KANSAS CITY, Mo. — KC Tenants Union reached day 18 of striking against what renters feel is unfair treatment from landlords.
"They have known what we are going through for years and have not taken any action since," said Hell Woods, a tenant in Quality Towers. "We are prepared to escalate on them, tenants across the country are prepared to escalate on them.”
Tenants have withheld approximately $60,000 in rent from Sentinel Real Estate. The federally funded apartments in the Quality Hill neighborhood are asking for a seat at the bargaining table with federal housing authorities and property management.
"We are asking for a 3-percent cap on rent increases," explained Woods. "We need the federal government to cap these rent increases. It doesn’t matter if we get our homes fixed. We are being priced out onto the streets anyways."
A growing number of tenants gathered in front of Quality Towers on Friday night, asking their landlords to acknowledge living conditions in its apartments. KC Tenants Union strikers prepared a dramatized display, for a seat at a bargaining table.
Residents aired their grievances through a megaphone. Many expressed their ill content with dirty tap water, rodent and pest problems, and lack of hot water.
"My daughter was thirsty, and she asked dad for a glass of water and I couldn’t give it to her," shared an emotional George Pacheco. "Do you get what it’s like to not give your kids a clean glass of water? On top of that, she is ten years old. Why would she want to come back over here?"
Earlier this month, KSHB reported on the Kansas City Healthy Homes team conducting inspections inside Quality Towers apartments. The investigation found violations inside the homes issued in a press release stating, "none (of the violations) were deemed severe enough to render any inspected units uninhabitable."
Tenants marched buckets of dirty water from bathtubs and sink faucets and insect traps filled with cockroaches to the Quality Towers leasing office.
KSHB reached out to the leasing office at Quality Hills Towers for comment and left a message asking for comment. KSHB also reached out to the Federal Housing Finance Agency for comment and is awaiting a response.
The PR team for Sentinel Real Estate Corporation, which owns Quality Hill Towers, provided the following comment to KSHB 41 from an Oct. 1, 2024 report:
Management has been working with the union in good faith for more than a year and continues to respect and affirm tenants’ rights to organize. However, claims being made by the tenant union are false. The work being demanded either has already been completed or is underway – executing a rent strike will only impede the property’s ability to complete these necessary repairs. This outcome would negatively impact all residents – even those who choose not to participate in the rent strike. What’s more, rental increase examples being used by the tenant union are those of residents switching from long-term leases to short-term or month-to-month leases, which automatically result in their rental rates adjusting from a meaningful discount to comparable properties in the area to market rate for similar units. Since 2020, residents who choose to renew their leases have seen annual increases of approximately 3% on average, which is in line with the renewal rate increase cap the tenant union is requesting. We have also at times offered concessions of $250 to $750 to residents who choose to renew rather than move out or go short-term/month-to-month. We value our tenants and care about their living experience. This is why we continue to take steps to ensure their satisfaction and comfort. We believe the tenant union’s rent strike is misguided, short-sighted and has the potential to create negative consequences for the entire property. This rent strike is not a legally protected action in the state of Missouri and participation puts tenants at risk of violating their lease agreement. Accordingly, we encourage our residents to maintain their regular rent payments and consider all the facts. The grace period for residents to submit rent is until 11:59 pm CDT on October 3rd.
Fannie Mae, a bank that provides financial backing for the properties, offered KSHB a statement in the Oct. 1, 2024 report:
“Through its actions resulting in the Receiver’s appointment by the Jackson County Court, Fannie Mae has provided resources and worked closely with the Receiver to address needed repairs, including repairs tenants have brought to the awareness of the Receiver and property management company. Fannie Mae remains committed to supporting ongoing work the Receiver needs to complete until the property has been placed into new ownership.”
The Federal Housing Finance Agency provided the following statement to KC Tenants via email in the October 1, 2024 report:
“As regulator and conservator of Fannie Mae, the backer of the loan that financed both properties, we are committed to doing everything within our authority to work with Fannie Mae to make repairs at the properties, where legally permissible."
Friday's protest was attended by tenants of both Quality Towers and Independence Towers fighting similar issues.
Woods told KSHB, that if the Federal Housing Finance Agency, Fannie Mae, and Sentinel Real Estate don't offer a bargaining opportunity by the end of the week, tenants on strike plan to escalate the situation.
KSHB asked KC Tenants Union what the nature of escalation entails. A KC Tenants Union spokesperson says, violence is not the answer, rather, it intends to band together with tenants' unions in states like Montana, Illinois, and Kentucky.
"I would rather teach my daughter and my son, that their dad is willing to stand up and fight for something, even if a court chooses to evict me," explained Pacheco. "I’m still fighting for what I believe is my right as a human being. And my right as a tenant because I signed a contract with this company. It is everyone else’s right that I am fighting for, even if it puts me out and saves Hell, I’m okay with that.”
KSHB 41 will continue to follow the efforts of the KC Tenants Union and will provide details on new developments as they become available.
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