Bill would provide struggling tenants more time to pay rent
OKLAHOMA CITY (KFOR) - A bill that would give Oklahomans struggling to pay rent more time to come up with money or find a new place to live is advancing through the state capital.
"Everyone needs a home. We have got to figure out how to make that happen,” said State Senator Julia Kirt, D-Oklahoma City, who’s authoring Senate Bill 1575. "[The bill] can cause a little window to reduce some of our problems.”
The measure would extend the window for an eviction trial from five to 10 days and increase the summons timeline, the notification a tenant receives before they're due in court, from at least three days to a week.
"We're trying to move a little more time in there for people if they've not paid, give them an opportunity to pay or find their next place to live,” said Kirt.
Cases with property damage or illegal activity will still face the expedited eviction process.
This proposed law comes as Oklahoma has one of the shortest eviction timelines in the country.
"This bill makes a big difference for tenants,” said Amanda Ewing, the executive director of the Oklahoma Association of Community Action Agencies.
Ewing works with 18 community action agencies across the state.
"Affordable housing is a real crisis in Oklahoma,” said Ewing. “When somebody is evicted, they're not just losing their home. They're probably losing their job… their child is missing school.”
While she supports the bill, Ewing told KFOR some landlords may not be for it.
“There's such a demand for housing and there are so few affordable houses,” said Ewing. “You know, I think that there are a few landlords in this state that really are prioritizing just getting the next person in as soon as possible because they've got a long list of folks that are willing to pay rent."
Ultimately, the measure moved through the Senate Judiciary Committee by a vote of 8 to 2 earlier this week.
However, Senator Kirt thinks it will be tough to get it officially signed into law.
“I think this will be hard,” said Kirt. “People have a really hard time when we talk about property. It's a special kind of business.”
The measure now heads to the full senate for consideration.
Senators Julie Daniels and David Bullard were the two who voted against the measure. We reached out to ask why, but were unable to get a hold of them Friday.
Executive Director of Apartment Association of Central Oklahoma Karey Landers responded on Friday regarding the SB 1575.
"We have been working with Sen. Kirt on some of the language of this bill. We appreciated Sen. Kirt’s willingness to work with us and we are always here to work with policymakers to improve Oklahoma and landlord tenant policy in A FAIR way for all parties involved. We believe that the real issue that should be addressed is AFFORDABLE HOUSING and housing sustainability. We feel that this, and fair wages are at the root of the eviction issue.
Our biggest concern has always been that if a resident gets behind in rent, it is difficult for those renters to get caught up and that by extending the rent deadline to much, can result in the resident falling further behind or struggling to pay the next month.
We care about the people who live in our apartment communities. Eviction is an unpleasant experience for all that are involved and for most owners and landlords, it is a last resort to get payment owed. If residents communicate with housing providers when they are going to have trouble paying rent, the majority of the time, housing providers are willing to work with the resident. However, in many cases the housing provider reaches out to the resident when rent is late and never receives a response from the resident. When the resident does communicate they will be late, most housing providers try to connect the resident to resources for rent assistance and other assistance that may be needed by the resident."
Karey Landers, Executive Director of Apartment Association of Central Oklahoma