© 2025 Kansas City Public Radio
NPR in Kansas City
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Missouri governor signs law allowing landlords to discriminate against Section 8 renters

A "now leasing" sign sits in front of a string of residential rental properties
Blaise Mesa
/
Kansas News Service
Section 8 vouchers are designed to help low-income residents to find a home.

The legislation takes aim at ordinances passed in Kansas City and other Missouri cities that protect tenants from discrimination based on the source of their income — especially tenants who use federal housing choice vouchers to pay rent.

Local laws prohibiting landlords from discriminating against tenants who receive public assistance are unenforceable under legislation signed Monday by Gov. Mike Kehoe

The legislation takes aim at ordinances passed in several Missouri cities to protect tenants from discrimination based on the source of their income — especially tenants who use federal housing choice vouchers, known as Section 8 vouchers, to pay rent.

The bill was co-sponsored by state Reps. Chris Brown, a Republican from Kansas City, and Ben Keathley, a Republican from Chesterfield. In the Senate, it was carried by state Sen. Nick Schroer, a Republican from Defiance.

Kansas City passed a source of income discrimination ban last year, though it was in large part paused by the courts in February.

Columbia, St. Louis, Webster Groves and Clayton have similar protections on the books. The laws make it illegal for landlords to discriminate based solely on the fact of renters’ lawful sources of income, including Section 8, veterans’ benefits and Social Security.

KCUR is committed to local, independent journalism. We need your support to do it.

The legislation had the support of landlords groups, apartment associations, the realtors’ association and the conservative think tank Show Me Institute. Proponents characterized localities’ source-of-income protections as an overreach into property owners’ rights.

Opponents said the bill infringed on local control and would hurt affordable housing availability, exacerbating homelessness. The city of Kansas City has been opposed along with the anti-poverty nonprofit Empower Missouri and an association of public housing authorities in Missouri.

This story was originally published by the Missouri Independent.

Clara Bates covers social services and poverty for The Missouri Independent. She previously wrote for the Nevada Current, where she reported on labor violations in casinos, hurdles facing applicants for unemployment benefits and lax oversight of the funeral industry. She also wrote about vocational education for Democracy Journal. Bates is a graduate of Harvard College and is a Report for America corps member.
Congress just eliminated federal funding for KCUR, but public radio is for the people.

Your support has always made KCUR's work possible — from reporting that keeps officials accountable, to storytelling to connects our community. Help ensure the future of local journalism.