KSHB 41 reporter Megan Abundis covers Kansas City, Missouri, including neighborhoods in the southern part of the city. Share your story idea with Megan.
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The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has ceased payments to Cloverleaf Apartments as of Feb. 1.
In south Kansas City, the Cloverleaf Apartments, located at 4410 U.S. 71 Highway, have been plagued by murders, fires and crime.
A notice on Cloverleaf tenants' doors read that HUD's decision stems from the owner — a New Jersey-based company — not addressing serious issues that have led to unsafe and hazardous living conditions.
Low-income residents struggling
A significant number of Cloverleaf residents are low-income single parents and their children.
Many of these residents report living in deteriorating conditions but lack the financial resources to move.
Living in squalor
From the outside, the Cloverleaf Apartments may appear abandoned, but a woman who services the area with outreach estimates 75 families still live there.
Resident Shay, who has lived at Cloverleaf for several years with her three children, described the conditions as "nasty" and said it feels abandoned.
"It’s just nasty, we deserve better," she said.
Shay declined to appear on camera due to fears of potential repercussions for speaking out.
Conditions worsen
The apartments are plagued with overflowing trash, potholes and broken windows. Shay reported no one has addressed a water main break for several months, causing dangerous conditions for drivers and residents, especially when it's icy out.
“That’s dangerous as well. Cars that come through here, they come sliding across the pavement,” Shay said.
Trash has been piling up, making the area even more unlivable.
"It’s been like that for a couple of months," Shay said.
A resident reported apartments flooding and water running unchecked for nearly a year. Inside the apartments, Shay said residents face mold, collapsed ceilings, bed bugs and rodent infestations.
Unfulfilled promises
In 2023, the latest owners, NB Affordable, were expected to renovate Cloverleaf and bring it up to code, with the support of HUD. However, these promises were not kept.
The owner of NB Affordable, who owns other low-income homes nationwide, pled guilty last year to mortgage fraud conspiracyin New York and was recently charged with theft in Pennsylvania for misappropriating HUD renovation funds.
Shay expressed her frustration, saying, "I’m hurt because we work hard, and things aren’t cheap these days. Prices are rising, and when we get our hard-earned money and they are stealing it, that hurts because it’s like, what are we supposed to do?"
HUD's next steps, shutting down building
Tenants have received notices announcing HUD plans to shut down Cloverleaf Apartments by June 18, a measure they consider “a last resort.”
Finding new housing is now a pressing concern for residents like Shay.
"We deserve a lot better," she said. "It makes me emotional because this was supposed to be temporary, and it got really bad. I see the kids out here playing, and they don’t deserve to live like this."
Assistance for residents
HUD has scheduled meetings this week with tenants to assist them in finding new housing. HUD said residents will be provided up to $2,100 for relocation expenses.
However, the immediate concern remains the current living conditions.
KSHB 41's Megan Abundis called and emailed the owner of Cloverleaf Apartment Complex, but Cloverleaf's website, NB Affordable LLC’s online website andtheir parent company's website no longer exist.
The Jackson County Prosecutor’s Office said there are no local charges for the owner in Missouri as of now.
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