Disabled and Evicted, Oklahoma Tenant Buys Time with Appeal

Elena Rodriguez’ new landlord evicted her from the apartment she’d rented for a decade, presumably so he could renovate the unit’s dated interior.

Rodriguez wasn’t late on rent; she’d paid a month in advance. But she had no lease; without a contractual agreement, no-cause evictions and so-called renovictions are not prohibited in Oklahoma. Renoviction is a term used to describe a landlord evicting a tenant in order to renovate the rental and increase the rent.

However, Rodriguez, who is disabled, said she thinks the eviction was discriminatory. She said her landlord, J. Patrick Finley, informally evicted her just days after he grilled her about her finances and disability status but ignored her request for permission to install a wheelchair-accessible ramp…

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