rent

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.

Residents of an apartment complex in Gardner, Kansas, were kicked out of their homes earlier this year when the city condemned the property for unsafe living conditions, but one change in a law could help. Plus: A Missouri researcher says "radical empathy" can help combat today's conspiracy theories, which may help when you go home for the holidays.

Applying the Kansas Consumer Protection Act to residential rentals could help balance power between landlords and tenants. A lawmaker hopes it may force landlords to improve their properties so tenants don’t live in squalor.

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.

Sherri Foster missed several months of rent in 2020, but the lease on her Prairie Village house included a late fee of $20 per day. The court ruled she owed fees for all 1,062 days between her first missed payment and the judgment date.

In several states, a renter has to make $20 or more an hour to afford apartments being leased at Fair Market Value. Nearly half of Americans don’t make enough money to afford a one-bedroom rental.

Corporate landlords have become more common since the Great Recession. Housing advocates say that hurts tenants.

The Republican bill was prompted by legislation in Kansas City and other communities that banned landlords from denying leases to renters on the grounds that they receive housing assistance, such as Section 8 vouchers.

As the cost to buy a home continues to rise in the Midwest, real estate experts say the regional rental market offers affordable housing options and biding your time before buying may be the smart move in 2025.

Last summer, Kansas City banned landlords from rejecting tenants solely because of how they pay their rent, their credit score, or previous evictions. Now, a Missouri Republican representative, who's a landlord himself, wants to overturn that law.

KC Tenants say they want Healthy Homes to enforce consequences for landlords who fail to address health code violations. Kansas City Health Department representatives say all documented issues at Quality Hill Towers were resolved, but tenants report little to no improvements.