Civil procedure: other; sealing court records of evictions; provide for. Amends 1961 PA 236 (MCL 600.101 - 600.9947) by adding sec. 5755.

HB 4984 changes how eviction court records are handled in Michigan. For most eviction cases, court records remain private until a judge rules in favor of the landlord, then become public for two years before automatically returning to private status. However, if the eviction was based on serious issues like drug activity, health hazards, violence, or illegal entry, records stay public for three years. The bill also strictly limits sharing private records - allowing access only for research or journalism with court approval, while protecting tenant names and personal details. This directly affects tenants by increasing privacy around eviction history, particularly for non-serious cases.