Kansas City MO tenants: Here’s what renters rights you have | Kansas City Star

Are you renting a home or apartment in Kansas City? The city guarantees you certain rights. Here is what you need to know.

In Kansas City, 46% of residents are renters. And 44% of those renters are considered cost burdened, which means they spend more than 30% of their income on rent.

In 2019, the City Council passed the Tenants Bill of Rights, advocated for by KC Tenants.

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The bill establishes seven rights for tenants: the right to safe and accessible housing; the right to freedom from discrimination and retaliation; the right to fair compensation and restorative justice; the right to organize and bargain; the right to safe, healthy, accessible and truly affordable housing; the right to privacy and self-determination; and the right to justice and access to fair, equitable treatment under the law.

“The Kansas City Tenants Bill of Rights is a great place to start because it really does summarize everybody’s right to have decent housing in Kansas City,” said Michelle Albano, a supervising attorney on the housing plus team for Legal Aid of Western Missouri.

However, Gina Chiala, executive director and staff attorney for the Heartland Center for Jobs and Freedom, said there is no private right to action in the ordinance, which means lawyers can’t sue if a landlord violates it.

“The ordinance has to be enforced by the city in order for it to have much impact,” Chiala said.

The Office of the Attorney General also provides a Missouri Landlord-Tenant Law booklet.

Basic obligations

Landlords are expected to do the following, according to the Landlord-Tenant Law booklet.

▪ Make and pay for repairs due to ordinary wear and tear.

▪ Refrain from turning off a tenant’s water, electricity or gas.

▪ Provide written notice to tenants when ownership of the property is transferred to a new landlord.

▪ Do not unlawfully discriminate.

Tenants should do the following.

▪ Pay rent on time.

▪ Use reasonable care and not damage property.

▪ Properly dispose of garbage.

▪ Refrain from taking on additional occupants or subleasing without the landlord’s written permission.

In Kansas City, tenants can contact the Health Department’s Healthy Homes Inspection Program at 816-513-6347 or by emailing Healthy.Homes@kcmo.org to file a complaint. They can also call 311, which is the city’s hotline for reporting issues.

KC Tenants, a renters rights organization, also provides resources for tenants in need; the hotline number is 816-533-5435.

Safety

Rental properties must maintain safe housing, which includes providing water heating facilities, heating facilities, water and sewer lines, electrical fixtures and plumbing. Landlords must also disclose past issues to possible tenants.

Tenants can request relocation assistance from the city if they must leave their rental for a reason such as uninhabitable conditions. If they are dealing with those conditions, tenants should document and gather evidence to later support their claims in court.

Tenants also have a right to privacy and self-determination, which includes the right to refuse entrance to a rental unit if landlords don’t give proper notice.

The right to organize is also protected. Since the Bill of Rights’ passing, tenant unions such as Gabriel Tower Tenant Union and McGee/Schifman Tenant Union have launched.

Discrimination

Federal and municipal laws prohibit discrimination based on race, color, national origin, religion, sex, familial status, disability, marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity, being a victim of domestic violence or stalking.

If you have been a victim of discrimination, you can contact the following organizations.

▪ Missouri Human Rights Commission: toll-free 877-781-4236

▪ U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Housing Discrimination Hotline: 800-669-9777

▪ Housing Authority of Kansas City: 816-968-4100

When a tenant complains of a city code violation, landlords are not allowed to retaliate. That includes increasing charges, reducing services or eviction threats.

The right for tenants to organize and form unions is also protected.

Finances

Landlords can’t charge more than two months’ rent for a security deposit. And the deposit must be returned within 30 days of the tenant vacating. Tenants can sue to recover twice the amount wrongfully withheld from any or all of a deposit. They also have the right to negotiate.

Tenants can sometimes deduct repair costs from their rent.

They also have the right to access utility cost estimates.

Landlords also aren’t allowed to charge fees that aren’t allowed for in the lease.

Evictions

Landlords can evict tenants only as allowed by state law, meaning they must have a court order. Unjust and unlawful evictions aren’t allowed, though tenants’ rights groups have noted those continue to happen.

If a tenant receives an eviction notice, they should seek an attorney, Chiala said.

“When a tenant has an attorney, it’s highly likely that eviction will be stopped,” Chiala said. “Most of those cases end in a settlement agreement that gets that eviction dismissed against the tenant and keeps the tenant housed.”

If a tenant doesn’t appear in court, they often automatically lose their case.

Three organizations provide legal assistance to tenants: Legal Aid of Western Missouri, the Heartland Center, and the University of Missouri-Kansas City.

When a tenant gets behind on rent, their landlord can sue at any time, Chiala said. They should immediately apply for rental assistance and then show the landlord.

Legal Aid of Western Missouri

▪ 4001 Blue Parkway, Suite 300, Kansas City, MO 64130

▪ Phone: 816-474-6750

▪ Website: www.lawmo.org

Heartland Center for Jobs & Freedom

▪ 4033 Central, Kansas City, MO 64111

▪ Phone: 816-278-1344

▪ Website: www.jobsandfreedom.org

UMKC School of Law Tenant Assistance Initiative

▪ Phone: 816-343-8709

The Missouri Bar Legal Resources Assistance

▪ Phone: 573-636-3635

▪ Website: www.missourilawyershelp.org

Kansas City Metropolitan Bar Foundation Military Matters Program — legal assistance for qualifying veterans and service members

▪ Website: www.militarymatterskc.org

Get it in writing

Tenants should get every agreement between themselves and their landlord in writing.

They should also take care to read over a lease in its entirety before signing. While tenants can ask for changes in a lease, a landlord can still refuse the change.

Tenants should also provide their forwarding address in writing.

Rental assistance

With the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s eviction moratorium expiring, the Associated Press reported that around 3.6 million people across the country said they faced eviction over the next two months, according to the U.S. Census Bureau’s Household Pulse Survey.

If you are in need of rental assistance, here are a few places to go.

▪ Inside Kansas City: Emergency Rent and Utility Assistance Program

▪ In Jackson County but outside Kansas City: Community Services League, Jackson County Emergency Rental Assistance Program partnering with United Way of Greater Kansas City

▪ In Platte County but outside Kansas City: Missouri’s State Assistance for Housing Relief for Renters Program

▪ In Clay County but outside Kansas City: Rental Assistance Portal and the Missouri Emergency Rental Arrears Program.

This story was originally published July 30, 2021 12:18 PM.