‘A win for Kansas City’: Council passes tenant’s right to counsel. Here’s why it matters

A tenant’s right to counsel is now part of the Kansas City code.

Kansas City City Council on Thursday voted to approve the right to counsel ordinance pushed by KC Tenants, Stand Up KC and the Heartland Center for Jobs and Freedom.

Councilwoman Andrea Bough, who introduced the ordinance, said it could be monumental for Kansas City.

“At its basic, this ordinance provides legal representation to those families and individuals deprived of a basic human right to housing,” Bough said. “It will provide housing and economic stability to tenants, landlords and Kansas City.”

Last week, ahead of the ordinance’s introduction, dozens of people with those groups rallied outside City Hall in support of the ordinance guaranteeing legal representation to tenants facing eviction.

The program will cost about $2.5 million annually and will guarantee a tenant has legal representation, regardless of income, when a landlord sues for eviction. It will also provide outreach to raise tenants’ awareness of the initiative.

In total, 12 cities, including New York City, Philadelphia and Cleveland; and three states — Washington, Maryland and Connecticut — have implemented Tenants’ right to counsel.

The estimated annual $2.5 million cost will cover staff and contracts for outreach, training and legal representation. The figure is based on the number of evictions filed annually and the expectation that the number will decline if more tenants have lawyers.

The ordinance directs the city manager to find funding in the next three months and to execute a contract with nonprofit legal service providers by June.

Here’s what the policy includes:

• Outreach to tenants: The city and property owners would be required to notify tenants of their right to counsel. When a case is filed, the city would reach out within 10 days to remind tenants of that right and how to exercise it.
• City staffing and centralized intake: Kansas City would hire a Tenants’ Legal Services and Assistance Director to coordinate. High quality legal representation: Kansas City would work with legal service providers to ensure trained representation for tenants.
• Tenants’ committee: The mayor would appoint a Tenants’ Right to Counsel Committee, made up of seven tenants and non-voting members from legal organizations, to provide oversight.
• Yearly report on tenants served: The director and committee would give a report to the mayor, City Council and city manager each September.
• Full funding: The city would eventually fund the program through a recurring, non-discretionary source to guarantee the right to counsel.

The Heartland Center, Legal Aid of Western Missouri and the University of Missouri-Kansas City currently provide some legal assistance to tenants.

Gina Chiala, executive director and lead attorney with the Heartland Center, said last week that a tenant without an eviction on their records is much more likely to stay housed in the long-term.

In 2016, the Eviction Lab at Princeton found that Kansas City ranked as the 65th most evicting city in the country, with 3,776. That is a little more than 10 households every day and 4 out of 100 rental properties every year.

Stacey Johnson-Cosby, president of the landlord group KC Regional Housing Alliance, said during public testimony in the Neighborhood, Planning and Development Committee on Wednesday that funds should go toward rental assistance instead of paying attorneys.

“If our role is to prevent evictions and keep people stably housed, there’s a better way,” Johnson-Cosby said.

Most eviction cases are for nonpayment of rent. Johnson-Cosby said that paying the rent is the best way to keep tenants housed.

Chiala, who presented the proposal to the committee alongside KC Tenants leader Tiana Caldwell, said the legal representation would assist in getting that rental assistance distributed.

It passed unanimously out of committee Wednesday in a council chambers packed with proponents of the ordinance in yellow KC Tenants shirts or red Stand Up KC shirts. When Councilman Dan Fowler moved to advance the legislation, he was met with a cheer and applause from the crowd.

After it moved out of committee, Caldwell said she was overjoyed.

“Housing is a human right,” Caldwell said. “This is a win for Kansas City.”

This story was originally published December 9, 2021 at 6:01 PM.

Cortlynn Stark

The Kansas City Star

816-234-4784

Cortlynn Stark writes about finance and the economy for The Sum. She is a Certified Financial Education Instructor℠ with the National Financial Educators Council. She previously covered City Hall for The Kansas City Star and joined The Star in January 2020 as a breaking news reporter. Cortlynn studied journalism and Spanish at Missouri State University.