More than 20 people, including two children, sat restlessly in Special Judge Tamara Childers’ Rogers County Courtroom awaiting roll call for eviction court to begin. Among them was Frank Myers, sitting in the front row, clutching a stack of papers that included a rent-to-own contract for his mobile home that he had refused to sign. Because he refused and stopped paying his rent in protest until problems, such as a broken window, electrical shorts, HVAC malfunctions and a propane leak were fixed, he was evicted. Legal experts have long called foul on the idea of rent-to-own properties, but a rent-to-own trailer can be even more of a legal gray area, said Eric Hallett, a Tulsa-based attorney with Legal Aid Services Oklahoma. Tenants such as Myers are lured by the seemingly easy path to home ownership, but experts contend that the arrangement, which is growing in popularity amid an affordable housing shortage, is little more than a profitable scheme that rarely benefits tenants. When Childers called his name, Myers stood up and requested a hearing. The landlord’s attorney requested a conference with Myers. They stepped into the hall. The Trailer Park Myers had been living at the Fair View Mobile Homes trailer park in Talala for three years following a divorce. In an initial investigation by Oklahoma Watch, Myers described the upkeep of the trailer park as nonexistent, but at least the place was cheap. That was until Jordan Lee, a Utah-based real estate investor and CEO of Cash Flowing Investments, bought the property last July. Despite the broken window, electrical shorts, HVAC problems and the propane leak, Myers rent increased from $540 to $750, a nearly 40% jump for a place that he described as barely habitable. “They said they were going to fix it,” Myers said. “If you tell a man you’re going to do something, you shake his hand and you do it.” Those promised repairs never came. Amidst the conflict, Myers had a heart attack in August, heart surgery in October and his mother died in December. He said that because of those events, he was doing hit-and-miss jobs to get by, but it wasn’t enough. Frustrated and betrayed, Myers stopped paying his rent until the problems with his trailer were fixed. That led to his eviction; unlike other states, Oklahoma tenants do not have the right to withhold rent due to disrepair. “They expect you to fix it and pay them everything,” Myers said. Oklahoma Watch contacted Katherine Moore, the Indiana-based area manager tenants of Fair View Mobile Homes had been in touch with, and had not received a response at the time of publication. Myers said trailer park tenants rarely get through to Moore, and that most communication happens via text message. A phone call to Cash Flowing Investments was answered, and an unnamed man told Oklahoma Watch that Lee was a passive owner of the property. Oklahoma Watch was never knowingly connected with Lee. Legal Gray Area A copy of the lease obtained by Oklahoma Watch in the initial investigation repeatedly invoked Indiana law rather than Oklahoma law, which raised concerns to Hallet, the Tulsa-based attorney. He said if the rental agreement mirrored Oklahoma’s Landlord Tenant Act, it would be enforceable, but any discrepancies in the agreement are void in favor of state law. Citing another state’s law was not the only questionable part of the lease. Other questionable stipulations include forced entry without notice or emergency, a 24% interest fee compounding monthly on unpaid balances or judgments, a host of other fines and, even though a month-to-month agreement is specified, that tenants must pay a year’s worth of lot rent, equalling about $4,500, if they wish to remove their personal mobile home from the property. Hallett said those and other provisions in the lease likely violate Oklahoma law: A landlord cannot fine a tenant. Penalties are not allowed in contracts in Oklahoma. The landlord also cannot have high late fees or other fees that could be considered a penalty. An owner cannot force the tenant to pay off the lease before moving the trailer. An owner is required to attempt to re-rent the lot. If the lot is re-rented, the owner can sue the former tenant for the rent that should have been paid while the lot was empty. That is the only remedy allowed by Oklahoma law. However, this is increasingly common even in apartment leases. The landlord has some limited control over tenants’ guests. But the landlord cannot impose a blanket ban and cannot require tenants to register their short-term guests. The landlord has the right to make an occupant (a person not responsible for the lease) leave if the occupant breaks any rules. There could be religious or gender-based discrimination if the landlord is using registration, for example, if a landlord will not allow an unmarried woman to have a man stay overnight. The landlord cannot charge the guest a nightly fee like a hotel. The landlord can ask the guest to leave. The landlord can have rules about guests if they relate to health and safety. If the tenant violates the guest rule, they could face a lease violation and risk eviction. If a tenant owns their trailer, they can put whatever they want on the interior walls. The lease provided to Oklahoma Watch said that tenants must first receive the landlord’s permission to hang any large pictures or objects. There are no three-day notices in Oklahoma. If a tenant breaks a rule, there is a 10-day notice with an opportunity to cure. Entering a tenant’s unit requires at least one day’s notice. The tenant can refuse if it is reasonable to do so. It may not be reasonable for a landlord to enter a tenant’s unit. He added that rent-to-own deals, especially in the case of a mobile home, should be avoided. “A trailer is not a house, it’s a car, according to the law,” Hallett said. He said this differentiation is a key issue when tenants are arguing their case in eviction court, and it often ends in the tenant losing everything they have put into the home. Frank Myers inspects a broken window at the mobile home he rents in December 2025. (Jake Ramsey/Oklahoma Watch) “It’s just a scam,” Hallett said. “It’s absolutely harmful. The tenants are lured into home ownership, and they can end up losing everything they put into it.” A 2023 Business Insider analysis found that rent-to-own contracts are becoming increasingly popular, and they often fall in a legal gray area with most participating tenants leaving or being evicted before buying. Hallett said such deals can be attractive to people with few options for home ownership, including immigrants, people on fixed incomes and people leaving incarceration. He said that the properties are typically cheap, and that’s why investors are interested in them as well. Rent-to-own schemes have long exploited poor and vulnerable people, according to a 2015 ProPublica investigation. “People purchase these houses for pennies and they do a rent-to-own [deal] because if it was a straight-up rental the landlord is responsible,” Hallett said. While the legal gray area can protect the landlord in many instances, Myers said he was still promised repairs that never happened. “I’d Rather See A Sermon Than Hear One” Outside the Rogers County Courthouse, Frank Myers said he’d rather see a sermon than hear one, meaning he’d rather see action than hear that something is going to happen. He described it as practicing what you preach. “I’m not one to lie to nobody,” Myers said. “When I’m told stuff’s going to be done and it’s not, to me that’s lying.” After Myers’ conference with the landlord’s attorney, the two entered the courtroom. Myers had agreed to vacate the property in 30 days. Judge Childers signed off. Myers never argued his case before the judge. Without legal representation, Myers would have had to argue his case against an experienced, prepared attorney. Only about 4% of tenants nationwide have legal representation in eviction court, compared to 83% of landlords. If a tenant has legal representation, not only are they more likely to show up to court, but they are also much more likely to stay in their homes. Additionally, tenants who go before the judge are more likely to get a fair trial. While Myers never went before the judge, he was given 30 days as opposed to the 48-hour lockout that tenants are often given. Still, Myers is trying to figure out what he’s going to do next. He said right now, he has no place to put his stuff. “I have to walk off and leave everything except my clothes,” Myers said. “I don’t know what else to do. I don’t want to be a burden.” Jake Ramsey covers evictions, housing and homelessness. Contact him at (405) 370-3798 or [email protected]. The post Rent-To-Own Scheme Highlights Lack of Tenant Protections appeared first on Oklahoma Watch. ...read more read less