How to erase your eviction record in Utah (in English and Español)

 From the Salt Lake Tribune Investigative Journalism Team

(Para leer el texto en español vaya a la mitad del artículo.)

By Eric S. Peterson, Silvia Nuila and Frank Regalado

"Have you ever been evicted? Do you wish it never happened? Thanks to a new law in Utah, you might be able to make it disappear from your legal record.

Tens of thousands of Utahns over the years have been evicted from their apartments and homes. It’s not a crime to get evicted. It’s not a crime to miss rent because you lost your job or ran out of money paying medical bills or fixing a broken car. It’s not a crime if you miss rent because you are just trying to get through difficult times.

But having an eviction on your record can be as bad as having a crime on your record. It can hurt your credit score, making it harder for you to get a loan for a car or to get into your dream home. And your rental application for a nice new apartment might get rejected if the landlord sees you have an eviction on your record—even if it happened years ago.

But state law allows Utahns to expunge... an eviction from their records; in other words, evictees can wipe the slate clean as if it never happened. Even better? There’s no cost to do it."

Read the full article at: https://www.utahinvestigative.org/how-to-erase-your-eviction-record-in-utah-in-english-and-espanol/?doing_wp_cron=1669399398.6307051181793212890625

Where to find more help

Utah Courts Self Help Center: For help filing documents. utcourts.gov/selfhelp, 888-683-0009

Utah Housing Coalition: Can help walk you through the process and find legal and other help. Online at utahhousing.org or call 801-364-0077.

The Legalese of Expungement

Civil Cover Sheet: Your basic application to the court to ask for expungement.

Expungement: Erasing your eviction record.

Satisfaction of Judgment: Paying your old eviction debts so you can expunge your eviction.

Petition: A written request, asking the court to do something.

Proof of Service: Document showing you sent your petition to your landlord. It could be in the form of a certified mail receipt.