City of Tulsa approves 'eviction prevention' program

TULSA, Okla. — Despite having robust cost of living, Tulsa has one of the country's highest eviction rates. However, Tulsa City Council voted Sept. 16 to try to improve those statistics with an eviction prevention program.

Councilor Laura Bellis' resolution called for the "establishment and funding of an eviction prevention and legal representation program".

“This is really something that we need to address – is who represents these people that have nothing once they go into this depression,” Tulsa resident Jeff Seawright said during public comment at the meeting.

The legal representation section of the proposal especially applies to at-risk tenants and also low-income landlords. Currently, local resources exist like Housing Solutions Tulsa and Legal Aid Oklahoma.

"Honestly, having a place to turn where I could go for first for mediation or some kind of help in the legal system for them would be so helpful, because they get so overwhelmed that they might lose their housing,” Tulsa landlord Susan Nichols said.

Councilor Bellis also cited the myriad of issues surrounding Vesta Properties that 2 News has reported extensively on.

“When you look at incidents like Vista Shadow Mountain, like Vesta, where you have large corporate and private equity entities really destabilizing our community members and providing substandard living conditions, and then also people maybe feeling they’re facing eviction without any recourse or resource -- we want to make sure people have access to services in those moments,” Bellis told 2 News.

• Previous coverage>>> YSA making progress at former Vesta properties in first month of ownership

There were a few changes made to the plan before council approved it however. The final version can be viewed here.

"After engagement with landlords from multifamily and single-family tenants, professional associations, and service providers, then there will be a report from which the City of Tulsa may choose to take actions and make appropriations,” Councilor Phil Lakin said just before the unanimous vote.

There’s not yet a set timeline on when the program will be up and running, but Bellis said she hopes there will by money allocated for it in next year’s City of Tulsa fiscal budget.