Texas 2025 - 89th Regular

Texas House Bill HB1369 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

Old	New	Differences
1	1	89R1734 DRS-F
2	2	By: Jones of Dallas H.B. No. 1369
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7	7	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
8	8	AN ACT
9	9	relating to the confidentiality of residential eviction case
10	10	information.
11	11	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
12	12	SECTION 1. Chapter 24, Property Code, is amended by adding
13	13	Section 24.012 to read as follows:
14	14	Sec. 24.012. CONFIDENTIAL RECORDS RELATED TO RESIDENTIAL
15	15	EVICTION CASE INFORMATION. (a) In this section:
16	16	(1) "Eviction case" means a lawsuit brought under this
17	17	chapter to recover possession of leased or rented residential real
18	18	property from a tenant, including a tenant at will or a tenant at
19	19	sufferance.
20	20	(2) "Eviction case information" means all records and
21	21	files related to a filing of an eviction case, including petitions
22	22	and their dispositions.
23	23	(3) "Landlord" means:
24	24	(A) an owner, lessor, or sublessor of a dwelling;
25	25	(B) a management company or managing agent for a
26	26	dwelling, including an on-site manager; or
27	27	(C) a rent collector for a dwelling.
28	28	(b) Concurrently with a judgment or order of dismissal in an
29	29	eviction case, a court shall enter an order making confidential the
30	30	eviction case information pertaining to a defendant if:
31	31	(1) a judgment is entered in favor of the defendant;
32	32	(2) the case is dismissed without any relief granted
33	33	to the plaintiff; or
34	34	(3) the defendant is a residential tenant not
35	35	otherwise in default and the eviction case is brought by the
36	36	successor in interest following foreclosure.
37	37	(c) On petition of a defendant in an eviction case after a
38	38	judgment or order of dismissal has been entered, a court shall enter
39	39	an order making confidential the eviction case information
40	40	pertaining to a defendant if:
41	41	(1) at least five years have elapsed from the date of
42	42	the final judgment in the eviction case;
43	43	(2) the defendant was a residential tenant not
44	44	otherwise in default and the eviction case was brought by the
45	45	successor in interest following foreclosure; or
46	46	(3) a confidentiality order was not issued and:
47	47	(A) a judgment was entered in favor of the
48	48	defendant; or
49	49	(B) the case was dismissed.
50	50	(d) Concurrently with a judgment or order of dismissal in an
51	51	eviction case or on petition of a defendant in an eviction case
52	52	after a judgment or dismissal in the case, a court may enter an
53	53	order making confidential the eviction case information pertaining
54	54	to the defendant if the court finds that:
55	55	(1) it is in the interest of justice; and
56	56	(2) the interest of justice is not outweighed by the
57	57	public's interest in knowing the eviction case information.
58	58	(e) If an order is entered making eviction case information
59	59	confidential under this section:
60	60	(1) a court or clerk may not intentionally disclose
61	61	the eviction case information, except:
62	62	(A) to any judge or court staff;
63	63	(B) to the parties to the suit or the parties'
64	64	counsel; or
65	65	(C) in a form that omits any personal identifying
66	66	information of the parties, to any other person, agency, or
67	67	institution approved by the court with a legitimate interest in the
68	68	work of the court; and
69	69	(2) except to the extent permitted by federal law, a
70	70	credit reporting agency, a person, other than a landlord, who
71	71	regularly collects and disseminates eviction case information, or a
72	72	person who sells eviction case information may not:
73	73	(A) disclose the existence of the eviction case;
74	74	or
75	75	(B) use the eviction case information as a factor
76	76	in determining a score or recommendation in a tenant screening
77	77	report regarding the defendant.
78	78	(f) A person who knowingly violates Subsection (e) is liable
79	79	to an injured party for:
80	80	(1) actual damages or, if unable to prove actual
81	81	damages, exemplary damages of not more than $1,000; and
82	82	(2) reasonable attorney's fees of not more than
83	83	$10,000 and court costs.
84	84	(g) Notwithstanding Section 41.004(a), Civil Practice and
85	85	Remedies Code, a court shall award exemplary damages under
86	86	Subsection (f)(1) to the injured party if the party is not awarded
87	87	actual damages.
88	88	(h) This section does not prohibit a party to an eviction
89	89	case from abstracting the judgment in the case.
90	90	(i) The supreme court shall adopt rules necessary to
91	91	implement this section.
92	92	SECTION 2. Not later than January 1, 2026, the Texas Supreme
93	93	Court shall adopt the rules necessary to implement Section 24.012,
94	94	Property Code, as added by this Act.
95	95	SECTION 3. This Act takes effect January 1, 2026.