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Renters Presented a Protection Order to Break Lease with No Notice (Oklahoma)

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JustinMM

New member
Hello,

I am a property owner in Oklahoma but I reside in Colorado. A few weeks ago, my renters wanted to break their lease early but decided against that when they found out the terms of breaking their lease. Today, they have submitted a protection order (wife against the husband) to our property manager and are claiming they owe nothing and in fact, that we owe them 660 dollars for the rest of this months rent. According to the property managers, Oklahoma law says this is correct but I am having a hard time understanding how this removes them both from legal liability to pay the rent. Furthermore, how do I verify this protective order is legit? What are my options? Please help,

V/R,
Justin
 


HRZ

Senior Member
I'm not up on OK issues....but many states allow the victim of a domestic protection order to bail out of lease....but that does not by itself get the other person out of the duty to pay and many a lease calls for joint and several liability for the whole .....we need somebody with more specific insight to the OK statutes .

How convenient a problem for the tenants to generate !
....
 

xylene

Senior Member
Yes, you have to allow them to break the lease without penalty and yes you have to prorate the rent for the days they didn't reside in the apt.

DV is a deeply problematic situation and consider yourself as getting off lightly.

The law rightly considers the public benefit of allowing those in a DV situation to peacefully separate to trump your interests as a landlord.
 

JustinMM

New member
Thanks for the reply. At first, I couldn't help but feel compelled to comply as I don't want anyone to be in a bad situation and if that's that law, it's the law. But, when I called my property manager, they were as clueless as I am. It does not sound like they invested any resources into investigating this and I have no idea what to do. Then when I looked up how easy it was to get a protection order against someone and how little recourse there is for doing so, I can see a scenario where someone just wanted to subvert the system to get out of a lease.

I'm not up on OK issues....but many states allow the victim of a domestic protection order to bail out of lease....but that does not by itself get the other person out of the duty to pay and many a lease calls for joint and several liability for the whole .....we need somebody with more specific insight to the OK statutes .

How convenient a problem for the tenants to generate !
....
 
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JustinMM

New member
Consider myself lucky? What does that mean? There is no confirmation of domestic violence, its just a temporary protection order where one person goes in front of a judge and says they feel "threatened" by another, either physically or mentally.


Yes, you have to allow them to break the lease without penalty and yes you have to prorate the rent for the days they didn't reside in the apt.

DV is a deeply problematic situation and consider yourself as getting off lightly.

The law rightly considers the public benefit of allowing those in a DV situation to peacefully separate to trump your interests as a landlord.
 

LdiJ

Senior Member
Consider myself lucky? What does that mean? There is no confirmation of domestic violence, its just a temporary protection order where one person goes in front of a judge and says they feel "threatened" by another, either physically or mentally.
If you do not want to accept the answer that you are being given here then consult a local attorney who deals with landlord tenant issue.

Is it possible for someone to game the system? Yes, of course its possible. Does that change the law? No, it does not.
 

JustinMM

New member
The answer is fine, the law is fine for that matter, but I am just having a hard time wrapping my head around what "consider yourself as getting off lightly," means... It's almost to imply that I am somehow responsible for this situation or I am the bad guy? But alas, I shall go look for answers somewhere else, maybe 4Chan...as it appears this forum is quite hostile :p

If you do not want to accept the answer that you are being given here then consult a local attorney who deals with landlord tenant issue.

Is it possible for someone to game the system? Yes, of course its possible. Does that change the law? No, it does not.
 

HRZ

Senior Member
Read the NV laws on point ...it's not quite as simple as she aledges domestic violence....proper notice and information is required plus the named adverse party may well still be on the hook for any and all LLs losses

In part " 5. A person who is named as the adverse party may be civilly liable for all economic losses incurred by a landlord for the early termination of a rental agreement pursuant to this section, including, without limitation, unpaid rent, fees relating to early termination, costs for the repair of any damages to the dwelling and any reductions in or waivers of rent previously extended to the tenant or cotenant who terminates the rental agreement pursuant to this section."
 

xylene

Senior Member
You are just chomping at the bit to hold on to pita tenants aren't you?

Let's take your inane idea that this some kind of elaborate ruse to get over on you. Why would you want the hassle?

4chan. Please. Go nosh a red pill then.
 

LdiJ

Senior Member
The answer is fine, the law is fine for that matter, but I am just having a hard time wrapping my head around what "consider yourself as getting off lightly," means... It's almost to imply that I am somehow responsible for this situation or I am the bad guy? But alas, I shall go look for answers somewhere else, maybe 4Chan...as it appears this forum is quite hostile :p
You have tenants who do not want to be there. It may even be that the reason that they do not want to be there is violence in their marriage. You made it difficult for them to terminate the lease. That may have even escalated the violence to where the restraining order was necessary.

The more you push the situation the more potential damage there might be to the unit, with you having a limited ability to collect damages against them. Its not that you couldn't get a judgment, its that you might never be able to collect against that judgment.

I told you to consult an attorney not to be hostile, but because you clearly needed to hear things from someone other than us.
 

adjusterjack

Senior Member
According to the property managers, Oklahoma law says this is correct
You should ask your property manager to cite you the statute number that says that as I have found nothing in the OK residential landlord tenant statute that relieves a tenant of his/her obligations if there is domestic violence or protective orders. Yes, some states have it but OK doesn't have it.

http://www.oscn.net/applications/oscn/index.asp?ftdb=STOKST41&level=1

That one of your tenants got a protective order against the other only means that the other has to leave the premises but they are still both bound by the lease obligations no matter what.

The tenants are scamming you.

But I agree, the better part of valor is to let them leave and, once gone, go after them for any monetary losses you suffer.

Consult an attorney rather than relying on your property manager.
 

HRZ

Senior Member
No, you cannot go after the victim...go after the adverse party ....and be sure you have copies of the so called protection and the affadavit as required by NV law ...whether this is a self serving made up fight is not worth debating ...focus on the adverse party's pocket book after they are out .
 

adjusterjack

Senior Member
be sure you have copies of the so called protection and the affadavit as required by NV law
That's twice you've referred to NV when the OP wrote that the property is OK.

No, you cannot go after the victim
Might be morally wrong if the victim really is a victim but there is nothing in OK laws that prohibit it. And if it's a scam, more reason to go after both.
 

xylene

Senior Member
And if it's a scam, more reason to go after both.
In fairness, the op hasn't presented anything to suggest there is a scam except a very self serving hunch, out of state, without any direct observation and which countermands his own local agent...

I think the standard axiom "we don't do hypotheticals" applies perfectly.
 
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HRZ

Senior Member
MY error as to state.....it's OK...that said, just where in OK law does it allow defendant to walk away from contract obligations? And does it allow plaintiff to do so?
 

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