On average, Oklahoma landlords filed 132 eviction cases every day in 2024. With 44,235 evictions filed through the end of November, the state will likely end the year in a virtual tie for last year’s total of 48,278. While evictions are frequent nationwide, with an estimated 3.6 million evictions filed each year, Oklahoma is among a group of states considered landlord-friendly. Landlord-friendly states have no rent control, cheap and simple eviction processes and low property taxes. In landlord-friendly states, tenants often find themselves on the losing side of policy. Most of Oklahoma’s Residential Landlord and Tenant Act has not been changed to meaningfully benefit tenants since it was enacted in 1978. Oklahoma renters experience eviction at higher rates than most Americans, said Katie Dilks, Executive Director of Oklahoma Access to Justice Foundation.  “This is not because they are poorer, or worse tenants, or because housing costs are higher here, but because our laws have been structured to make evictions cheap and fast,” Dilks said. She said that those policy choices have created an environment in which a few landlords lean on eviction filings as a low-cost rent and fee collection tool. Here are five things to know about evictions in Oklahoma from experts who advocate for updated policies in 2025 to level the playing field for tenants and landlords. 1. Oklahoma evictions are among the quickest in the nation. Oklahoma renters can be served a summons to appear for an eviction hearing set for as soon as three days later. Only two states have shorter periods of two days. The extremely short notice of a scheduled eviction hearing often results in tenants missing their court date because they can’t cover a work shift. According to Shelterwell, in 2023, 73% of cases resulting in eviction were due to the tenant not being present at court. Oklahoma tenants can find themselves forced out by sheriffs as soon as five days after an eviction was filed in court. Sen. Julia Kirt, D-Oklahoma City, proposed legislation to lengthen the time between filing an eviction lawsuit and a hearing date to allow tenants more time to seek legal counsel and make arrangements to attend court. The legislation died in committee. “We know that for a lot of people, having a few extra days to be able to come up with rent when something has just gone sideways in their lives can make all the difference,” Dilks said.She said she hopes Kirt will run SB 1575 again in 2025.Dilks said several years ago, a large Tulsa landlord made a policy shift to stop filing evictions on the sixth of the month, the day rent was officially late, and instead filed on the 11th. That small change resulted in 50% fewer evictions at that complex. The quick time frame of Oklahoma evictions feeds the practice of serial evictions used by some corporate landlords to make more profit.2. Corporate landlords file most Oklahoma evictions. Mom-and-pop landlords file few evictions. Corporate management companies are behind a majority of cases and often, those evictions are filed not to get rid of a tenant but to collect rent and eviction filing fees, which can be twice the cost to file an eviction case, said Eric Hallett, a housing attorney with Legal Aid Services of Oklahoma. According to data from Open Justice Oklahoma, between 2018 and 2022, 54% of all eviction cases filed in Tulsa County were filed by the same 50 landlords. The same landlord filed 58% of those 25,224 eviction cases.“We know that, particularly these high-volume filers who are just filing repeatedly, the only way that system makes sense is because they can do it in such a quick turnaround fashion,” Dilks said. “The serial filing model is really common in Tulsa and not uncommon in Oklahoma County, but it’s not something that’s a regular practice in much of the rest of the state.”3. Evictions cost tenants more than their homes. Corporate apartment complexes have begun charging lease-break fees when tenants end their leases early. The practice is touted as protection for tenants who need to move out before the end of a lease, but landlords charge lease-break fees to tenants who are evicted as well as those simply ending a lease early, Hallett said.“That is a consumer protection problem,” Hallett said. In one case Oklahoma Watch uncovered, a lease-break fee was charged to a tenant who terminated her lease for unlivable conditions the landlord failed to remedy. Hallett said that landlords commonly report unpaid lease-termination fees to credit bureaus, causing further financial damage after an eviction. 4. Oklahoma landlords can retaliate against tenants. Sometimes, when tenants complain about problems that make their units uninhabitable, landlords use eviction, or the threat of eviction, as retaliation.Oklahoma Watch reported on one Oklahoma City landlord who sent a tenant a 30-day notice to vacate after she, for years, requested necessary fixes to make her townhome habitable. Instead of fixing the problems, the landlord let them fester until Oklahoma City Code Enforcement became involved. The tenant was evicted even though the landlord had not fulfilled his part of the landlord-tenant relationship. “The most common form of retaliation folks see generally is just not renewing a lease,” Dilks said.Only six states, including Oklahoma, have failed to enact anti-retaliation legislation, though Oklahoma Rep. Daniel Pae, R-Lawton, has repeatedly authored bills bringing anti-retaliation laws before the Oklahoma Legislature. Pae’s attempts at outlawing landlord retaliation didn’t make it out of the House. 5. Oklahoma tenants are not guaranteed court-appointed lawyers. Landlords generally have lawyers representing them in eviction hearings but in places without Right to Counsel laws, most tenants represent themselves. New data shows that only about 4% of tenants nationwide have legal representation in eviction court, compared to 83% of landlords. Not only are they much more likely to show up in court for their hearings, but tenants who do have attorneys are much more likely to be able to stay in their homes. Five states and 19 municipalities have adopted Right to Counsel laws. Studies in those areas show marked improvement in tenants avoiding eviction and involuntary moves while promoting long-term housing stability.  “We have to overcome the perception that there is nothing to be done, and people just have to move out,” said Legal Aid Services Oklahoma Executive Director Michael Figgins.Legal Aid Services attorneys provide free legal assistance to tenants in eviction court. However, the group is a nonprofit and is restricted by funding and staff limitations.Legal Aid Services ended a Right to Counsel pilot program this year, which targeted high-eviction zip codes in Oklahoma City and Tulsa. A report from the 18-month pilot revealed that 94% of tenant clients avoided an involuntary move with the assistance of legal counsel during eviction proceedings. The report estimates that the Right to Counsel pilot, for which LASO paid about $860,000, yielded a return on investment of $7.37 for every dollar invested. Legal Aid Services estimated the cost to implement Right to Counsel statewide at $3.5 million annually. Heather Warlick is a reporter covering evictions, housing and homelessness. Contact her at (405) 226-1915 or [email protected]. More from Heather Warlick Tenants On the Wrong Side of PolicyOklahoma is a landlord-friendly state with eviction policies that often leave tenants in the cold. From quick-evict timelines to predatory managers, Oklahoma laws are easy on landlords and tough on tenants. Here are five things to know about Oklahoma evictions. HUD Ends Section 8 at Duncan Apartments, Residents Told To LeaveAfter years of mismanagement, a national slumlord may be held accountable but low-income residents in Duncan face the holidays with uncertainty knowing soon, they’ll be forced to vacate their homes. End of Pandemic-Era Rental Assistance Could Cause Evictions SpikeMore than $400 million in pandemic-era federal Emergency Rental Assistance Program money finally ran dry for Oklahomans in September, signaling a new era of scarcity for tenants behind on rent and for landlords who have extended grace periods. The post Tenants On the Wrong Side of Policy appeared first on Oklahoma Watch.