Oklahomans fear eviction spike as federal moratorium expires

By: Rebecca Najera//Oklahoma Watch//July 26, 2021

Thousands of Oklahomans are likely to be forced out of their homes this summer upon expiration of a nationwide eviction moratorium. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued the moratorium over a year ago with a goal of slowing the spread of COVID-19 among people forced from homes. It was later extended and then extended again in hopes of keeping people housed while federal relief funding was being disbursed.

While the moratorium kept some families off the streets, it didn’t protect tenants from piling up months of debt from back rent that will soon be due. And with some landlords struggling to make their own mortgage payments due to months of uncollected rent, tenant advocates fear an eviction spike when the moratorium ends July 31.

Terra Atkins, a volunteer tenant-rights leader with Allied Communities of Tulsa Inspiring Our Neighborhoods, or ACTION, spends days visiting Tulsa County apartment complexes with high eviction rates, helping tenants find rental assistance. She carries flyers in English and Spanish that ask if tenants need help paying rent or if they need to “retrasar un desalojo” – delay an eviction.

About three years ago, Atkins needed surgery for a neck injury and was unable to work while she recovered. She couldn’t pay her rent and was evicted.

“When you’re facing eviction, to people who have never been there, it’s just a piece of paper. But it’s your whole livelihood,” Atkins said. “It’s like when someone’s hiding around a corner and jumps out and scares you and your heart beats fast. That’s what it feels like, but it never goes away. Your heart never starts resting again; you never catch your breath.”

She has made it her mission since to help others avoid that dread.

The CDC moratorium did not stop all evictions. Only people who met certain requirements, such as receiving a stimulus check and losing most or all of their income, qualified for protection. Those who qualified needed to fill out an online declaration to give to their landlord.

Some tenants were too scared to apply, fearing rejection or deportation if they were undocumented. Others were unaware that help was available. Renters protected by the moratorium could still be evicted for lease violations such as failing to maintain property or having pets when pets were not permitted.

Of the 37,639 evictions filed in Oklahoma since the pandemic began, 15,262 were granted as of last week, according to Open Justice Oklahoma, a program from the Oklahoma Policy Institute. Nearly 29% of those were in Tulsa County.

Crossings at Oakbrook, owned by Crossings at Oakbrook LLC, has the fourth-highest eviction rate among Tulsa County apartments, having filed at least 180 evictions since March 2020, the Institute reported. Trinity Multifamily, a property management company based in Fort Smith, Arkansas, became the complex’s property managers in April.

In response to interview requests, the company provided an emailed statement.

“We, as well as every other multifamily company, have been impacted by Covid and all of the pieces that come along with it,” spokeswoman Misty Steuart said in the statement. “We have done our best to take things day by day and help any resident that has been impacted as well. We have worked with several local agencies to find rental assistance for those willing to help us submit the request on their behalf (and) have honored any declarations we have received.”

Landlords struggle as back rent builds

David Chapman, a landlord and vice chairman of the Oklahoma Real Estate Commission, said it was unrealistic to relieve renters from their payments and expect landlords to stay current on mortgages.

“(The moratorium) was a good move initially, possibly to give some relief to tenants, but all the people that I work with did that anyway,” said Chapman. “I mean, we’re humans. We want to work with good tenants and we want to keep them. If they can’t and they’re struggling, we’re going to help them initially.”

Chapman, who is also a real estate professor at the University of Central Oklahoma, said some landlords have had to ask their banks for help due to tenants not paying rent.

More than 6.3 million U.S. households are behind on rent, owing landlords an estimated $21.3 billion, according to data from the National Equity Atlas.

In Oklahoma, an estimated 74,000 households are behind on rent, owing $176.8 million in back rent, the data shows.

“Landlords did not get any relief, no relief at all from their payments,” Chapman said. “If you’re going to give grace to the tenant, you’ve got to turn around and give grace to the landlord on their payment and then you’ve got to give grace to the bank from their investors.”

Comanche County ranks third in evictions per capita in the state, behind Oklahoma and Tulsa counties. Family Promise of Lawton, a Comanche County nonprofit that helps homeless children and families find stable housing, is preparing for an increase in people seeking shelter once the moratorium ends.

“(We are) making sure we have enough food, making sure we have enough water, making sure we have enough room to allow families to be socially distant if that’s something they feel like,” Executive Director Tiffany Escoe said.

Among those fearing eviction in Oklahoma is Atkins.

After she was evicted in 2018, it took more than a year of working double shifts as a waitress before she was finally able to save enough money for another place of her own. With the eviction on her record, she had to pay double the security deposit along with the first and last month’s rent.

Then came the pandemic. Four months after Atkins moved into her new home, she lost her job, had $104 in her bank account and found herself fearing eviction again.

Atkins said she started writing to city council members, members of Congress, and anyone else she thought could help. Her cries for help were met with silence until she visited Restore Hope Ministries. She was referred to ACTION, where she started advocating for other struggling renters like her.

ACTION is a nonprofit made up of other nonprofits and congregations. The tenant-rights team was developed after hearing renters’ stories of struggle.

Along with creating a utility assistance program, the eight-member team has been working to connect Tulsans with rental assistance through Restore Hope Ministries. Restore Hope was chosen by the city of Tulsa and Tulsa County to administer $19.6 million in federal funding to aid residents with rent and utility payments through 2021.

Atkins said many tenants are unaware that help is out there, especially if they lack internet access.

“They’re moms just like me,” she said. “They love their kids just as much as I do and they can’t even provide a house that has windows or a door. If someone would’ve come and knocked on my door and said ‘Hey, here’s some help,’ that would have meant everything to me.”

Oklahoma Watch is a nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization that produces in-depth and investigative content on a wide range of issues facing the state. For more Oklahoma Watch content, go to oklahomawatch.org.