NEWS

Attorney General Awards More Than $500,000 To Eight Organizations Supporting Eviction Record Sealing And Access To Stable Housing

Apr 1, 2026

Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell awarded more than $500,000 in grant funding to eight organizations across the Commonwealth supporting the implementation of Massachusetts’s eviction sealing law. The awards grant funding to organizations that will provide eviction sealing legal services, clinics, educational materials, and more to ensure eligible residents are able to seal their records and have an opportunity for a fresh start.

A record of an eviction case is a barrier that can have long-term impacts on someone’s ability to secure affordable, stable housing. As soon as an eviction case is filed, a tenant has an eviction record even if the case was dismissed, filed on unlawful grounds, or occurred many years ago. Massachusetts’s new eviction sealing law protects tenants from being marked with an eviction record for life by providing a process for them to petition the court to seal certain records.

The Massachusetts Healthy Aging Collaborative, with support from Point32Health Foundation, previously highlighted a story of how this issue impacts older adults. The story follows a report by the Public Health Institute of Wester Massachusetts, based in Springfield.

The AGO selected the following organizations to receive funding:

  • Community Legal Aid – Berkshire, Franklin, Hampden, Hampshire, and Worcester Counties ($75,000)
  • Greater Boston Legal Services– Middlesex, Norfolk, and Suffolk Counties ($75,000)
  • Justice Resource Institute, Statewide ($75,000)
  • Massachusetts Fair Housing Center, Inc. – Berkshire, Franklin, Hampden, and Hampshire Counties (Approximately $55,000)
  • Massachusetts Law Reform Institute – Statewide ($25,000)
  • Northeast Legal Aid – Essex and Middlesex Counties ($75,000)
  • Suffolk University – Statewide (Approximately $74,000)
  • Volunteer Lawyers Project of the Boston Bar Association – Suffolk County ($75,000)

From 1988-2018, more than one million eviction cases were filed in Massachusetts. Black renters in Massachusetts are, on average, 2.4 times more likely to have an eviction filed against them than white renters, despite making up only 11% of the renting population. Further, Black women are more likely to have eviction cases filed against them and subsequently dismissed, resulting in an eviction record even when the case is won. Lastly, women of color are also disproportionately vulnerable to eviction because of other forms of discrimination, including discrimination against families with children and domestic violence survivors.