Kansas City tenants bring complaints to a landlord’s front yard in Mission Hills
Dozens of Kansas City rental residents brought their issues with a local landlord to the front yard of his Mission Hills home this week as some claim to be living in dangerous or substandard conditions — and getting no answers to their complaints.
Testimonials were offered by some renters. Others passed out informational flyers to neighbors. At the end of the day, the tenants all are just looking for the same thing, said Gabe Coppage, 28, a former renter and organizer of a tenant union formed in response.
“He’s just making an insane amount of money living in a really nice home in Mission Hills. And (he’s) just ignoring our requests for basic maintenance. We’re not asking for anything extravagant. We just want our homes to be up to code,” Coppage said.
The residents have taken aim specifically at Matthew McGee and business partner Alex Shifman. McGee and Schifman are accused of failing to provide adequate housing and ignoring the concerns brought by residents of the properties they oversee.
The upset renters, living in more than 100 properties mostly along Troost Avenue in Kansas City, say they are dealing with pest problems, leaky roofs, and broken plumbing to name a few. And calls for maintenance have been shrugged off or ignored completely, they allege.
Reached by phone on Friday afternoon, McGee declined to comment. Shifman did not reply to a voicemail seeking comment.
Following the growing sense of frustration, residents started working toward establishing a tenant union in mid-July. They say McGee and Shifman have declined invitations to meet with the union for discussions about their grievances in the weeks since.
In the first official action of the newly formed McGee/Shifman Tenants Union, around 50 people marched the half mile from First Lutheran Church to McGee’s home on Ensley Lane on Wednesday. Mission Hills is the most affluent city in Johnson County. Homes there sold at $1.3 million last year on average.
Demands made by the union include rent relief and reimbursements for those living in housing conditions considered hazardous by an outside party, flat utility rates, working amenities, outside housing inspections and a halt on evictions. The group also wants a 24-hour phone line where maintenance concerns and requests may be submitted.
Coppage, the organizer, said he was a tenant of McGee’s for four years until recently being told to move because his Manheim Park rental home was being put on the market. Over that time, living in a three bedroom house, he said he experienced maintenance issues that went unaddressed — but until recently never thought to raise a big fuss.
“I kind of just felt that that’s what I deserved, because that’s all I could afford,” said Coppage, who reported paying around $950 per month solely for rent.
The demonstration Wednesday was organized for one sole purpose, Coppage said: getting a sit-down meeting between the tenants union and the landlord. That request has yet to be made, Coppage said. But there’s still hope that the grievances will be addressed soon, he added.
“All we’re asking for is a meeting,” Coppage said.
The Star’s Sarah Ritter contributed to this report.
