History was made in Kansas City, MO, when the city council passed the city’s first Tenant Bill of Rights on December 12, 2019. This legislation, which expands renters’ rights and establishes the city’s commitment to protecting them, was driven by renters and the grassroots activist group KC Tenants in partnership with lawyers, champions in the city council, and the mayor’s office.
Shortly after its inception in 2019, KC Tenants successfully made tenants’ rights a key issue in the Kansas City spring elections before launching its campaign to win a Tenant Bill of Rights. This legislative package includes a resolution and an ordinance written by people directly impacted.
The resolution notes that 46% of the city’s residents are renters, with nearly half being housing cost-burdened, lists existing and new tenant protections, and affirms the commitment from the mayor and city council to uphold these rights. The ordinance both implements the new protections and makes the renter-license requirement of landlords contingent on the expanded set of protections.
One new protection prohibits immediate dismissal of prospective tenants due to an eviction or criminal history, although landlords are still allowed to conduct background checks further into the leasing process. Other new protections include a significantly more robust requirement of notice before entry, additional protected classes including gender identity and expression, and a utility-disclosure requirement wherein landlords must provide a list of all providers and consent for renters to gain an estimate on utility costs.
The final legislation provided some compromises to KC Tenants’ original proposal, including a watered down source-of-income discrimination ban and the removal of language that would have established a resident council. KC Tenants Executive Director Tara Raghuveer says the group is committed to coming back to win these additional provisions and that, overall, this is good policy done the right way - with people directly impacted involved every step to the extent possible.
For more information about KC Tenants and the city’s new Tenants’ Bill of Rights, visit: www.kctenants.org