Will KC landlords and tenants work together to halt evictions during COVID-19 shutdown?

With an eviction crisis threatening to wreak havoc for both Kansas City tenants and landlords, advocates for both groups must get serious about forging compromises during the coronavirus pandemic.

Affordable housing advocate Tara Raghuveer of KC Tenants has urged landlords to back her group’s demand for Missouri Gov. Mike Parson to suspend rent and mortgage obligations.

That’s a long shot, though. Parson has recently doubled down on his decision not to issue a statewide stay on evictions, saying that Missouri will not allow people to simply not pay their rent.

“Yes, landlords are facing losses,” Raghuveer said. “My question to landlords is: What are your other options? You should stand shoulder to shoulder with tenants.”

There are no easy answers, of course, and in the absence of an order from the governor, local landlords and tenants must find a way to work together.

With May 1 approaching, thousands of Kansas City-area residents are about to wrestle with an impossible choice between paying rent or potentially facing costly legal fees in the coming months.

Jackson County Circuit Court froze its evictions docket in response to the coronavirus outbreak, but remote hearings are expected to resume in the coming days.

People need safe, affordable places to live. And landlords need paying occupants for their properties.

But with unemployment spiking and stay-at-home orders still in place, what can people struggling to make ends meet do to keep roofs over their heads?

Tenants first must exhaust all options to pay their rent, including filing for unemployment and federal relief, and making payment arrangements with individual landlords.

A partial payment is better than nothing, advocates say.

Contacting community service organizations such as United Way for assistance is another option.

No one should have to choose between paying rent or putting food on the table. And during this crisis, property owners should work with their tenants.

A rent strike is not the answer. Landlords have mortgage and payroll obligations. If a tenant doesn’t pay rent, landlords are stuck with the bill. And most individual property owners do not qualify for federal coronavirus financial relief.

Most tenants have legally binding signed leases, and non-payment would only increase the chances of being denied quality housing in the future.

The Kansas City Regional Housing Alliance represents housing providers and thousands of rental housing units. Stacey Johnson-Cosby, the group’s leader, said property owners do not want unoccupied units. The goal is to prevent evictions, she said.

Landlords in the group agreed to a rent freeze and promised to waive late fees during the shutdown.

But what are the next steps?

Before the pandemic, the housing alliance was in the process of developing an eviction prevention program that would provide emergency rent assistance to qualified tenants.

But the KC Tenants organization has raised questions about cash payments from the program going straight to the landlords.

“We are asking low-income people to do all of the work and apply for assistance, and the money goes directly into landlords’ pockets,” Raghuveer said. “No one is helped by that except landlords.”

Funding is an issue for the initiative. And the plan is not guaranteed to get off the ground.

But property owners are willing to meet with housing advocates and other key stakeholders to address the crisis, Johnson-Cosby said.

“The focus for some reason is on evictions,” she said. “And we want to spend money on the other end of the problem (after eviction). Let’s prevent the problem.”

With layoffs continuing to multiply, short-term protections for renters expiring and the governor taking a pass on being proactive, the onus now is on housing advocates and property owners to collaborate on developing a plan to weather this storm and temporarily stop evictions in Kansas City.

This story was originally published April 27, 2020 at 5:00 AM.