Victims of domestic or sexual violence are getting some help from lawmakers as they work to escape from their abusers.
Senate Bill 200, authored by Sen. John Michael Montgomery, R-Lawton, would allow tenants in apartments and houses to terminate their lease early without penalty by providing written notice to the landlord along with a protective order or police report within 30 days of the alleged abuse.
“Victims of domestic violence are often trapped in their situation because they have no way to escape their home, especially if they can’t afford to terminate their lease before it is up,” Montgomery said. “This measure
would allow victims to end their lease early without penalty so they can move and make a fresh start for themselves without their abuser knowing where they live.”
Under the measure, the perpetrator would be held civilly liable for any economic loss incurred by the landlord by the early lease termination. The bill also prohibits any landlord from denying renewal of or terminating a lease because the applicant or tenant is a victim or alleged victim of domestic or sexual violence and stalking.
Landlords also could not deny tenancy to an applicant because they’ve previously terminated a lease due to violence.
However, the measure received mixed reactions from Lawton Realtor Barry Ezerski, chief executive officer of RE/ MAX Professionals.
“It’s a tough situation. Certainly, we would adhere to any laws,” he said. “We’ve had a few instances like this over the years. Getting the information to track the abuser down would likely be difficult to do. It’s hard enough to get rent out of the person living there in these cases. I’m fine with the spirit of the law, but the logistics would be difficult to handle.”
Ezerski said he planned to discuss the measure with Montgomery and provide his thoughts to the lawmaker.
Senate passed the bill Monday and it now heads to the state House for its consideration. Rep. Daniel Pae, R-Lawton, is the principal author in the House.
According to the Oklahoma Domestic Violence Fatality Review Board, 115 people died in 2019 due to domestic violence. Of these, 45% were
killed by family members and 39% were killed by intimate partners. Additionally, 6% were killed by a roommate.
Latricia Kippers, director of New Directions, a program within the Marie Detty Youth and Family Services in Comanche County, said she would support SB 200 because of the intended mandate to help domestic violence victims.
In many cases, abusers will place “everything” in the victim’s name and the victims may be held liable for any damages to a residence.
“That prevents the victims from being able to move and gives them bad credit and it hurts them in a lot of ways,” Kippers said. “If they (victims) have to stay somewhere, the abuser can break into the residence and the victims don’t feel safe.”
Some landlords won’t work with abuse victims because they believe nothing is wrong since they continue to stay, Kipper said. “It makes landlords less hesitant to let them out of their leases, so this is a good bill that will help domestic violence victims,” she said.
The idea for the Oklahoma measure originated with the legislators after they noticed similar proposals in Arkansas and Missouri. Missouri passed its bill allowing for early lease terminations, but Arkansas rejected its 2019 version.
“We thought it would be a good thing to have here in Oklahoma,” Montgomery said. “There are so many things that occur because of abuse and finding a new place to live is one of them.”
The New Directions hotline telephone number is 580- 357-2500 and the business office number is 580-357-6141.