The City of Tulsa launched a new program Monday to reward landlords who are trying to help with an affordable housing crunch.
The city’s Gold Star Landlord Program offers incentives from the Affordable Housing Trust Fund, referrals of tenants who complete a housing stability program and other benefits. To participate, landlords must do things like complete the Tulsa Health Department Safe and Healthy Homes Program, list all available units on the city affordable housing waitlist, and agree to go through mediation before evicting tenants.
"Those are free resources that have been around for a while, but a lot of times, landlords and property managers haven’t always known how to access them or how it can benefit their business," said City of Tulsa Housing Coordinator Kristin Maun.
If unscrupulous landlords try to say they have the city’s seal of approval, tenants and community organizations can file complaints.
"They can inform the City of Tulsa if there is a landlord who is claiming that they are participating in the program and is not actually participating in the program. When we get a complaint like that, we will investigate it. We will work with any noncompliant landlords to bring them into compliance," Maun said.
Maun said the program is meant to get landlords’ help making affordable housing more available in Tulsa. Before the pandemic, the city needed 4,000 additional units to meet the current need, and nearly half of renters were spending more than one-third of their incomes on rent.
