If you’ve ever rented a house or apartment, you know the frustration of something breaking, and having to call the landlord or maintenance guy to come fix it. Sometimes it can take days or even weeks for a response and repair. Meanwhile, you’re taking icy showers and scrubbing your dishes with a cold sponge because your water heater isn’t working. 

Oftentimes, the only course of action is to wait for your landlord. As a tenant, you rely on them to provide you with housing and the services that come with renting. When something breaks, landlords have to be notified, and it’s their responsibility to take care of it. But if they’re out of town, or otherwise unavailable, you might be stuck in less-than-ideal conditions. If you’re tired of waiting for a landlord response, or if you’re a landlord who struggles with providing timely maintenance, Oklahoma just passed a bill into law that might be of interest to you.

HB 3409

House Bill 3409 modifies a portion of The Oklahoma Residential Landlord and Tenant Act that deals with repairs and deductions of the cost of that repair from rent. Since 1978, the cost of a repair that could be deducted from rent if the tenant repairs it has been $100. Rep. Carol Bush, R-Tulsa, author of the bill, said that with inflation, that $100 would equal $478 today. Rather than just adjusting for inflation and risk having to raise it again in the future, the legislation allows for repairs that are equal to or less in cost than one month’s rent to be completed by the tenant “in a workmanlike manner” if a landlord does not correct a condition that “materially affects health and the breach is remediable by repairs” within 14 days of being notified. H.B. 3409, 58th Leg., 2nd Sess. (Ok. 2022). This amount can then be deducted from the next rent payment with an itemized statement given to the landlord. The language in the final bill was supported by the Tulsa nonprofit Housing Solutions, Tulsa Apartment Association, Apartment Association of Central Oklahoma, and Oklahoma Association of Realtors.

In certain situations, tenants do not need to wait the entire 14 days. The Oklahoma Residential Landlord and Tenant Act states that the landlord must comply within 14 days, “or as promptly as conditions require in the case of an emergency” 41 O.S. § 121 (2021). In the example above, a broken water heater could likely be considered an emergency, as hot water is defined as an “essential service” in the Act, which also includes – but is not limited to – heat, running water, electric, and gas.

When it’s Intentional

Most times, these lapses in service are unexpected and just require basic maintenance. H.B 3409, which is an amendment to 41 O.S. § 121, is specifically focused on repairs and rent deductions. It requires tenants to notify their landlords and give them reasonable time to complete the repair. However, if a landlord “willfully or negligently” fails to provide essential services after being notified, tenants have options outlined in this version and previous versions of the Act: the right to terminate the rental agreement, procure the essential service not being provided and deduct the cost from rent (now up to the cost of one month’s rent), recover damages based on the decline in fair rental value of the dwelling, or procure substitute housing until the issue is fixed and be excused from rent during the period of noncompliance (Oklahoma Residential Landlord and Tenant Act, 2021).

H.B. 3409, which will take effect November 1, 2022, will help bridge a gap between unresponsive or busy landlords and tenants needing repairs. Many repairs were not previously viable for tenants to complete due to the $100 cap. The new cap of one month’s rent will give tenants and landlords much more flexibility in how and when repairs can be completed.