Mold and rodents: Hawley urges federal investigation of KC-area public housing
Reports of mold, rodent infestations and other uninhabitable conditions in properties serving primarily low-income Missourians have pushed U.S. Sen. Josh Hawley to call for federal investigations into the state’s public housing.
Hawley, a freshman Republican, announced Friday that he had urged the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Missouri to open such investigations, primarily because of reports about the conditions in homes managed by T.E.H. Realty, a landlord with a major presence in both Kansas City and St. Louis.
“Recent reports suggest that these housing problems have not only remained — they have become worse in the Kansas City region,” Hawley said.
In letters to the agencies, Hawley asked for a “thorough investigation” of both publicly managed housing complexes and landlords that receive federal housing funds “who are failing to meet their obligations to provide quality housing.” Hawley noted the Housing Authority of Kansas City had decided to halt business with T.E.H. Realty.
Housing authorities around the country manage federal vouchers, commonly called Section 8, that allow low-income tenants to pay rent to private landlords rather than living in housing complexes managed by the federal government. T.E.H. Realty was a landlord in that program until the housing authority ended the relationship.
T.E.H. Realty has been the target of scrutiny in St. Louis, where, according to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, residents of a Ferguson apartment complex are seeking class-action status in a lawsuit against T.E.H. affiliates.
Creation and maintenance of quality, affordable housing was a major campaign issue during this spring’s mayoral election and has been a priority of Mayor Quinton Lucas, who assumed office in August. In a statement, Lucas, a Democrat, endorsed Hawley’s calls for investigation.
“TEH Realty is a large, out-of-town company that’s made a fortune preying on low-income Kansas Citians and Missourians,” Lucas said. “I spoke with Senator Hawley yesterday to express my support for this investigation and to share more details with him about TEH’s foul play in our community specifically. I am committed to working with Republicans and Democrats alike to fight for sanitary living conditions for all.”
Hawley asked in the letter that HUD work with local housing authorities to provide relief to tenants affected by bad management companies.
“The department must not compound harm to low-income residents by terminating relationships with bad management companies in a way that would risk making residents even worse off,” Hawley said.
T.E.H. and HUD were not immediately available for comment on Friday.
