TULSA, Okla — Brandi Maynard's central A/C went out in June, so she put in work orders for her landlord to fix it.
Weeks went by, and it was still broken.
She called The Problem Solvers for help and learned that tenants have the right to call 311 to ask for help from Tulsa Code Enforcement.
A Tulsa Code Enforcement investigator came out and issued a violation, giving the landlord until Aug 28 to make repairs. Instead of fixing the A/C, the landlord's property manager sent Maynard a letter on Aug 28.
"They told me they didn't have the money to make any repairs," Maynard said. "And they were giving me 30 days to vacate."
Eric Hallett, Legal Aid Services of Oklahoma, told 2 News this situation happens a lot.
In tears, Maynard said, "We have to vacate because I was trying to do right and make the house livable."
Hallett says Oklahoma law doesn't protect tenants with month-to-month rental agreements in these situations.
"Is it right, is it wrong, " he said. "It certainly feels immoral to me that the tenants have all the harm that comes from these situations. It's just unfortunate that landlords cannot be held responsible when the law requires them to make these repairs, and they don't do it. The only thing that happens is the tenant is forced to move out."
He adds that Oklahoma's legislature has had multiple opportunities over the years to add protections for tenants but has not passed the legislation.
Maynard has been on Tulsa Housing Authority's waitlist for a Section 8 voucher for subsidized housing for almost a year.
We contacted THA to see if she could help since Maynard has only 30 days to find a new home for her family, which includes five small children and service animals for a child with a medical condition.
Unfortunatley, there's not a way to get her closer to the top of the waitlist as applications are pulled from the waitlist based on when the application was submitted. I would suggest she try reaching out to com organizations that might be able to provide assistance: Housing Solutions, Restore Hope Ministries, Tulsa Day Center
THA's waitlist is long.
The total applications across our waitlists (for vouchers and our properties) is around 69,000 currently.
Contact the Problem Solvers:
- 918-748-1502
- problemsolvers@kjrh.com
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