KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Two landlords have sued the city of Kansas City, Missouri, over a housing ordinance the city council passed in January.
The city says the ordinance aims to protect renters from discrimination, including those who receive supplemental security income, social security disability insurance, child support, tipped wages, and housing choice vouchers.
The lawsuit, filed by landlords Kennedy F. Jones and Stephen J. Vogel, accuses the ordinance of "unconstitutional overreach."
According to the lawsuit, the ordinance includes a source of income as "any type of private, non-profit, or government assistance payment such as the federal housing choice vouchers authorized by the Section 8 of the Housing Act of 1937."
READ | Full lawsuit against city of Kansas City, Missouri
The lawsuit states that the Housing Act does not require landlords to accept Section 8 vouchers as payment for rent.
Instead, landlords have a choice on whether or not they want to participate and comply with the act's requirements.
"Participation in the Section 8 program imposes substantial burdens on landlords, a fact that Congress recognized in making Section 8 participation voluntary," the lawsuit states.
Kansas City, Missouri, Mayor Quinton Lucas described his feelings on the lawsuit Saturday.
"I don't think that [the lawsuit] has merit," said Lucas. "I think Kansas City worked hard to make sure we had a program that was fair to landlords and fair to tenants."
Lucas believes the law will be upheld due to its similarity to other laws in cities such as Clayton, Missouri, and Tempe, Arizona.
A statement from the city on the lawsuit reads as follows:
Kansas City’s Source of Income Discrimination law was based off similar laws throughout the country, which have been upheld by courts in similar lawsuits. While it is frustrating to waste our taxpayer dollars to defend a law that seeks to protect tenants and provide additional affordable housing options city wide, I put my full faith in the City’s law department to defend against this and any future lawsuits seeking to overturn these tenant protections. I believe we will win and the federal court will declare Source of Income Discrimination Ban constitutional and valid.
Leading up to the passage of the ordinance, tenant-rights groups like KC Tenants advocated for it to pass.
KC Tenants and also Kansas City-area landlords filled the council's chambers while the ordinance was discussed.
The group and landlords disagreed on the matter.
The ordinance does let landlords deny tenants based on their criminal history, credit score, evictions, alleged damages, and rent-to-income ratio.
The landlords are asking for declaratory judgment, claims for relief, federal preemption of the ordinance, and preliminary and permanent injunction.
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