Florida Senate - 2021 SB 1746 By Senator Jones 35-01528A-21 20211746__ 1 A bill to be entitled 2 An act relating to court records of eviction 3 proceedings; creating s. 83.626, F.S.; authorizing 4 tenants and mobile home owners who are defendants in 5 certain eviction proceedings to file a motion with the 6 court to have the records of such proceedings sealed 7 and to have their names substituted on the progress 8 docket under certain conditions; requiring the court 9 to grant such motions if certain requirements are met; 10 requiring the court to substitute a defendant’s name 11 on the progress docket if a judgment is entered in 12 favor of the defendant; prohibiting the court from 13 charging certain fees; providing retroactive 14 applicability; providing an effective date. 15 16 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 17 18 Section 1. Section 83.626, Florida Statutes, is created to 19 read: 20 83.626 Court records of eviction proceedings.— 21 (1) A tenant or mobile home owner who is a defendant in an 22 eviction proceeding under this part or s. 723.061 may file a 23 motion with the court to have the records of such proceeding 24 sealed and to have his or her name substituted with “tenant” on 25 the progress docket if any of the following conditions are 26 satisfied: 27 (a) The parties file a joint stipulation requesting relief 28 under this section. 29 (b) The case was dismissed. 30 (c) The case was resolved by settlement or stipulation of 31 the parties and the defendant has complied with the terms of the 32 agreement. 33 (d) A default judgment was entered against the defendant, 34 and the defendant has satisfied any monetary award included in 35 the judgment. 36 (e) A judgment was entered against the defendant on the 37 merits at least 5 years before the motion was filed under this 38 subsection, and the tenant has satisfied any monetary award 39 included in the judgment. 40 (2)(a) The court shall grant such motion without a hearing 41 if the requirements in paragraph (1)(a) or paragraph (1)(b) are 42 satisfied. 43 (b) If the defendant files a motion on the basis of 44 paragraph (1)(c), paragraph (1)(d), or paragraph (1)(e) being 45 satisfied, the defendant must also serve a copy of the motion on 46 all parties to the proceeding. If a written objection is filed 47 within 30 days after such service, the court must schedule a 48 hearing. If no written objection is filed within 30 days after 49 service of the motion or the court determines after a hearing 50 that the defendant is eligible for relief, the court must grant 51 the motion. 52 (3) In an eviction proceeding under this part or s. 53 723.061, the court must substitute a defendant’s name on the 54 progress docket with “tenant” if a judgment is entered in favor 55 of the defendant. 56 (4) The court may not charge a fee as a result of a 57 defendant filing a motion under this section. 58 (5) This section applies to any judgment entered before, 59 on, or after July 1, 2021. 60 Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2021.