Forcible Entry and Detainer AKA Evictions

Laws concerning eviction for residential properties are found in the Oklahoma Land Lord Tenant Act; codified as Title 41 and found here. As a general matter Oklahoma is not tenant-friendly, but there are some provisions that provide protections to tenants. Evictions are exceedingly hard to defend in Oklahoma and there are only a few defenses that might work. See our article on potential eviction defenses for more information.

EVICTION OR A FORCIBLE ENTRY AND DETAINER ACTION

A Forcible Entry and Detainer (aka FED) is just the legal term for “eviction.” Generally, an eviction proceeding has three main steps that must be followed: (1) Pretrial notice, (2) the actual trial, and (3) post-trial sheriff’s duties. An eviction occurs in a small claims court. That is a lawyer’s way of saying in a court room with less rigorous processes than normal civil procedures. The full eviction process is super easy, but it does take some getting used to. If you are going to Oklahoma County, be ready for at least a 2 hour docket (if not more).

Just as a caveat, Oklahoma divides their land-lord/tenant law into residential and non-residential arrangements. Non-residential arrangements are defined under 41 O.S. 104 and include: (1) detention at an institution (mental, geriatric, counseling, religious, or medical), (2) occupancy under a contract of sale, (3) fraternal or social organization, (4) hotel, motel, or similar, (5) condominium, and (6) agricultural leases.

THE PRETRIAL NOTICE

Before an eviction case is initiated, your property manager must provide you with a notice to cure whatever violation may have occurred. What type of notice and how long that notice has to be provided is dependent on the type of violation that is alleged:

(a) Non-payment of rent — The most common notice. This notice requires 5 days in writing. This notice can be delivered to any resident over the age of 13. If that cannot be done, then the notice may be posted on your door (or another conspicuous place) and sent to you via certified mail. After you receive this notice, you will have 5 days to pay whatever rent you owe or an eviction case will be filed. This is found in 41 O.S. Section 131.

(c) Breaches of Duties of the Tenant — If the landlord provides the tenant notice of a violation, that tenant will have 10 days from the notice to cure that violation. Examples of a tenant’s duties include not deliberately destroying or defacing any part of the premises or keeping all plumbing fixtures in the dwelling as clean and sanitary as their condition permits. If not cured within that 10 days, then the rental agreement will terminate 15 days after receipt of the notice. This also includes cleaning, garbage, destruction of premises, sanitary, and animal/pet violations. For a full list of the Duties of a Tenant, see 41 O.S. Section 127.

(d) Noncompliance that causes or threatens imminent and irremediable harm— This type of noncompliance is a little less defined, but it does allow for immediate termination of the rental agreement and immediate filing of an eviction action. Think of this provision as the fire, water, or damage that threatens either the premises or people. See 41 O.S. Section 132(c).

(e) Drug or Criminal Activity — Any criminal activity that threatens the health, safety or right of peaceful enjoyment or other tenants AND/OR any drug related criminal activity shall be grounds for immediate termination of the lease. Also, this applies if the act is committed by the tenant or “any member of the tenant’s household or any quest or other person under the tenant’s control.” So, even if a guest was the one who committed the act, a tenant could still be on the hook to their landlord and subject to an eviction action. See 41 O.S. Section 132(d).

THE ACTUAL “TRIAL”

I put trial in quotation marks here because evictions are held in a small-claims court. A small-claims court dispenses with the generally complex civil procedure requirements in exchange for a simplified and expedient process. Everything for an eviction is generally decided in one hearing.

Requirements for Land-Lord include providing to the court:

(1) A Small-Claims affidavit that states the name of the Plaintiff, Defendant, the property address, and the amount the Defendant allegedly owes. You will also have to fill out a summons with similar information. Both of these documents can be obtained from the COURT clerk at the County Courthouse. You then have to serve the Defendant either by private process server or through the sheriff. Either way, it will cost around 100-120 dollars to start an eviction case and provide service to the Defendant. However it is served, an affidavit of service should be filed in your case (and a copy provided to you). If the service is by posting only (i.e. they did not actually hand it to someone) then you can only get possession (unless they show up to the court hearing).

(2) A copy of your notice to quit and a copy of the certified mailing receipt of the notice. Make sure your notice matches the alleged violation AND it must include a cure if any. For example, if the issue is non-payment of rent, the notice needs to provide the amount of rent owed and how payment is accepted.

(3) A military affidavit and a Department of Defense print-out is also required. While this should be the subject of a full other article, the military affidavit is required as a result of the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (or the SCRA). Essentially, the court was to make sure that the reason the Defendant is not paying rent is that they are a service member who is deployed. The Department of Defense printout can be obtained from the SCRA website under the “single records request” tab. It forces you to provide a whole bunch of information for a temporary log-in. For best results, a birthday or SSN is preferred.

(4) An entry of appearance is also required. These are found in the courtroom during FED dockets. This document is just entering your appearance for the case and providing your contact information etc.

(5) The final document required to have the judge sign off on a FED case is a judgement (or Journal Entry of Judgement). It denotes your remedy (possession or possession with owed rent depending whether or not your service was in person). This is the document that the judge actually signs and copies are also found in the actual courtroom during FED dockets. Once this is signed, you have to make sure you file everything with the Court clerk.

(6) The final legal step of a Forcible Entry and Detainer case is to obtain a Writ of Execution. Each jurisdiction has different requirements for a writ. For example, in Oklahoma County, you can obtain a writ on the same day you obtain your judgement. In Cleveland County (Norman), you have to come back to the courthouse 48 hours after you obtained your judgement to get a writ signed. Either way, there is a waiting period of 48 hours (at least) before you can have the locks changed.

*As a side note, you should always bring any and all documentation you have with you to court. If the eviction is contested and an agreement cannot be reached, the case will be tried before the judge. As a general matter, you need to have at least a copy of the lease and ledger with you.

CONCLUSION

The above is just a general outline of the Forcible Entry and Detainer, aka Eviction, process. Each jurisdiction might have minute differences or different processes for the Court clerk. For more information or help navigating the eviction process, give us a call. We would be happy to help.

Hohenheim legal charges a flat fee of $350 dollars per eviction case. We cover all court and processor costs and this flat fee includes in-court time. Hohenheim also has an alternative billing method of 15% of rent owed, but court costs and processor fees are not included.