OKPOLICY.ORG
Gov. Kevin Stitt has vetoed Senate Bill 128, a bipartisan bill that would have given tenants more time to gather back rent, make alternate arrangements for housing, or simply be able to arrange child care or time off work to show up for their eviction hearing. Landlords would have maintained their ability to evict immediately in the case of property damage or criminal behavior.
Statement from Sabine Brown, OK Policy’s Housing Senior Policy Analyst:
Gov. Stitt’s veto of Senate Bill 128 is more than a missed opportunity — it’s a step backward for housing stability in Oklahoma.
This bipartisan bill would have added just five days to the eviction trial timeline and increased the notice period from three to seven days. Five days could mean the difference between a family staying housed or landing in a shelter.
The governor’s veto demonstrates that he cares more for corporate landlords’ interests than the needs of everyday Oklahomans who struggle to keep their families safely housed.
Right now, large corporate landlords and bad actors can exploit Oklahoma’s eviction laws to extract extra revenue from their tenants. Under the current system, landlords are able to bounce tenants on the street in under two weeks. This is almost no time to pay back rent, no time to ask off work and find child care, and no time to find a lawyer or prepare for court. And, as housing costs rise faster than wages, more families are falling behind.
SB 128 wouldn’t have stopped evictions — it just would have slowed the clock. That’s not radical. That’s meeting the needs of everyday Oklahomans.
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SB 128 Overview
- SB 128 would have extended the time period by which an eviction trial has to be scheduled by five days and extended the summons notice period from three to seven days.
- Currently, a tenant can go from being a day late on rent to being removed from their rental home in under two weeks. This leaves very little time for tenants to make-up back rent, secure time off work or child care to attend their trial, or even secure alternate housing.
- As the gap between housing costs and wages grows, evictions and homelessness are on the rise. SB 128 was a common sense solution to increase housing stability.
- This modest increase in the eviction timeline would have helped tenants remain in their home and helped landlords secure back rent and avoid turnover in their rental.
- Under SB 128, landlords still would have been able to evict a tenant for non-payment of rent in under 30 days.
- SB 128 would have had the largest impact on families with young children who face the highest rates of eviction. Children who face eviction experience negative impacts on health and academic performance. Conversely, children in stable housing are more likely to perform better in school, are less likely to be incarcerated, and more likely to have better paying jobs as adults.
- SB 128 was a bipartisan solution to our growing housing crisis. The bill had a Democratic Senate author and Republican House author. It passed with support from both sides of the aisle. This kind of cooperation is hard to come by and Gov. Stitt’s veto sets us back a year in a time when we can’t afford to lose time.
