Proposed KC tenants bill of rights clears major hurdle after contentious hearing
A potentially transformative set of housing reforms meant to give tenants more power in their relationships with landlords cleared a Kansas City Council committee on Monday night, a key step towards passage.
Members of Mayor Quinton Lucas’ Special Committee on Housing Policy unanimously approved two measures after more than three hours of public comment, deliberation and on-the-fly amendments meant to persuade some council members with reservations about the effects the proposals might have on landlords. Taken together, they form the basis of a tenants bill of rights.
One proposal, citing local, state and federal law, distills in one location a list of rights already afforded to tenants, including rights to habitability, freedom from discrimination and retaliation,and the right to organize and collectively bargain.
The accompanying ordinance would require that landlords give 24 hours notice before entering properties and provide tenants with utility cost estimates, descriptions of all deficiencies, citations issued on the rental property and a copy of the tenants bill of rights.
It bars discrimination against prospective tenants solely because of a prior arrest, conviction or eviction. It would also prohibit landlords from denying tenants solely because of a lawful source of income, such as a federal Section 8 voucher.
The full council is expected to take up the proposals next week.
The unanimous committee vote is a victory for KC Tenants, a grassroots organization formed earlier this year to push for a tenants bill of rights. Together with housing advocates, attorneys and Mayor Quinton Lucas’ office, the group worked to rally support for protections afforded to renters in many other cities.
Tara Raghuveer, who founded and leads KC Tenants, said the package that passed Monday was something to be proud of “because it came straight from the people who have been the most impacted by this issue in Kansas City for a really long time.”
“We did lose some battles along the way, but I think the ordinance and the resolution that passed out of committee tonight is a sign that we’re winning the war,” Raghuveer said after the meeting, which began at 5 p.m. at the Mohart Multipurpose Center to make it accessible to residents who might not be able to attend City Hall sessions during working hours.
The proposed bill of rights has been met with strong opposition from landlords, who warn that they may cash out and leave Kansas City rather than comply. Their objections range from concerns about government “overreach” to trepidation over bringing more property owners into the Section 8 program, which critics complain is rife with bureaucratic headaches and red tape.
Robert Long, president of Landlords Inc., suggested the city require that the Housing Authority of Kansas City, which administers Section 8 “create some more user-friendly policies that help tenants and landlords utilize this program in a more efficient manner.”
While Long said the legislation had “come a long way,” since its introduction, the source-of-income requirement and creation of a new city department governing housing gave him pause. He argued landlords were already regulated by multiple city agencies.
Long found sympathy from council members Kevin O’Neill, 1st District at-large and Dan Fowler, 2nd District.
Fowler called the notion of requiring that landlords participate in an otherwise voluntary federal program “fundamentally unfair and wrong.”
That requirement was tweaked somewhat to assuage Fowler’s concerns, but Raghuveer said KC Tenants needed to look more closely at the new language.
“The fact that it got through tonight amended by a law department person — bless her heart — writing in the margins is not great for us,” Raghuveer said.
She added: “What we don’t want to see is for the wording of the provision to undo the intent of the provision, which is to end source of income discrimination.”
Monday’s committee passage and next week’s vote aren’t the end of the road for issues of tenants rights. Still ahead are discussions over right to counsel for low-income tenants and a way to fund enforcement of the rights, should they pass the full council.
