Oklahoma Apartment Lease Agreement

Legal Aspects 

Oklahoma laws require specific pieces of information in apartment leases. These laws govern when lessors must return a security deposit, their right of entry, pet policies, and more.

Security Deposit

• No statutory limit exists on how much a lessor can ask for their security deposit.
• While the landlord doesn’t need to bear or pay any interest on the amount, they must keep the deposit separate. The lessor must keep the deposit in an escrow account maintained by an Oklahoma federally insured financial institution.
• A lessor must return the security deposit and provide a statement of itemized deductions within 30 to 45 days of the lease’s termination.

Entry and Access 

• Landlords must always provide running and hot water, trash removal, and heat in apartments. Some leases can also write in the need for a working aircon. If any of these elements need repairs or maintenance, the landlord has the right to access them to repair them.
• Landlords must provide at least 24 hours notice when accessing the property for repairs, maintenance, or inspections. Tenants must approve entry for those reasons, provided it’s within reasonable business hours.
• Lessors can only enter without that notice period and permission during emergencies.

Pets Policy 

• Lessors can approve pets but generally require a pet fee, sometimes per pet. They can also require the lessee to state which pets they have.
• There’s a standard pet addendum document landlords can attach to the lease or add it to the contract.
• Generally, a landlord will request any tenants with pets to take out an insurance policy that covers any pet-related damages. They must also follow all of the apartment complex’s regulations regarding pets.
• Whether to allow pets or not is entirely up to the landlord.
• The only exception to the above rules is when the tenant has a service or companion animal. Federal acts state that these must be allowed, even in buildings that don’t typically allow pets.
• Lessors can require documentation that proves you need the animal. However, they can’t ask for a pet deposit, charge extra fees, or enquire into the nature of your disability.

Disclosures 

There are also a few disclosures you must add:

• Flooding: The lessor must inform the lessee if the premises have flooded in the last five (5) years.
• Identification/Notices: Lessors must provide the names and addresses of authorized agents who manage the apartment.
• Lead-Based Paint: Tenants have a right to know whether lead-based paint is present in the apartment. However, it only applies to buildings built before or in 1978.
• Methamphetamine Contamination Disclosure: Should the landlord know about any meth manufacturing that happened on the property previously, they should test the premises. If the contamination levels are above one-tenth of a microgram per one hundred square centimeters, they must notify the lessee.

There are a few additional disclosures you can add, but they’re not required:

• Bed Bug Disclosure
• Late/Returned Check Fess & Non-Refundable Fees
• Asbestos
• Move-in Checklist
• Mold Disclosure
• Medical Marijuana Disclosure
• Smoking Disclosure
• Shared Utilities Disclosure (only if there are any shared utilities on the property)