Oklahoma laws provide little protection to renters. HB 2109 could fix that.
Housing is the foundation on which strong communities are built. Everybody needs a home. But right now, our community faces a housing crisis unlike any we have had before. One in four Oklahoma renters is cost burned, spending more than half of their income on housing. Oklahoma’s median rent increased almost 10% last year, and we’re short more than 77,000 homes for low-income renters.
People often ask for an easy answer or quick fix for these issues. Unfortunately, real solutions are challenging and will take time, yet we owe it to every member of our community to take on the challenge of solving the housing crisis from every angle. That includes addressing affordable housing supply, living wages and our landlord tenant law. We must be intentional about addressing every type of challenge to stable housing.
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Homes in reasonable price ranges are in short supply. There are not enough rental units in the price range of most Oklahomans. This is particularly acute for people with incomes under $25,000 per year. New homes continue to get bigger even as average household size gets smaller, which makes affordability even more challenging. We can build more densely in every city and town to meet the size and price needs of most Oklahomans.
Even so, if we start building smaller homes in more concentrated areas, the gap between current prices and wages is immense. We must start to close that gap from the wage side as well. Oklahoma’s minimum wage has been $7.25 per hour since 2008, and people working full time for minimum wage do not make enough to afford most housing in our state. The Legislature has declined to take up the issue of the minimum wage throughout my time in office, and so the people have taken it into their own hands through the initiative petition process. I believe our companies have a responsibility to offer wages that ensure their employees can live in our communities without having to sacrifice essentials like food, transportation and medical care.
For the many Oklahomans who rent, it isn’t just cost that’s a barrier to being well-housed. Our laws provide little protection to renters when they request remediation to critical health issues like mold or when they experience a financial emergency and can’t make rent on time. House Bill 2109 is one critical piece of legislation on this front. It would protect tenants from retaliation and is still being heard in the Legislature.
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My bill, Senate Bill 1575, would have extended the timeline for an eviction hearing from a minimum of five days to a minimum of 10 days after the eviction is filed. Giving breathing room for renters to come up with the money or find a new place to live can improve housing stability in our state, and landlords are more likely to be paid if a tenant is able to stay until they can make rent. That bill did not move forward this year, but I will continue working for this change in the future.
When all our neighbors have safe, stable housing, our whole community thrives, so we need everyone to pitch in to solve the crises of homelessness and chronic housing instability that undermine the social and economic health of our communities. We need builders and economic development organizations to build new homes and revitalize old ones that fit the scale and cost needs of most Oklahomans. We need employers to do their part in our local economy and ensure all their employees are paid a living wage. And we need our legal system to offer balanced and fair processes when renters need more time to pay rent.
Working together, we can create long-term solutions for housing stability that work for all Oklahomans.
Sen. Julia Kirt, D-Oklahoma City, represents District 30 and is Democratic leader-elect of the Oklahoma Senate.
This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Legislation would give Oklahoma renters protection from retaliation
