Despite concerted efforts to prevent it, Tulsa’s eviction rate is once again approaching unacceptable pre-pandemic levels.
Avenues are available to tenants who don’t want to lose their rental homes, but advocates worry that information about those options may not be getting to the people who need it.
Before the pandemic, Tulsa had the 11th highest eviction rate in the nation, averaging 1,200 cases a month. Tulsa returned to that level in September, according to data from Access to Justice.
More than one-third of all eviction cases in Tulsa this year have been filed since Aug. 25, the first day landlords could seek evictions after a months-long CARES Act moratorium on evictions from properties covered by federal funding, such as Section 8 housing.
Ten days after the congressional moratorium expired, the Trump administration replaced it with a broader moratorium through the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The CDC action blocks any eviction based on failure to pay rent for any tenants who has had a loss of income.
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Landlords can still seek evictions based on other reasons, such as tenant threats, but the biggest problem may be informing tenants of their rights.
Legal Aid Services of Oklahoma provides pro bono counsel to tenants, but eviction cases are often scheduled in the middle of the afternoon when — often faced with conflicting needs to care for children — nearly half the tenants don’t show up and lose by default.
Meanwhile, federally funded programs through the state and county are in place to make sure landlords don’t lose out on rent income.
A pair of programs use CARES Act money to pay rent for people in need. That would keep the moratorium from unfairly cutting landlords off from the revenue needed to pay for repairs, taxes and mortgages.
Tenants and landlords can apply for rental assistance by calling 211 or going to tulsahousing.nanmckay.com. Households are eligible for up to three months of past due rent for a maximum of $3,000. Tenants are eligible for the program if any household member who is over 18 and is named on the lease either lost a job or had income significantly reduced by COVID-19.
Money is paid directly to landlords, whose cooperation is needed to supply documentation that proves ownership of the property.
The pandemic crisis need not result in a crisis of evictions and homelessness. A good foundation of programs are in place, but they need to be maintained at least through the end of the year, and possibly augmented with changes in city, county, court and other procedures to make sure they are as effective as possible.
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On Sept. 11, the Tulsa World Let’s Talk virtual town hall and the League of Women Voters of Oklahoma cohosted a town hall forum on State Questions 805 and State Question 814.
