Tenants ended rent strike at KC complex. Weeks later, some hit with eviction notices
Weeks after Kansas City’s largest tenant union de-escalated their rent strike at a downtown apartment over claims building management failed to maintain the property to livable standards, the landlord started handing out eviction notices.
Quality Hill Towers— 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 it the largest in the city, according to the organization.
Many tenants said they’d endured years of severe maintenance problems and health and safety hazards in the apartment, leading up to their decision to withhold rent earlier this fall.
Union members went on a rent strike Oct. 1, but then halted the strike on Dec. 1 to show their commitment to working with Sentinel, they said. At the height of the strike, according to a union organizer, 65 tenants withheld their rent. Since then, 16 tenants in units who were on strike have received eviction notices, according to a KC Tenants news release. Sentinel also issued 10 lease non-renewals against strikers in November; acts the union is calling retaliatory.
Strike leads to eviction notices
For years, tenants at Quality Hill Towers claim they’ve endured burst pipes, unresolved sewage backup and pest infestations at the Kansas City apartment at 905 Jefferson Street. When they attempted to complain, they said they encountered ignored maintenance requests, eviction threats, retaliation and rent hikes.
Michael Wardrum, 75, joined the union in July after living in his one-bedroom apartment for one week and witnessing several plumbing and pest issues. He got his eviction notice Dec. 12, after he participated in the rent strike. Now, Wardrum has a court date Jan. 9, where he plans to fight the eviction.
“I can’t afford to turn around and leave, so I’m taking a calculated risk, but it would be a bigger risk not to do anything. We need to stand up, so I don’t regret that I’ve done this,” he said.
Sentinel said in a statement Dec. 18 that the eviction notices are not retaliatory, as claimed by the union, because tenants in the strike were two months behind rent and had been notified before they de-escalated.
“Paying one month of rent at that point in time neither increased nor decreased prior delinquency, and as a result had no impact on residents who were already facing eviction — we believe the tenant union is aware of this,” Sentinel said.
Grace White, Quality Hill Towers union organizer, said that a list was sent to Sentinel in November, detailing all the repairs needed in order for tenants to resume paying rent. She said that they didn’t get a significant response, other than being told that Sentinel would work directly with tenants on repairs. However, many requests have still not been addressed, according to White.
Sentinel claimed several strikers were unaware of the consequences of not paying rent, including having to pay all the rent owed and legal fees, which White said was not true.
“Every single tenant who went on strike was briefed on the full set of risks that could happen and many of them actually met with our lawyer ahead of doing it,” White said.
Tenants like Wardum who received eviction notices will attend court next month where they can attest to why they haven’t been paying rent and ask the judge to take the case to trial where the judge can decide how much the tenant owes the landlord, according to the union.
White said tenants have been saving the rent owed and are prepared to pay if the ruling is not in their favor.
“We believe it’s best for both Sentinel and the tenants to settle this outside of court,” she said. “We’ve provided them with an opportunity to do this and we hope that they will work with us to ensure that people can stay in their homes and get the very basic repairs that they’re asking for in exchange for their rent.”
Two sides dispute reasons for maintenance work
In December, the union ended its 64-day strike as a sign of commitment to work with Sentinel, union leaders said, noting that some progress on needed repairs had been made, and taking credit for that outcome.
“Over the last two months Sentinel has made building-wide and in-unit repairs,” the Quality Hill Tenants Union said in a statement. “Our neighbors will survive the winter with heat. We can cook in our homes. We can drink our water. None of this would have happened without the union, and none of this would have happened without our strike.”
The union claims Sentinel resorted to intimidation and retaliation during the strike by charging late fees, shutting down online payments for striking tenants and issuing non-renewals and eviction notices. According to the union, 70% of the occupied units are included in the union and 28% of the property was participating in the strike.
“We flexed our power and we got results,” the union said. “Now, as a demonstration of our commitment to reaching an agreement, we plan to pay December rent. If Sentinel fails to meet our expectations, we will have no choice but to resume the strike.”
The union said as a result of the rent strike, they won the building new and serviced boilers, new water heaters, flush valve replacements, newly carpeted and cleaned elevators, repainted doors and hallways, over 30 in-unit repairs, multiple eviction dismissals, and thousands of dollars in rent forgiveness.
But Sentinel said in a statement they have been working with the tenant union since 2023, and had previously planned out the maintenance for the three buildings on Jefferson Street involved the strike, including 817, 905 and 929 Jefferson, investing $2 million in them this year.
“This wasn’t a union win; it was part of Sentinel’s planned improvements,” Sentinel said in a statement. “Capital projects in process include the installation of a new intercom system in all three buildings and the installation of upgraded cameras throughout the community.”
Union representatives dispute those claims, saying the building improvements would not have come without their efforts.
‘“The union has been the vehicle by which tenants have forced Sentinel to make the set of repairs that they made this year,” White said. “And it’s gonna continue to be the vehicle that fights and ensures that quality Hill Towers becomes a safer place for tenants to live in.”
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.
However, Sentinel said they have spent $8.3 million over the eight years in capital improvement projects, including $2 million spent in the three buildings this year.
In July, a tenant was awarded more than $19,000 in a lawsuit against Quality Hill Towers claiming their apartment 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 over 28,000 apartment units, including 10 properties in Kansas City.
Previous reporting by The Star’s Bob Cronkleton was used in this piece.
This story was originally published December 27, 2024 at 6:00 AM.
