Vote NO on KCMO Proposed Ordinance No. 210055

Ordinance #210055, an ordinance that is punitive towards housing providers, is sponsored by KCMO City Council Members Kathryn Shields, Melissa Robinson, Ryana Parks-Shaw, Andrea Bough and Mayor Quinton Lucas. They are proposing a mandate that forces housing providers to rent to tenants with bad credit to keep them from being homeless during the pandemic. By simply inquiring & learning about past evictions, judgments or lawsuits by a landlord as part of your regular screening process, you could be subject to a $1,000 per day fine if you deny them, believe it or not. There is no other business where elected officials demand that business owners extend credit to people who have not demonstrated their creditworthiness. Why us? Click on the Call to Action link to send the message to every councilmember that we want them to vote No on Ordinance #210055.

Here are the changes to the original draft:

The (un)intended consequences of Ordinance #210055 – Amending Article XIX, “Healthy Rental Homes”

The problem with this proposed ordinance is that it is too late. It is only after a person has already been evicted from the home before this forces them into another unsteady housing situation without resolving the burdens of past due rent owed. This will impact their opportunity to get credit in the future, including their ability to one day purchase a home. The ideal situation is to keep them housed and secured safely in their current location after paying off their arrearages. The KCRHA has submitted Eviction Prevention – Emergency Rental Assistance proposals to the council with actual solutions. We also support fully using the $14 million in rental assistance funding that the city just received to keep people housed instead of trying to change the business practices of already struggling small business owners in Kansas City.

The Problems with KCMO Ordinance #210055 – Amending Article XIX, “Healthy Rental Homes”

The problems with Ordinance #210055 include many (un)intended consequences:

  • This ordinance prioritizes people who have been evicted over those that have paid their rent in a timely manner
  • This ordinance actually criminalizes the actions of small business owners who are being mandated by the KCMO city council to do business with people that do not qualify for credit
  • The standards for qualification will be raised, i.e. – attorneys have advised clients that there are ways to stay in compliance with the ordinance, but resident selection criteria will be tougher for renters
  • This is not only for those proven impacted by COVID, but covers anyone who has been evicted for non-payment (mixed in with other infractions) in the time period
  • A housing provider can be in violation and subject to the fine for the term of the lease if another non-evicted renter was chosen (potentially for 365 days and a total minimum fine of $365,000)
  • Equal protection violation – other industries are not forced by the KCMO city council to do business with people with bad credit
  • The application & screening process is the ”inquiry” into past rental history which may reveal the eviction, causing the violation under the ordinance. So, we are automatically guilty by doing what is traditionally done in the course of our business by qualifying our customers
  • This can inadvertently cover almost ALL evictions, not just cases of evictions solely for non-payment of rent (including renters that have assaulted other tenants, participated in illegal drug activity and other lease violations). Many times, tenants being evicted for other actions, will also owe past due rent. With that being one part of the action, they are protected
  • This ordinance shifts the burden to the housing provider to house the homeless in our community because the government shut down the economy. Many may ultimately lose their properties, and without regular income, many will exit the market (by selling, walking away or losing properties through foreclosure) according to 40% of our survey respondents
  • Many renters took advantage of the other eviction moratoriums (including the CDC) and stopped paying their rent, even though they were working and able to
  • Many housing providers have not been paid rent since Spring of 2020, and this punitive ordinance furthers the damages of small business owners in Kansas City. Real estate investors do not have to do business in Kansas City, MO. They have options, and many have already exited our market in great numbers. With the addition of this punitive ordinance against us, more will go do business where they are welcomed

An Alternative Plan

KCRHA Eviction Prevention Plan for Kansas City, MO

Submitted: January 2021

KCRHA’s recommendations to address the current and long-term affordability crisis in Kansas City, Missouri will be shared by us as housing providers who actually create and preserve the city’s affordable housing stock. Our more detailed policy proposals about how to create more affordable units will be unveiled next week.

But at this moment, our immediate goal as a city and as housing providers is to prevent homelessness because of COVID-19, by keeping people securely housed today. We recognize that the city just received $14 million in funds for rental assistance. We will be hosting our second virtual Resource Summit event to get the word to renters, homeowners and housing providers about how to access those funds. The way to prevent an eviction is to get the rent paid.

The Goal  – KCRHA created a proactive proposal prior to the pandemic & updated it prior to the receipt of the federal funds. It reflects how renters can actually be helped with rental assistance as opposed to punitively mandating damaging business practices for our small businesses through Ordinance #210055.


At this moment, our immediate goal as a city and as housing providers is to prevent homelessness because of COVID-19, by keeping people housed today.

The Goal – Keep people in their homes today, prevent the eviction:

Support Ordinance No. 210067 that is estimating revenues and appropriating funds in the amount of $14,814,859.50 in the General Grants Fund for the Emergency Rental Assistance Program from the U.S. Department of the Treasury to assist households that are unable to pay rent and utilities due to the COVID-19 pandemic; and authorizing the Director of Neighborhoods and Housing Services Department to execute contracts for Emergency Rental Assistance activities.

Short term solution with long term impact

Implement the “KCRHA Eviction Prevention & Emergency Rental Assistance Program” to help those who are struggling to pay the rent because of the impact of COVID-19 (Impact: 555 households helped, cost: $2,000,000 Federal stimulus funds). At an average of $900/month for 4 months, totaling $3,600 helps 555 tenants stay housed.

Implement the “KCRHA High-Risk Rental Guarantee Program” which offers a housing provider security if they take a chance with a high-risk renter because of the impact of COVID-19.

(Impact: 277 households helped, cost: $1,000,000 Federal stimulus funds). $900/month for 4 months totaling $3,600 helps 277 tenants gain housing.
Collectively these programs would keep 832 at risk tenants in Kansas City in their homes today by preventing evictions. See details of each program attached.

Add 100-bed spaces for homeless Kansas Citians in transitional housing with supportive services using Federal stimulus funds.

Submitted by: Stacey Johnson-Cosby on behalf of the KC Regional Housing Alliance, 816-591-5921/cell

Sponsors of Ordinance No. 210055: 

Members of the Special Committee on Housing

Your message should follow the guidelines below:

  • Be addressed directly to the council person.
  • Include your street address if you live in Kansas City
  • Include that you own or do business in a specific zip code(s)
  • Share who you are and what you do in our industry.
  • Why you oppose the ordinance changes (see our talking points)
  • What they should focus their attention on instead:  Getting the Rent Paid
  • And Your Story.

For tips on writing a letter or email to an elected official, click here.

Your Story

When the few of us who have been able to meet with officials share that members are selling rentals in Kansas City because of the regulations, they do not believe us.  They need to hear from 100’s of housing providers in the city that are:

  • Have sold or are in the process of selling off rental units and why.
  • Not renting units due to uncertainty around rent collection, eviction, fear of violating laws.
  • Passing on opportunities to buy more rental housing in KCMO in favor of units in other cities with less restrictive regulations.
  • In danger of being foreclosed upon due to having to house a non-paying renter(s) for almost a year now.

Talking Points:

ONE:  If you are looking for a good effective way to push more of your limited supply of small mom and pop businesses offering rental housing out of Kansas City, Ordinance No 210055 is an effective way.  This criminalizes sound housing business practices through August 2021. Longer, if it is extended.

TWO:  Ordinance No. 210055 provides protections to anyone who failed to pay rent during this time, affected by COVID 19 or not.  It would in effect force a housing provider to give preference to a potential renter who had not paid rent over another who did pay rent, even up to the point of making them rent to a person they had just evicted from the unit.

THREE:  One of the best ways to cause an eviction is failure to screen properly.  One of the best tools for screening is looking at past history and to take that tool away or to limit its use is asking housing providers to set the wheels in motion for another eviction down the road.

FOUR:  The $1000 a day fine is also a huge deterrent to doing business and offering units for rent in Kansas City, Missouri.  Should this ordinance in advertently be violated and a different applicant signed to a year lease, the fines could add up to over $365,000 should the alternate applicant live there more than a year.

FIVE:  Add all these reasons together and you can see why many housing providers are selling rentals in Kansas City Missouri, holding units vacant, and taking their investing dollars to cities with less restrictive policies. 

No other industry is being asked to sell or rent their asset without a proper screening, and housing providers are being asked to do so often at a steep cost.  This rental unit belongs to a person who has invested time and money to build an income or a retirement plan, often using their entire life’s savings to do so.  When you do not allow them to protect this asset through sound business practices and force them to give it away for free through eviction moratoriums, you are putting the very people that house the city at risk of becoming homeless themselves.

Better Focus for the City and the City

Rental Assistance: The best solution is providing rental assistance where renters can stay securely housed, with past due amounts caught up.  Getting into the hands of the people would eliminate evictions due to non-payment of rent as a result of COVID. Getting the rent paid also gets the mortgage and property taxes paid along with property maintenance. Housing providers will lose on average about $20,000 over year +  time frame you are targeting due to non-paying renters and would be much better served as would their non-paying renters in having access to rental assistance. 

KCRHA:  We always invite our policymakers to work with the KC Regional Housing Alliance since we are an alliance of organizations that represent housing providers. Once we get through the pandemic, we can work long term to implement our Eviction Prevention & Emergency Rental Assistance Program for renters that experience temporary short-term financial setbacks that prevent them from paying rent.

KC Five Year Housing Policy:  Fully Fund the $75 Million Housing Trust Fund established in the 5 Year Housing Policy Plan and implement items to address the creation and preservation of affordable housing units and support for renters, homeowners and housing providers.

Comments

  1. Not to mention the threat this could pose for neighboring tenants if we are forced to rent to ANYONE recently evicted. If I discover an applicant is a sexual predator but was evicted, do I have to put them next door to the family with 2 young daughters? What about a person with history of theft and assault across the hall from my elderly and blind 72-year old female tenant?
    Sorry, but I will just have to make this homelessness worse because I wont rent to ANYONE until the idiotic ordinance is lifted. A few months lost rent is WAY cheaper than $1,000 a day or the potential damage to property or neighboring tenants… (you have lost your minds!)

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