Topic: Affordable Housing

Oklahoma lawmakers need to close the affordable housing gap

By: Sabine Brown
April 10, 2023 // Updated: April 10, 2023
Call to Action • Contact members of the Senate Finance committee and ask them to support more affordable housing by voting YES on HB 2040 and HB 2098. • Contact members of the Business and Commerce committee and ask them… Read more [More...]

Housing is unaffordable for Oklahoma’s low-wage workers

By: Sabine Brown
January 9, 2023 // Updated: January 25, 2023
Oklahomans working a full-time job should be able to provide basic needs for themselves and their families, but 2 in 5 Oklahomans are unable to afford a stable home working one full-time job. The combination of rising housing costs and… Read more [More...]

Latest poverty, health insurance data show that Oklahoma still has work to do

By: Carly Putnam
September 16, 2022 // Updated: September 16, 2022
New data from the Census Bureau’s American Community Survey released Sept. 15 show that Oklahoma’s poverty rate (15.6 percent) was the nation’s 10th highest, increasing slightly in 2021 when compared to 2019’s pre-pandemic levels (15.2 percent).  A closer look at… Read more [More...]

It’s time for action to address Oklahoma’s eviction crisis

By: Ryan Gentzler
September 9, 2022 // Updated: September 9, 2022
Evictions are skyrocketing in some areas of Oklahoma, part of a nationwide crisis in affordable housing. In several counties across the state, including Canadian and Oklahoma counties, evictions in the first half of 2022 were at an all-time high. With… Read more [More...]

Oklahoma should work towards true housing equity

By: Sabine Brown
April 27, 2022 // Updated: April 26, 2022
Legislative gaps in Oklahoma harm tenants, particularly households of color. The Oklahoma Residential Landlord Tenant Act (ORLTA), first adopted in 1978, needs to be updated to create equity. [More...]

Evictions are returning to pre-pandemic levels. That’s not a good thing.

By: Sabine Brown
March 16, 2022 // Updated: March 16, 2022
Unless action is taken, Oklahoma evictions will return to problematically high levels. Now is the time for policymakers in our state to adopt bold new policies that give renters the support and protections they need to stay in their homes and communities. [More...]

Evictions as big business: Handful of companies responsible for vast majority of Oklahoma eviction filings

By: Ryan Gentzler
August 18, 2021 // Updated: November 5, 2021
Oklahoma’s long-standing eviction crisis has been slowed by the infusion of millions of dollars in rental assistance during the last year and a half. While it’s heartening to see major investments in keeping people housed, the eviction process itself is broken, and we need to make it work better for both tenants and landlords. [More...]

Turning the tide on evictions: Using federal aid, support to reduce Oklahoma’s eviction crisis

By: Ryan Gentzler
July 9, 2021 // Updated: July 15, 2021
Evictions are lower than they were before the pandemic, but Oklahomans still experience housing insecurity at alarming rates [More...]

CDC eviction moratorium will help, but Oklahoma’s housing crisis still looms large

By: Ryan Gentzler
October 19, 2020 // Updated: December 8, 2022
Data show that eviction filings and orders have accelerated in Oklahoma even after the CDC moratorium took effect on Sept. 4, and Oklahomans remain at risk for eviction through the end of the year. [More...]

Providing legal representation could begin to fix Oklahoma’s broken eviction process

By: Oklahoma Policy Institute
August 10, 2020 // Updated: August 10, 2020
While we cannot legislate away the pandemic, we can better structure and operate our justice system to ensure that every tenant knows their rights and understands the process.  [More...]