Pandemic putting tenants and landlords in a tough spot, help is on the way

Oklahoma City, Okla. (KOKH) — On a Monday morning in February, dozens of people lined up out outside one courtroom on the sixth floor of the Oklahoma County Courthouse.

Inside, a judge hears hundreds of eviction cases each week.

"It’s impossible," said Lacriscia Owens about the situation. "Just like everybody else that’s in here."

RELATED: Evictions are happening despite moratorium, how one deputy tries to help

Owens says she lost her job last spring because a medical condition prevents her from wearing a mask.

The last time she tried, she had a severe allergic reaction and an asthma attack.

She has been unsuccessful in applying for dozens of more jobs.

“I want them to know that people are struggling," Owens said. "People are starving. People cannot pay their bills, their rent, take care of their families. It is just hard. And then you come in and you face eviction, you can’t get a job, there’s nowhere to work, there’s nowhere to go.”

Owens, like many others in court that day, was granted a stay delaying her eviction case through March.

That's when millions of dollars in federal rent relief money are expected to come available for people like her.

Right now, having a moratorium without that money available can also put some landlords in a tough spot.

“The ma’ and pa’ people, the smaller companies, the ones that don’t have the financial ability to withstand non-payment of rent," said Robert Goldman, a lawyer who represents landlords in eviction cases. "They’re still having issues of maintenance and employees that they’re paying and insurance and either they’re going to have a forbearance, or they won’t have a forbearance.”

Goldman says many landlords have continued to file evictions, because tenants managed to find financial help at the courthouse last year.

Tenants can still find free legal help from Legal Aid Services of Oklahoma.

Those attorneys are making sure people know if they qualify for the moratorium.

"I think it's in the best interest of everyone, landlords and tenants, to just try to hold out and wait for the rental assistance that’s coming in March," said Jennifer Montagna, an attorney with Legal Aid.

In the meantime, some are still being evicted.

"A lot of people still get evicted, because they don’t come to court," Montagna said.

Out of the 98 eviction cases on Feb 8, court records show 20 people failed to show up for their court date and will likely be evicted automatically.

Legal Aid says most of the people they talk to qualify for the moratorium and are still being impacted by the pandemic.

"The majority of people that apply with us definitely are saying that they are still impacted by the pandemic," Montagna said. "Whether it’s being able to find a job, whether it’s not being able to work because their kids are at home.”

Lawyers for both tenants and landlords hope the next wave of rent assistance will be the light at the end of the tunnel.

The group, Community CARES Partners, says next month they're expecting to receive 10 times more rent assistance than it did last year through the CARES Act.

It hopes to start taking applications and return to the courthouse in March.

The burden is on the tenants to show landlords the declaration under the latest eviction moratorium.

You can find a link to that here.