Tenants

Residents of Heart Mobile Village were required to relocate by February so the county could move forward with a new detention center. While Jackson County allocated about $2.5 million to help residents relocate, some say officials haven't lived up to their promises.

The new UMKC Tenant Union is calling for a formalized lease agreement between the university and students, so they're protected under Kansas City's Tenant Bill of Rights. Students are also calling for increased transparency better maintenance, and improved accessibility.

Missouri Rep. Cori Bush is teaming with two other Democrats hoping to provide a legislative lifeline to tenants facing eviction. But their bill faces some steep hurdles in Congress.

KC Tenants and other housing rights groups in Kansas City proposed a Tenants' Right to Counsel city ordinance to provide legal help — free of charge — to tenants facing eviction.

A previous pilot program funded by Kansas City showed that the vast majority of renters who received legal representation were not evicted. The newly-approved ordinance would provide representation to tenants, regardless of income.

Only about 3% of Kansas City tenants receive legal representation in eviction court. KC Tenants and other housing rights groups have proposed a Tenants' Right to Counsel, which would provide that help free through the city.

The Tenant Representation Initiative, created by the University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Law, has saved hundreds of tenants from eviction through what it says is much needed legal counsel. “It’s like a bus had just been removed off my body," said one client, "because I felt like I was being ran over by a bus."

At the home she rented on East 83rd Street, Sabrina Davis' microwave burned up, she got shocked when using the garbage disposal and was also shocked while unplugging a replacement microwave oven.

More than 100 residents of Heart Village mobile park will be displaced as part of the county's plan to build a new detention center.

The Gabriel Tower Tenants Union said Jessie Bey died after being robbed, but the Kansas City Police Department said they are not investigating the death.

Hazardous and horrific living conditions are behind the renters' decision to organize and as the pandemic increases outdoor activities, birdwatching's popularity is increasing.

More than 50 tenants who live east of Troost have formed a union to get their landlords to address property situations.