Housing Families Launches Regional Eviction Sealing Clinics to Expand Access to Stable Housing
Malden, MA (August 6, 2025) — Housing Families’ Legal Aid for Wellbeing and Stability (LAWS) team is proud to announce the launch of a series of free Eviction Sealing Clinics throughout the Greater Boston region. These in-person clinics will offer one-on-one assistance from Housing Families’ legal advocates to tenants seeking to seal past eviction records under Massachusetts’ new eviction record sealing law, which took effect on May 5, 2025.
The new law, passed as part of the Affordable Homes Act, allows eligible tenants to petition the court to seal certain eviction records, preventing them from appearing in tenant screening reports and giving individuals a fairer chance at securing stable housing. At the clinics, Housing Families’ LAWS attorneys and legal advocates will guide tenants through the petition process and assist them in completing the necessary paperwork for filing.
With support from key municipal partners—including the cities of Malden, Everett, Revere, and Woburn—these clinics will be held locally to remove barriers and provide tenants with trusted, community-based access to legal support.
“Even a dismissed eviction case can follow a tenant for years, closing doors to safe and stable housing,” said Renée Cammarata Hamilton, Senior Director of Policy and Strategic Partnerships at Housing Families. “The eviction sealing provision of the Affordable Homes Act can be life-changing for individuals and families, offering a meaningful path toward housing stability and renewed opportunity. We’re deeply grateful to our municipal partners for helping bring this critical protection to the communities we serve.”
These clinics aim to reach those most impacted by housing instability: families with low incomes, people with disabilities, and tenants who have experienced homelessness. Housing Families is working in close coordination with city officials and community-based organizations to ensure broad, equitable access to this new legal provision.
“We know that a single eviction filing can have a devastating ripple effect,” said Maria Luise, Special Assistant to the Mayor of Malden. “Giving eligible tenants the opportunity to seal eviction records and move forward with a clean slate brings fairness, compassion, and common sense to the housing market—and marks an important step toward a more equitable and inclusive housing system.”
Eviction record sealing represents a significant advancement in the effort to remove long-standing barriers to housing for tenants across the Commonwealth, particularly for communities of color, immigrants, and those who have been unfairly locked out of the housing market due to an eviction history. Housing Families is proud to be a trusted, local legal aid organization offering dedicated and in-person support to tenants navigating this process.
Interested individuals can learn more and register for a Housing Families eviction sealing clinic at: https://forms.office.com/r/d6JgwXexsC
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Learn more about Housing Families: www.housingfamilies.org