing the court records if the application to 13 seal is filed jointly by the plaintiff and defendant and the 14 defendant has paid all court costs, fees, fines, and any other 15 fees ordered by the court or clerk of the district court in the 16 case. 17 The bill provides that upon sealing the court records, all 18 filings, documentation, and writs of association shall be 19 removed from any publicly accessible location. Sealed court 20 records shall not be available for public inspection except 21 upon request by the defendant or the attorney for the defendant 22 by filing a motion in the sealed case or application to the 23 judicial branch using a form to be prescribed by the supreme 24 court for scholarly, educational, journalistic, or governmental 25 purposes. The bill requires the state court administrator 26 to maintain a record in the aggregate of all filings and to 27 make such information available to the public in such a manner 28 prescribed by the supreme court as to protect the identity of 29 the parties while still providing the public with information 30 relating to eviction actions. 31 Under the bill, certain provisions do not apply to an 32 application to seal a record for an eviction action by a 33 defendant found guilty when a money judgment has been awarded 34 to the plaintiff. 35 -4- LSB 1583YC (2) 91 cm/jh 4/ 5
H.F. _____ Certain provisions of the bill relating to an application to 1 seal do not create an independent cause of action by a tenant 2 for use of lawfully obtained information. 3 The bill takes effect July 1, 2026. 4 -5- LSB 1583YC (2) 91 cm/jh 5/ 5