The Toledo Bar Association and Legal Aid of Western Ohio are hosting free legal clinics on eviction sealing

TOLEDO, Ohio (WTVG) - Unfortunately, evictions can happen, and when it comes to your record they are hard to get rid of. There might be some help available here in Northwest Ohio, though.

The Toledo Bar Association and Legal Aid of Western Ohio are hosting free 30-minute clinics on eviction record sealing.

“Individuals who are stuck in a cycle of poverty can have multiple evictions filed against them so what we’re trying to do through this clinic is really help people breakthrough that,” said  Maggie Humphrey, Director of Pro Bono and Community Engagement at The Toledo Bar Association.

“We’ll be telling people about the eviction sealing process and then there’ll be an opportunity to meet one-on-one with a Toledo Bar Association volunteer who will go through their housing court record, and will help them to draft the motion and affidavit that you’ll need to file with the court,” Humphrey said.

What does an eviction record seal do?

According to Humphrey, sealing an eviction will remove the eviction from the public record.

Statistics provided by the Toledo Municipal Court show there have been close to 1,300 eviction filings just in the first quarter of this year.

Marie Flannery with the Fair Housing Center tells 13abc it looks like the city is on its way back to the “eviction crisis” that occurred in 2018.

“The people that can get that eviction expunged off their record can then go on to hopefully rent quality housing and have housing stability and we all know that housing is the foundation for everything in your life,” said Flannery.

Clinics will be held on June 15 and 17 at the Promedica Ebeid Center, located at 1806 Madison Ave.

Anyone can show up to the informational meeting but you must pre-register for a one-on-one meeting with an attorney.

For more information, you can go to this website.

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