kc tenants

The apartment complex off North Lawn Avenue has been on the city’s radar for more than three years, when a city deal subsidized rents in exchange for repairs at the property. But after further neglect, the city is once again stepping in after demands from the complex’s tenant union.

The city previously made a deal to subsidize rent at the apartment complex in the Historic Northeast in exchange for repairs. Conditions at the property have gotten worse, and the city is considering stepping in once again to make it habitable.

Residents at the North Lawn apartment complex in the Historic Northeast got together and formed a tenant's union earlier this year. They say their landlord hasn’t held up his end of the bargain while they’ve been dealing with unbearable heat.

Residents in a Northeast apartment complex won historic rent protections in 2023. As those are running out, they’ve expanded their tenant union. They demand repairs and affordable rent from their landlord.

Longtime KC Tenants organizer Jenay Manley is taking the reins of the tenant rights advocacy organization from founder Tara Raghuveer, who is now focused on tenant issues on the national level. Raghuveer said Kansas City has been at the "vanguard" of this recent movement.

For five years, Kansas City has required developers to set aside affordable housing units if they get a tax break — but Port KC undermined that rule by offering its own incentives. Under a proposal by Mayor Quinton Lucas, Kansas City Council is considering slashing the fee by 95%.

More than half the renters living at a Raytown apartment complex recently ended a four-month rent strike against their landlord. Members of the Bowen Tower Apartments union share why the strike took place and what deal they managed to agree on.

Joe Mount and Tina McDonald are two leaders in the Bowen Tower Tenant Union, a union of renters in Raytown. After a months-long rent strike, they reached an agreement with their California-based landlord that includes lower rent and utility rates, plus commitments to fix longstanding maintenance issues.

Tenants at Bowen Tower Apartments began withholding rent last October. An agreement with the California-based landlord now includes lower rent and utility rates, and commitments to fix longstanding problems in the building.

The state, in cooperation with the American Lung Association, has added “smoke-free” to descriptions of rental properties in a statewide directory. Landlords and health advocates believe it will inspire people to seek out smoke-free environments and lower the state's disproportionately high tobacco-related illnesses and deaths.

The Bowen Tower Tenant Union began withholding rent at the beginning of October in response to repeated flooding, pest infestations and plumbing issues that tenants say go ignored by management.

The musician Waxahatchee and comedian Caleb Hearon, who are friends and Kansas City residents, call affordable housing the issue of our time. This week, they’re headlining a benefit show for KC Tenants at the Uptown Theater, and they joined KCUR’s Up To Date to discuss their careers on stage and their activism in the community.