OKPOLICY.ORG
New data from the National Low Income Housing Coalition confirms what Oklahomans already know: our housing crisis is getting worse. Oklahoma needs nearly 85,000 rental homes to meet the needs of extremely low-income renters. More than 7 out of 10 extremely low-income families who rent in Oklahoma are severely cost-burdened, spending more than 50 percent of their income on rent. For these families, one emergency – like an illness or a broken car – can lead to missed rent and put them at high risk for eviction, housing instability, or homelessness.
The housing crisis won’t fix itself. That’s why policymakers must correct this trend by investing in affordable housing development, reforming zoning laws to improve housing availability and affordability, and helping Oklahomans stay housed through eviction reform and rental assistance.
Oklahoma’s housing supply is falling further behind
Policymakers need to find solutions to build more housing for economically vulnerable families. To meet the needs of renters living on very low incomes, Oklahoma needs 7,374 more units than it did just a year ago. There are only 38 homes affordable and available for every 100 extremely low-income families – down from 42 last year,about a 10 percent drop in availability.
The rising cost of building supplies and the growing labor shortage make it even harder for developers to build housing that is affordable for low-income families. Public grants help bridge the financial gap and help developers keep rents affordable. Zoning restrictions limit the types of housing that can be built in certain areas, often only allowing single-family homes. Easing these rules can make it easier and cheaper for developers to build more affordable housing like townhomes, apartments, duplexes, and accessory dwelling units, such as above-garage apartments.
More families are being priced out of the housing market
Oklahoma will continue to see increased evictions and homelessness if the growing gap between wages and housing costs isn’t addressed. The affordability crisis is worsening at the bottom of the income scale.
Affordable housing is still out of reach for many Oklahomans – and won’t appear overnight. In the meantime, families struggling to make ends meet need help staying in their homes. Key reforms could include extending the eviction timeline to give families more time to catch up on rent or secure alternative housing; raising the eviction filing fee to discourage bad actor landlords from using evictions as a means of regular rent collection or to extort fees from tenants; and creating state-based rental assistance programs.
Lawmakers took a meaningful step by passing Senate Bill 128, which would have extended the eviction timeline and given families more time to stay housed. But the governor’s veto rejected a bipartisan solution that could have helped both tenants and landlords. With that door closed, voters now have a chance to act by supporting State Question 832 on the June 2026 ballot, which would gradually raise Oklahoma’s minimum wage. They can also encourage their legislators to support policies that help ensure wages keep pace with housing costs.
Oklahoma can be a place where everyone has access to housing, but we need urgent action
There’s a saying that the best time to plant a tree was yesterday; the second-best time is now. Building the housing we need will take time – we need to start now or the housing shortage will continue to worsen, as we’ve seen in just the past year. We need solutions to help keep Oklahomans in the homes they are already in, including eviction reform and rental assistance. While the window has closed for lawmakers to create solutions during this legislative session, they can still take action next year. This problem is not going away, and it will only worsen with continued inaction.
