Oklahoma’s eviction laws are among the most lenient in the nation.
With the sixth-highest rate of evictions in the United States, Oklahoma evicts tenants at a significantly faster rate than most of the country.
Senate Bill 128 sought to address that issue, but was vetoed by Gov. Kevin Stitt.
“This bill seeks to expand minimum wait times in eviction proceedings, making the already burdensome and difficult process of obtaining an eviction that much more burdensome,” wrote Stitt in his final veto message for the bill.
The existing procedures are adequate, Stitt said.
Contrary to the veto message, data shows that Oklahoma has one of the shortest eviction timelines. And Sabine Brown, senior policy analyst on housing for Oklahoma Policy Institute, said extending it would be the first step in fixing the high rate of evictions.
Eviction Timeline
Oklahoma has a speedier process for evicting a tenant than most states, with the number of days between a court summons and a hearing for a tenant being only three days.
“It’s not enough time for appropriate mitigation,” said Meghan Mueller, chief executive officer of the Homeless Alliance.
After judgment, a sheriff may serve a tenant with a lockout notice on the same day, giving the landlord possession of the property.
“You are talking about a matter of days between a notice and a lockout,” said Mueller.
In Oklahoma County, 43% of tenants are locked out of the rental properties within 10 business days of the eviction being filed, if a judgment is received at the initial hearing, according to a Shelterwell report.
Other States
There are several states that have longer timelines than Oklahoma, with lower eviction rates.
Pennsylvania offers six to seven days between a summons and trial, and evicts at a lower rate compared to its population size, indicating that additional time can lower eviction rates.
Eric Hallett, an attorney at Legal Aid Services of Oklahoma, said one possible reason for the lower eviction rates is that additional time before the trial allows the tenant and landlord to resolve the issue without involving the courts.
“If the legislature added five to 10 days, even more tenants could have possibly handled it,” Hallett said.
In 2024, Legal Aid Services recorded that 40% of cases were dismissed before trial by the landlord, indicating the dispute had been addressed outside of court. That suggests that with additional time, more cases could be resolved without eviction.
The timeline in Oklahoma is insufficient for tenants and landlords to work together to solve the issue, Mueller said.
In his veto message, the governor said landlords would be less inclined to rent to low-income tenants if the eviction timeline were extended.
“Instead of assisting renters in arrears, it would incentivize landlords to specifically not rent housing units to low-income households, for risk of greater eviction costs,” Stitt wrote.
However, no data indicates that a state’s eviction timeline has an effect on the availability of affordable housing.
Virginia’s eviction timeline is significantly longer than Oklahoma’s, offering 10 days between a court summons and trial, but the states have a similar percentage of low-income housing available, with the number of affordable housing options falling short of the number of low-income households by about one-third.
Eviction Numbers
From January to May this year, 19,024 evictions were filed, just 51 fewer than the same period last year.
According to a 2016 Eviction Lab report, Tulsa and Oklahoma City ranked among the 20 cities with the highest eviction rates. Numbers have only risen since then, with 44,524 evictions filed in 2016, and 48,020 evictions filed in 2024. A 9% increase in evictions filed over the course of eight years, with no changes to the eviction timeline.
“By allowing more time, you’re allowing folks to think through their options,” Mueller said.
Brown said revisiting the bill and extending the timeline could begin fixing Oklahoma’s eviction crisis.
Sen. Julia Kirt, D-Oklahoma City, and author of SB 128, agreed.
“We have to keep working to reform our eviction process,” Kirt said.
