Tenants

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.

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.

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.

In Jackson County, the fee for a landlord to file for eviction is just $62. Researchers found that when filing fees are low, landlords are more likely to file evictions "serially" against the same tenant as a way to collect late rent — rather than as a last resort.

La relación propietario-inquilino puede crear un campo abierto para disputas que pueden terminar en desalojo. Muchos inquilinos no saben que hay leyes y reglamentos que los protegen. Aquellas normas varían de un estado a otro.

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.

La compañía ha declarado que su estrategia es comprar propiedades de casas de una sola familia en toda la región. Una investigación del Midwest Newsroom descubrió que había descuidos, desalojos agresivos y aumento de rentas de los alquileres donde VineBrook compra propiedades - en su mayoría barrios de personas de color.

The landlord-tenant relationship can be fertile ground for disputes that can result in eviction. Many renters may not realize there are laws and regulations that protect them, and they vary from state to state.

At an affordable housing apartment complex near Kansas City's sport stadiums, tenants have lived through uninhabitable conditions for years. Plus: Real estate company VineBrook Homes is snatching up homes around the Midwest and in Kansas City at a rapid pace, but tenants are crying foul.

The ordinance passed by Shawnee City Council last year effectively limits the number of unrelated individuals who can live together in a single living space. Hundreds of residents signed a petition demanding a repeal to the rules, which critics have called "racist" and "classist."

The company’s self-declared strategy is to buy single-family rental properties around the region. A Midwest Newsroom investigation uncovered neglect, aggressive evictions and rising rents where VineBrook moves in — mostly non-white neighborhoods.

En el barrio de Historic Northeast, los residentes del departamento Gladstone Court, aún se estaban recuperando de un incendio eléctrico que los dejó sin calefacción durante tres días cuando recibieron notificaciones de que su contrato no sería renovado por parte de su nuevo propietario. Tras organizarse con el sindicato de inquilinos de KC Tenants, pudieron permanecer en sus hogares con alquileres razonables.