Landlord tried to evict Kansas City tenant. Then tenant sued over infestation — and won
A tenant was awarded more than $19,000 in a lawsuit against a Kansas City apartment complex that was infested with cockroaches.
Litigation began in June 2023 when Quality Hill Apartments filed an eviction case against Keyon Hardin.
Hardin, who began renting the apartment in the 900 block of Jefferson Street, made a counterclaim.
The case went to trial last year and on Monday, Jackson County Circuit Judge Kea Bird-Riley ruled in Hardin’s favor.
Hardin said he noticed roaches shortly after he moved in and that he woke up with them crawling on him. The unit also had “frequent sewage discharge and water backup.” The odor permeated his apartment and made him vomit, the judgment said.
In June 2021, the oven leaked flammable gas.
Tenants last year told The Star that there were long-standing issues including mice infestations, bed bugs, leaking ceilings and plumbing problems.
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According to the judgment, Hardin submitted repair requests for the issues, but many remained unresolved.
He paid about $18,860 in rent from February 2021 to July 2023.
“The fair market value of the home was zero during the duration of the tenancy,” the judge’s ruling said.
Quality Hill breached laws related to habitability, Bird-Riley concluded. Hardin was awarded the rent he had paid and $200 for expenses he had incurred to get rid of the cockroaches.
The Heartland Center for Jobs and Freedom represented Hardin and was awarded $1,000 in attorney’s fees.
“All renters deserve to have safe and happy homes; we are not dollar signs, we are human beings,” Hardin said in a statement.
An attorney for the apartment complex did not respond to an email or a voicemail.
