Sick of ‘horrific conditions,’ KC apartment residents form largest tenant union in city

Nearly 60 residents and activists stood outside Quality Hill Towers Thursday evening in the pouring rain to announce their formation of a tenant union they said is now the largest in the city.

For years, tenants claim they’ve endured burst pipes, unresolved sewage backup and pest infestations at the Kansas City apartment located at 817 Jefferson Street. When they attempted to complain, they report they instead encountered ignored maintenance requests, eviction threats, retaliation and rent hikes.

The complex — owned and managed by Sentinel Real Estate Corporation — houses an estimated 250 residents; about 140 of which have joined KC Tenants, a local tenant union, making this the largest in the city, according to the organization.

Union members said they have met with their landlord, city officials, congressmembers, the federal regulator who provided Sentinel with the financing for the property and top executives from Fannie Mae.

Hell Woods, a tenant, said Kansas City has over 50 Healthy Homes reports on file for Quality Hill Towers.

“We’ve done all the things they tell us to do, and here we are,” Woods said. “They still have us living in horrific conditions. They still raise our rent. They still evict us from our homes.”

‘Only thing that gives me hope is the union’

Derek Harris, 33, has lived at Quality Hill Towers for ten years. When he first moved in, he would frequently host family dinners. In April, everything changed. Now, the kitchen he loved cooking in is filled with mouse traps.

“The wall is scraped with dirty brown stains. The vent is just a huge hole near the ceiling. When I told my family about all this, they stopped coming over,” he said.

Harris said someone took a look at his wall months ago and they said help would come the next day.

“I called the office and get a run-around. They tell me that they don’t have enough workers or they say they’ll be back the next day. They sent me emails, but they don’t come back,” he said.

Lawrence Sims, 23, just moved into a Quality Hill Towers apartment on July 19. It was his first apartment, and immediately he had problems. For three weeks, Sims said he had standing water in his bathtub and recalled not feeling clean and becoming self-conscious at work.

Now, the water that comes out of the faucet is brown.

“What I’ve experienced in a few short months is just the tip of the iceberg. I’m worried that this is what the rest of my life is gonna look like,” Sims said. “All I’ve heard from my neighbors are horror stories that take place over decades and it’s hard to see a future for myself. The only thing that gives me hope is this tenant union.”

Terria Parrish moved in to an apartment a year ago that had exposed pipes and asbestos. Being moved to a different unit didn’t improve her experience much, she said.

“I’ve dealt with roaches crawling on me while I sleep, a backed up bathtub and a fan that spins so bad it would chop your head off,” Parris said.

Financial, legal issues

A year ago, Fannie Mae deemed the property in “poor condition” and Sentinel received $9 million in federal-backed financing in 2021 to refinance Quality Hill Towers, according to a KC Tenants news release.

But the union said Sentinel has not been held accountable for making meaningful improvements.

In 2023, Sentinel spent about $235,000 on maintenance and repairs compared to nearly $900,000 on payroll and advertising, according to the building’s operating statements provided by KC Tenants.

Then, in July, a tenant was awarded more than $19,000 in a lawsuit against Quality Hill Towers that was infested with cockroaches. Litigation began in June 2023 when apartment management filed an eviction case against tenant Keyon Hardin.

Hardin, who began renting the apartment in the 900 block of Jefferson Street, another building on the street included in Quality Hill Towers, made a counterclaim and said he noticed roaches shortly after he moved in and that he woke up with them crawling on him.

The unit, he said, also had “frequent sewage discharge and water backup.” The odor permeated his apartment and made him vomit, the judgment said.

According to their website, Sentinel owns 29,000 apartment units, including 10 properties in Kansas City.

Tenants demand changes

In their demands, tenants are asking for the Federal Housing Finance Agency to foreclose on Sentinel and actively involve the union in finding a new landlord who would work with the tenant union on a new lease.

Their goal is that this new lease, according to Woods, would include a five-year rent freeze and standardized rent across similar units. They also would call on the new landlord to complete structural repairs like plumbing and electrical wiring, full extermination of all units and routine pest control and asbestos removal.

“Our rent is our power. Our rent pays their bills. Our rent pays their mortgage. Our rent is our power. And if our demands aren’t met, we aren’t afraid to flex that power,” Woods said.

When it comes to maintenance, the union wants a 12-hour response window for emergencies and a two-day window for standard maintenance problems, as well as for all backlog requests to be addressed no later than Dec. 1. They’re also calling for the end of threats and intimidation from property management and evictions without good cause.

KC Tenants sent a list of their demands to Sentinel and the Federal Housing Finance Agency Friday morning.

In a statement Friday afternoon, Megan Kivlehan, spokesperson for Quality Hill Towers, said they have been working in good faith with the union directly and consistently for over a year.

“We have made significant progress on pest issues, with pest control on-site four times a month. We have also worked diligently to address the work orders we receive through our system in a timely fashion, and average time from receipt to completion of typical repairs is between 24 and 72 hours,” Kivlehan said in a statement.

In response to the rent increase complaints, Kivlehan said the average increase for renewals is between 1% and 5%. When tenants opt for shorter lease terms or month-to-month leases, the increase can be bigger which is typical.

“We remain committed to working productively with and on behalf of our residents to continuously improve the property, and we will continue to focus on these efforts,” she said.

April Leonard, a spokesperson for the city manager’s office, said they are aware of this apartment complex and will continue to respond as appropriate and that the health department actively monitors and responds to complaints as they are received.

Tenants should contact the city’s Healthy Homes Program at 816-513-6464.

The Star reached out to Fannie Mae and the Federal Housing Finance Agency, but did not immediately hear back.

This story was originally published September 6, 2024 at 4:01 PM.