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The Kansas City Council approved the creation of an Office of Language Access in a 12-1 vote last month. Stakeholders hope the office will be comprehensive and implemented in every corner of local government.
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Housing in the Kansas City area, and in Missouri overall, is quickly becoming unaffordable. The city and state are seeing some of the fastest rent increases in the country, and local housing experts and advocates say Kansas City needs to do more to protect residents.
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Advocates say the anti-discrimination law — which bans landlords from denying tenants based solely on their source of income, credit score or previous evictions — will open up more housing options for thousands of renters.
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Over the past six months, rent prices have decreased in every region except for the Midwest, where a housing shortage and a competitive market are keeping rent high.
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An ordinance proposed by Mayor Quinton Lucas would make it illegal for landlords to refuse to rent to tenants because they're on the Housing Choice Voucher Program, known as Section 8. If passed, the law would be among the nation's strongest bans on source-of-income discrimination.
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The citywide tenants union KC Tenants helped craft the proposed legislation, which would make it illegal for landlords to refuse to rent to someone based on their source of income.
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Eviction filings have always come fast and cheap in Missouri — a legacy of Missouri’s long history of weak tenant protections. Now, eviction filings are happening faster than before the pandemic.
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The short documentary “Renter Revolt: Housing and Human Rights in America’s Heartland," produced by TIME Magazine, shows how the tenant advocacy group has become a leading voice in the national conversation on affordable housing.
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For years, residents at Quality Hill Towers in Kansas City have watched maintenance requests pile up, including infestations of bed bugs and other pests. With the help of KC Tenants, 53 residents unionized this summer to pressure their landlord, Sentinel Real Estate Corp., to make long-needed improvements.
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The Parvin Estates tenant union is the first of its kind in Kansas City's Northland. Residents say that rents are being raised by 35% after years of neglect, including broken air conditioning and infestations of rodents and insects.
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Grassroots tenant union KC Tenants has made affordable housing a top concern in Kansas City. Now, the political arm of the group, KC Tenants Power, has flexed some of its sway in city elections.
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Kansas City’s tenant union formed a political organizing group last year. The group has been campaigning hard for six candidates as it tries to shift the balance of power in Kansas City with today's election. Plus: Missouri voters could decide whether the state constitution should be harder to change, but it may face a tough reception at the polls.