When it comes to taking care of your property it all begins with having a property that’s fit for human habitation and ready to be a rental property. That is the obvious part of maintaining a property. The less obvious and often overlooked part of maintenance is the everyday job of keeping the property in line with all housing codes and ordinances and making sure that anything that needs to be repaired is addressed quickly. Because health and safety are involved, it is both the obligation of the landlord and the tenant to do their part, and landlord tenant laws will specify the maintenance obligations of both the landlord and the tenant during the course of the tenancy.

The maintenance obligations of the landlord and tenant can be found in 41 O.S. § 118 a and 41 O.S. § 127, respectively. Oklahoma also has some additional considerations for maintenance by statute.

Maintenance Responsibilities by Written Agreement - Per 41 O.S. § 118(B), Landlord and Tenant may agree by a separate agreement that the tenant will perform repairs, maintenance tasks, alterations or remodeling.

Deductions from Rent for Repairs - If, after proper written notice the landlord, the landlord fails to make a repair (where the lack of a repair will materially affect the health of the tenant), the tenant can have the repair made at his own expense. In this case, the repairs must total less than $100, and the tenant can then deduct the cost of the repairs from the rent. Many states will have such a “repair and deduct” clause, and for Oklahoma it can be found in O.S. § 121 (B).