On average, Oklahoma landlords filed 132 eviction cases every day in 2024. With 44,235 evictions filed through the end of November, the state will likely end the year in a virtual tie for last year’s total of 48,278. While evictions are frequent nationwide, with an estimated 3.
6 million evictions filed each year, Oklahoma is among a group of states considered landlord-friendly. Landlord-friendly states have no rent control, cheap and simple eviction processes and low property taxes. In landlord-friendly states, tenants often find themselves on the losing side of policy.
Most of Oklahoma’s Residential Landlord and Tenant Act has not been changed to meaningfully benefit tenants since it was enacted in 1978. Oklahoma renters experience eviction at higher rates than most Americans, said Katie Dilks, Executive Director of Oklahoma Access to Justice Foundation. “This is not because they are poorer, or worse tenants, or because housing costs are higher here, but because our laws have been structured to make evictions cheap and fast,” Dilks said.
She said that those policy choices have created an environment in which a few landlords lean on eviction filings as a low-cost rent and fee collection tool. Here are five things to know about evictions in Oklahoma from experts who advocate for updated policies in 2025 to level the playing field for tenants and landlords. 1.
Oklahoma evictions are among the quickest in the nation. Oklahoma renters can be served a summons to appear for.
