House Bill 3409 increases how much a tenant may spend to make repairs or take other corrective action to a dwelling, if their landlord fails to do so. The measure, approved by the Oklahoma House on Tuesday, sets the expense limit to one month’s rent. Current law only allows a tenant to spend up to $100 to make a repair and deduct it from a rent payment. The repair must address a condition which materially affects health.
Representative Carol Bush is the author of HB 3409.
“Our landlord tenant laws are sorely outdated,” Bush said. “This cap has been in place since 1978, and we all know that $100 would not go very far in today’s economy to make necessary repairs.”
Bush says the bill is the result of a compromise by various housing groups. During her interim study examining the state’s landlord-tenant laws, Bush discovered the statutes are outdated. HB 3409 is a step toward reforming those laws.
The measure moves to the Oklahoma Senate.
