HUD

During March and April this year, Kansas City will work with four area shelters to extend the city's Zero KC emergency cold-weather plan to last the entire year. The new policy eases restrictions for people who've been kept out of shelters because of mental health, addiction or other issues — and adds additional beds.

Each year, volunteers venture out nationwide on a single night for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s point-in-time count in an effort to tally the country’s homeless population. Rural volunteers say they rely on the count to aid their unhoused populations. Meanwhile, experts say HUD may be undercounting.

The $6.4 million grant will go toward renovating about 170 Kansas City homes in low-income, minority neighborhoods next year.

As Kansas City experiences hotter summers, and after senior tenants in a Midtown apartment building went without air conditioning last month, some local officials want to pass more protections for renters during extreme heat.

The federal government says new safety standards and building materials mean home buyers priced out of site-built houses have viable options. As storms become stronger and more frequent, experts are tempering expectations.

The rules will affect new residential construction projects funded by the federal Housing and Rural Development agency. Now, lawmakers are pushing the agency that oversees the nation’s two largest mortgage backers to adopt similar measures.

New federal rules will adjust Section 8 subsidies so that Kansas City families can gain access to neighborhoods they've been essentially shut out of, including downtown neighborhoods like Quality Hill and midtown neighborhoods like Hyde Park.

The Missouri General Assembly passed a law in 2017 making it harder for people to prove housing discrimination cases. Because that violates the federal Fair Housing Act, Missouri loses hundreds of thousands of dollars every year that would have been used to investigate discrimination complaints.

A frequent complaint among unhoused people in Kansas City is that existing shelters may require them to participate in religious activities or part with belongings or pets. Many choose to stay on the streets instead, even in extreme weather.

The possibility of foreclosure has loomed over Parade Park Homes for more than a year. Now that it's happening, some residents are relieved. But without clear plans for what the changes entail, others are nervous they'll be priced out of their homes.

Tenants in the Cloverleaf Apartment complex reported major leaks, mold, pest infestations and a chronic lack of hot water or air conditioning. The landlord can no longer own property in Missouri for 10 years.

Local governments can lose state or federal funding if they don’t enforce rules on unauthorized public camping, sleeping or obstructions of sidewalks. National organizations are urging HUD’s general counsel to weigh in on whether the measure violates federal policy and law.