Jake Ramsey

The Tulsa City Council unanimously passed a resolution September 16 to develop a right-to-counsel eviction program providing legal representation to low-income tenants and landlords alike.

Congress passed the largest housing affordability bill in decades this summer, but Oklahoma advocates say the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act is no magic bullet for the state's 84,125-unit affordable housing deficit, broken eviction process or weak tenant protections.

Norman is shutting down A Better Way, a program that connected people experiencing homelessness with paid work and support services, after the Oklahoma Attorney General's Office denied a funding request to continue it.

Two Vesta Realty tenants, one without air conditioning for 18 months, another without electricity and hot water illustrate how little recourse Oklahoma law gives renters when landlords fail to provide essential services.

Vesta Realty's collapse has left Tulsa tenants confused about who manages their apartments and who to pay rent, as competing bankruptcy proceedings in two states, a court-ordered management transfer and a cast of characters including a former arms dealer have created what one attorney called the most complicated landlord-tenant situation she has ever seen.

As trash mounts in Tulsa apartment complexes and tenants’ water access is threatened at the Oklahoma City-based Drexel Flats, attorneys and lawmakers said the situation at Vesta Realty is another example of why Oklahoma’s tenant protection laws must be addressed.

Oklahoma City's Key to Home initiative successfully housed 65 of 75 people from one encampment within 90 days, but advocates say the housing voucher inspection process, a shortage of willing landlords and a lack of affordable units are slowing progress as more people fall into homelessness than are being housed.

Advocates argued that Oklahoma’s eviction policies are attractive to large corporate landlords and are harmful to tenants.

The Norman Night Shelter was shut down for four days after an anonymous complaint triggered a state fire marshal inspection, revealing multiple code violations. The closure left more than 50 people without shelter, coming amid encampment sweeps under Operation SAFE and a broader wave of anti-homeless policy in Norman and statewide.

Gov. Kevin Stitt's Operation SAFE encampment sweeps produced sharply different outcomes across three Oklahoma cities. Oklahoma City's collaborative approach, which included housing funding and service provider involvement, drew praise. Norman's unannounced May sweep drew sharp criticism from advocates who said it displaced vulnerable people without resources or dignity.